About us
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What is progressive Zionism?
Zionism is the liberation movement of the Jewish people — realizing and securing their right to national self-determination in their ancestral homeland. Jews are a nation with an ancient history, language, and culture, indigenous to the Levant. Israeli Jews are descended from refugees who have faced racism and antisemitic discrimination, displacement, destruction of property, and death. We are committed to a safe and secure Israel that guarantees the future of the Jewish people.
Zionism is a human right in keeping with the United Nations’ declaration supporting self-determination for all peoples. Importantly, Progressive Zionism is compatible with an independent, Palestinian state—including a two-state solution—and firmly opposes actions that make a negotiated solution unachievable.
Our Zionism is consistent with Israel’s founding Declaration of Independence and thus we fight to preserve Israel’s core identity as a Jewish and democratic state.
PZC’s grassroots work began in 2017, and in 2020 incorporated as a 501c4 public benefit nonprofit.
Stay connected to programs and timely communications.
Meet Our Board + Staff
Susan George, Executive Director
Susan has an extensive background in nonprofit management and political organizing. She is also a classically trained singer. Born on Oahu, Hawa'i, Susan’s Hawaiian and musical roots run deep. Her mother, aunts and uncles—born and raised on Moloka'i—performed a range of Hawaiian music together. This inspired Susan's love of music and eventual studies. On the political side, she twice served as both an elected assembly district delegate to the California Democratic Party (CDP) and a National Democratic Party Convention Delegate. In her progressive organizing work in the CDP, Susan discovered that the oft-disproportionate focus on Israel in progressive spaces sometimes crossed the line into antisemitism. She learned that others shared her concerns and in 2017 they joined forces to launch the work of Progressive Zionists of California. Susan is on the Executive boards of the Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club in San Francisco and the Jewish Democratic Club of Solano County. She is an alternate member of the Solano County Democratic Central Committee and a member of San Francisco’s Congregation Beth Shalom.
Email her at susan@caprogressivezionists.org.
Matthew Finkelstein, Development Chair
Matthew works as a development and sales professional in San Francisco. He is on the Executive Board of the Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club, the President of the Solano County Jewish Democratic Club and a member of the Solano County Democratic Central Committee. Matthew served as an elected assembly district delegate to the California Democratic Party and a National Democratic Party Convention delegate. He and his twin brother were youth cantors, singing in harmony at the shul where their father was a rabbi and he more recently served as a lay cantor in Vallejo, California. He is a Jewish community organizer, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom in San Francisco and an outspoken advocate where progressivism and Zionism intersect. Matthew brings a disarming sense of humor and a more outspoken, fearless approach to his advocacy work.
Email him at matthew@caprogressivezionists.org
Victoria Solkovits, Secretary
Victoria Solkovits is an MPP student in Conflict Resolution and Mediation at Tel Aviv University and an alumna from UCLA in public health and political science. She is also an elected delegate for the California Democratic Party in the San Fernando Valley. Her work and passion for progressive zionism stems from her organizing and background educating young students and activists in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli society, and government advocacy. She hopes to continue this work and increase the discourse on peacebuilding in our communities.
Rachel Bracker, Board Chair Emeritus
Rachel Bracker is a writer, designer, and media strategist with a background in journalism, information design, and online community building. Rachel earned a BA in Linguistics with a minor in News, Media, and Society at the University of Southern California, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, served as an editor for the Daily Trojan, and interned for USC Media Relations. She currently serves as the Communications Director for the Westside Young Democrats and for the California Young Democrats Jewish Caucus. Rachel’s hobbies include vegetarian cooking, travel, and photography.
Lauren Post, Board Member
Lauren Post is a researcher, writer, and activist. In her current position, she focuses on building healthy online communities, fact checking, and bridging the gaps between Jewish communities and their local and state-level governments.
She was a 2018 Los Angeles AJC Access Board member, a 2019 Israel Policy Forum ATID Delegate to Israel & Palestine, a 2020 Institute for Digital and Civic Culture Fellow, a 2022 JIMENA Bay Area Sephardic Fellow, and an activist for Jewish issues in California and beyond. She also currently serves as Israel Policy Forum’s National Non-Chapter City Chair.
Born and raised in Western/Central New York, in the gorgeous Finger Lakes, she got her bachelor’s degree at Saint John Fisher College. After a life-changing study abroad trip, she then got her master’s degree at The Ohio State University in Slavic Studies, focusing on Polish sex education.
Lauren has bylines in The Forward, The Tower, Medium, and the Jewish Journal. When she is offline, you can find her looking for the perfect taco, the perfect walk for her dog, Pici, or new running trails.
Advisory Board
Vlad Khaykin
Vlad Khaykin serves as the inaugural Director of Programs on Antisemitism at the Anti-Defamation League.
Vlad joined ADL in 2014 as the Associate Director for the Central Pacific Region, leading the office’s international affairs work, representing ADL to leading social media and internet technology companies in Silicon Valley, and delivering all programs related to antisemitism and white nationalism.
Before joining ADL, Vlad served as the Assistant Director for Communications and Advocacy for the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Philadelphia where he advocated on issues related to immigration reform, foreign policy, and human rights with state and federal lawmakers and foreign diplomats. Prior to AJC, Vlad worked in the International Programs department of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston.
Vlad earned dual Master’s degrees in Non-Profit Leadership and Near Eastern & Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, where he was awarded the Genesis Fellowship, and a B.A. in Economics and Business Management from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
A former refugee from state-sanctioned antisemitism in the Soviet Union and a grandson of Holocaust survivors, Vlad holds ADL’s work to secure justice and fair treatment for all deeply personal.
Ira D. Handelman
Ira D. Handelman has provided public affairs, government relations, community outreach, entitlement, public education and affordable housing services to California and Los Angeles area public and private sector clients for the past 40 years. He has represented major commercial, residential, retail and industrial projects and is considered an expert in muti-ethnic community outreach programs for real estate development projects. He has also worked with numerous cities and counties throughout California on development projects and public education campaigns.
Mr. Handelman has been very involved in the Jewish Community working on social
justice and social action issues, as well as Israel. He is a member of the Stephen Wise Temple and a former member of the Milken High School Board. He is currently a Board member of AJC Los Angeles, a member of the AJC National Policy Steering Committee and a former Co-Chair of AJC LA’s Public Policy Committee.
Mr. Handelman received his Masters of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California and a Bachelors degree in History from Rutgers
University. He also studied social work at Columbia’s School of Social Work.
Carly Pildis
Carly Pildis has dedicated her career to fighting for justice and equality on a global and national scale. She was named one the 2019 Forward 50, Forward’s annual list of influential American Jews. She works for Tikkun Olam, healing a broken world, through advocacy, organizing, and writing. She is an outspoken advocate against rising antisemitism She currently serves as a Contributing Editor for Tablet magazine. Past work includes Zioness, RESULTS, Obama for America 2012, Jubilee USA Network and American Jewish World Service. In addition, she serves as a board member for the JCRC of Greater Washington and the Inter Jewish Muslim Alliance (IJMA). She has been featured in forwarding, Refinery 29, Washington Jewish Weekly, Tablet Magazine, the Washington Post, Politico, CNN, and the Jerusalem Post. She was spoken at the ADL Never Again is Now Summit and National Leadership Summit, The Israel Forum at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, Z3, The Israeli Embassy, and RESULTS International Conference. In her free time, Carly enjoys engaging in Jewish Twitter and making Shabbat with her family.
Arthur Slepian
Arthur Slepian is Board Chair of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund. Previously, he was the founder and a board member of A Wider Bridge, the North American organization working through education, advocacy, relationship-building and grant-making to create equality in Israel by expanding LGBTQ inclusion in Israel, and equality for Israel by cultivating constructive engagement with Israel. Arthur loves to walk his dog, listen to Broadway showtunes and sample dessert wines with his husband.
Erin Schrode
Erin is an activist and social entrepreneur. This leading voice on sustainability, social impact and millennials recently ran for US Congress and has developed eco-education for millions since co-founding Turning Green in 2005. Erin speaks and consults internationally, contributes to top media, and led #ChefsForPuertoRico post-Hurricane Maria, serving 3.7+ million meals and investing in food systems island wide, now driving her non-profit’s Conscious Kitchen to serve hot, organic, nutritious meals to students, elders and vulnerable populations near her home in Marin County. This bold innovator and community organizer inspires and mobilizes people to activate passion for social impact and policy change.
Andrea Beth Damsky
Andrea Beth Damsky, L.Ac. is a National Board-Certified Acupuncturist, herbalist, and nutritional consultant. Andrea Beth is also an environmental activist who served on the Environmental Sustainability Commission of La Mesa CA from 2017 to 2022, the last three years as its elected Chair. Climate change, environmental activism, drought, food insecurity, racial justice, police reform and equity are among the many issues Andrea Beth champions. Voting rights, healthcare access, housing the unhoused, and access to clean air and water are among her top current issues of concern.
Originally from New York, Andrea Beth cut her political eye teeth at the tender age of 11, when she helped launch and staff Baldwin’s Efforts to Salvage Trash (BEST), one of our nation’s first recycling centers in Baldwin, NY. During her 20’s she was involved in feminist politics as President of the Atlantic City, NJ chapter of National Organization for Women. The 1980’s also saw her active in LGBTQ+ activism, AIDS issues, abortion rights, and electoral campaign work; these issues have driven her activism for the last 40 years.
In 2021, Andrea Beth was Co-Chair of San Diego Pride’s DevOUT LGBTQ+ Interfaith Coalition. A lay cantorial soloist, Andrea Beth often represents the Jewish community in interfaith demonstrations of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in San Diego County. She speaks at city council meetings and press conferences in support of marginalized and targeted community groups as a faith leader who experiences hate through a quadruple lens: as a woman, as a Jewish person, as a senior, and as a lesbian. Andrea Beth is a former Hebrew school teacher, Bar and Bat Mitzvah tutor, and synagogue administrator, who enjoys co-leading worship services in the San Diego Jewish community.
Andrea Beth helped co-found the following organizations:
- Progressive Zionists of California
- Democrats for Israel – California
- San Diego Democrats for Peace in the Middle East
- San Diego Progressive Democratic Club
- Pardes Rimonim, a Berkeley/San Francisco Jewish LGBTQ+ worship community,
- Queer Minyan, San Francisco Shabbat services for LGBTQ+ Jews & allies.
Currently Andrea Beth serves on the Board of Directors of A Wider Bridge, and is Executive Vice President of Democrats for Peace in the Middle East. Andrea Beth is a voting member of the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee, and a delegate to the California Democratic Party, where she serves on the Resolutions Committee.
Ms. Damsky is a 2022 alum of Emerge-California, which trains Democratic women to run for office and win. That year she was appointed to the brand-new California Commission on the State of Hate. She also ran for office for the first time, and won her election as Director of the Helix Water District in San Diego County, where she is honored to serve as the first openly LGBTQ+ elected official in East San Diego County.
A friend recently commented to Andrea Beth that most people don’t realize how funny she is. Andrea Beth replied that she is actually a very funny person who successfully pretends to be serious a great deal of the time. Andrea Beth and her wife live a happy and quirky life in La Mesa, CA.
Rami Rivera Frank
Rami Rivera Frankl is President of Sherwood Media, an independent content company. The company is led by a management team with over 30 years of experience in the development, production, distribution, finance, and marketing of feature films and television programming.
Currently, he is the current Los Angeles Regional Board of Directors, ADL, and previously serve as a Board Member of Democrats for Israel. He has also served as an appointee to American Jewish Committee’s Latino Media Committee.
Outside of the Jewish nonprofit world, Rami is a member of the DGA and served as the Co-Chair of the Latino Committee at the Directors Guild of America from 2015 to 2019.
Sam Yebri
Sam Yebri is an experienced trial lawyer representing workers, a former Los Angeles City Commissioner, a Jewish communal, pro-Israel, and social justice activist, and the president and co-founder of Iranian Jewish civic organization 30 Years After. Sam is a proud refugee who fled Iran with his family at the age of 1.
