SAYVA Staff
Stefanie Elkins—SAYVA Program Director
Stefanie is excited to be a part in growing the SAYVA community and collaborative approach to positive aging and wellness. Along with working on dynamic and specialized programming with a growing group of committed and dedicated SAYVA partners that includes rabbis and lay leaders of Fountainview of LA Jewish Health, HaMakom, Kol Tikvah, Temple Ahavat Shalom, Temple Judea, Temple Ramat Zion, and Valley Beth Shalom, Stefanie’s focus is on community engagement, SAVYA website development and ensuring that we are adding value to all we touch in Later Adulthood. We are thrilled that Jeff Bernhardt is still engaged as a SAYVA consultant in continuing efforts to expand resources for post retirement and volunteer engagement. Stefanie can be contacted at [email protected].
About Stefanie Elkins—Stefanie has over 20 years of diverse Jewish communal non-profit experiences with a focus, passion, and speciality in the caregiving, eldercare and end-of-life fields. In addition to her role at SAYVA, Stefanie is a Family Caregiver Consultant and End-of-Life Doula and Founder of Be Present Care and Death over Drafts, on the Leadership Council for Valley Chevra Kadisha, an active member of Foundation for Senior Services and Senior Outreach Advocate at Kol Tikvah (one of SAYVA’ s new partner organizations). She holds a double MA in Management specializing in Human Services, a MA in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University and a BA in Social Relations from UC Riverside.
Jeff Bernhardt, SAYVA Project Consultant, Concierge for Volunteer Opportunities
Jeff’s role is to connect us with significant volunteer opportunities, tailored to our interests, time and needs. Contact Jeff to learn more at [email protected].
Jeff is originally from New Jersey, and then spent several years working in the Boston area Jewish community following undergraduate work at Brandeis University. He has been in Los Angeles since 1987 working primarily in the Jewish community. Jeff earned his master’s degree in social work at USC and his master’s degree in Jewish Communal Service at Hebrew Union College (HUC) in the joint program. Jeff has been working in Jewish education as well as social services with a number of synagogues and Jewish communal organizations in the Los Angeles area, including as the Community of Caring Director at Temple Aliyah from 2005-2014. He has been teaching in days schools and for Bnei Mitzvah as well. Jeff has also been writing for many years and has published two books of Jewish interest as well as three dramatic readings and two plays. As a recent semi-retiree he has come to understand the importance of programs such as those offered by SAYVA as well as the importance of feeling connected to community and the importance of partnerships between Jewish organizations and synagogues to make a difference for people in later adulthood.
Eric Weisser, SAYVA Communications Consultant/Website Manager
Eric began his career working in publishing as an assistant and then associate in the Marketing department for Prentice Hall/Pearson Education. There, he worked with others to develop a multitude of graphical campaigns used to promote textbooks for educators and students in all levels of learning. He then moved from publishing to the non-profit world and began working for the New York County Lawyers’ Association, as the lead Marketing and Communications point person for the Bar Association. There, he worked to outline and develop an overall Social Media platform and presence, as well as head the Marketing/Graphics and Communication for their Legal Education department. After working diligently at the association for many years, a change was needed and in 2009, Eric moved to Los Angeles to become the lead graphic designer and later, Communications Director for Valley Beth Shalom synagogue in Encino, California. Here, he worked with the internal staff to develop and implement a Marketing Strategy to further promote the synagogue and what it has to offer to the greater community. Again, an active Social Media platform was implemented, as well as numerous graphical and video Advertising campaigns to promote services. In 2015, he launched BE WEISSER DESIGNS, a full-service Communications operation, specializing in graphic design (print, motion as well as web) and video editing. There, he works with a number of clients and non-profit associations throughout the country, helping to promote their various activities via Marketing and Social Media campaigns. In addition, since 2015 he has worked at FIDM as an Adjunct Professor in Social Media, Graphic Design and Marketing.