Congrats to our Spring 2012 Emma Fellowship class. They are a talented, influential group of Jewish women leaders.
Laurie Firestone Siedelman
Laurie Firestone Siedelman is the Training and Career Development Coordinator for UCLA’s Campus Human Resources Training & Development unit. Laurie manages the Staff Enrichment Program (SEP), a cohort-based program designed to help administrative-level employees enhance their professional skills and sharpen their ability for career advancement across campus. Prior to joining Campus Human Resources, Laurie managed Pathway at UCLA Extension, a groundbreaking, post-secondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities. She was responsible for Pathway's instructor recruitment and training, curriculum development and marketing operations. Laurie earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from San Diego State University. Outside of UCLA, her passion includes coaching others to effectively network and cultivate strategic partnerships to enhance their business and personal endeavors.
Julie Gertler
Throughout her career, Julie has confronted apathy and resistance to change and fostered support for forward-looking projects and programs. As Founder and CEO of Consensus Inc., she has brought these skills to Fortune 500 companies, federal, state, and local government agencies, and non-profit organizations, helping to shape the urban landscape. This expertise has been cultivated over years of professional and volunteer experience. Julie also served as president of the Los Angeles National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). Under her leadership, in 1979, the organization's resources were redirected to create The Women's Center at Council House, offering free space to non-profit organizations serving women. A graduate of UCLA and the Harvard Law School Public Disputes Program, Ms. Gertler serves on the Board of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation where she co-chairs the Land Use Committee.
Erica Gerard
With a Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Erica is an organizational development consultant, soft-skills trainer and coach with over 8 years of experience primarily in the arts and non-profit sectors. She is an MBTI qualified trainer with extensive expertise in psychological assessment including the Enneagram, FIRO-B, CPI and Strong Interest Inventory. Erica previously worked at Deloitte and Touche consulting. Also involved in the arts, she understands the unique challenges that creative individuals face when working within organizational systems and skillfully helps them bridge the gap between chaos and concert.
Rachel Gold
As a One LA-IAF Community Organizer, Rachel supports a diverse base of leaders from institutions across LA County, strengthening the public square through organized action and civic leadership development. Native to Ottawa, Canada, and holding an interdisciplinary M.A. from the University of Victoria, Rachel devoted the past decade to leadership roles in the non-profit, academic and public school sectors. She is an alumna of Avodah’s Jewish Service Corp and a past service learning program coordinator at Bend The Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice.
Maytal Nissim
Maytal is Director of Scheduling, Acquisitions, and Planning at The Hub, where she drives television programming strategies for beloved brands including Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers, and G.I. Joe. Maytal earned her BA in English Lit from UCLA and spent part of her post-college life in Tel Aviv. Her passion for educating and entertaining children through media was a natural fit for managing the Art & Content division for Eric Cohen Books, the leading ESL materials publisher in Israel and Europe, and later overseeing program acquisitions at Hop! Channel, Israel’s top-ranked TV network for preschoolers. She returned to L.A. in 2009 and is currently pursuing a certification in Early Childhood Education as an active member of professional organizations such as Women in Children’s Media, the UCLA Alumni Mentor Program and the New Leaders Project.
Tami Reiss
Tami Reiss works hard to make the world a better place and that keeps her pretty busy. Professionally, as a Web Product Manager, she designs usability and functionality improvements to websites and applications. When she's not working, Tami participates in Ikar and its associated social justice activities, spreads the word about the One Percent Foundation, and participating in Bicycle advocacy. For fun, Tami enjoys cooking, hiking, biking, and attempting to complete the NYTimes crossword.
Lisa Ullman
Lisa Ullmann is a television, film and theatrical producer at her independently established company, ROOT FOR THE UNDERDOG PRODUCTIONS. She has worked as the Executive Producer of THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW on HBO for three consecutive seasons, overseeing all creative aspects of a thirteen-episode episode season. As an executive, Lisa was VP of Development at Wildbrain Animation Studios and Director of Original Series for Spike TV, and has held several posts at feature film production companies. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She has served as a Cabinet Member of the Entertainment Division of the Jewish Federation and was a selected participant in the Federation’s 2010-2011 New Leaders Project. She is also a Resource Board member for K9 Connection, a program which educates and inspires at-risk teens through bonding with and training homeless shelter dogs.
Beverly Weise
As Founder and President of Leadership Talent Solutions, Beverly coaches executives and high potential talent to achieve goals, helping organizations develop leaders and improve employee performance. Bev received her B.A. and M.B.A. in Organizational Management from UCLA. She is a certified Executive Coach and an adjunct faculty member in Antioch University’s Masters in Organizational Management Program. She previously served as Corporate Director of Executive Planning and Development at Northrop Grumman Corp. where she initiated the first company-wide succession management process, and led an association of law firms in 120 cities worldwide as Executive Director of Interlaw, Ltd.
Heather Wolfson
Heather Wolfson is currently the Western Regional Director for NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel Foundations. Heather has been very active in the Jewish community. After being a dedicated USYer, an educator at a religious school and involved in her campus Hillel, she decided to pursue a career in the Jewish world. She worked at the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation as the Special Projects Coordinator and later left Arizona for LA. She started her early career with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger as the Marketing Manager. Outside of work, Heather has been involved in many activities including with the Progressive Jewish Alliance as a Jeremiah Fellow and ATID in LA. She also served on the board of the Jewish Communal Professionals of Southern California. Heather graduated from the University of Arizona with a dual B.A. in Journalism and Communication and her M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University.
