About Us

Staff

Executive Team

Samuel J. Salkin
Sam is Sinai’s executive director, a position he has held since 2010. Sam has extensive managerial and leadership experience in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. He received his B.S. and M.S. from Cornell University and is a licensed funeral director.

Thomas V. Halloran
Tom is Sinai’s associate executive director, having joined Sinai in 1990. He is a graduate of San Francisco College of Mortuary Science and is a licensed embalmer.

Jay A. Lewis
Jay is a managing funeral director at Sinai and manager of Gan Shalom Cemetery. He joined Sinai in 2011 and is the third generation of his family to be a funeral director He is active in the Chevra Kadisha Consortium of the East Bay. He graduated from Miami-Dade College with a degree in mortuary science.

Robert L. Malinow
Robert is the managing funeral director of Sinai’s Redwood City facility. He has worked at Sinai since 2010. Robert is the fourth generation of his family to be involved in this profession. He is active in numerous Jewish organizations, many of which have honored him for his work. Robert has multiple degrees, including a B.A. from San Jose State University, an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University, and an Associate in Science Degree in Funeral Service Education from Miami-Dade College.

Robert T. Perez
Robert is operations manager at Sinai and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. He has worked at Sinai since 2011. He is a graduate of San Francisco College of Mortuary Science.

Funeral Arrangement and Counseling Staff

Josh Alpert
Josh is a licensed funeral director at Sinai, where he has worked since 2011. He represents the fourth generation of his family to work in his chosen profession. Josh is a graduate of the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service.

Cheryl Bartky
Cheryl is the co-coordinator of Sinai Memorial Chapel’s Mourner Care Program, having joined Sinai in 2006. She is a licensed Professional Clinical Counselor as well as a creative arts therapist. She is the artistic director of the Moving On Dance™ Project, sponsored by Sinai, and is active in several professional associations in her field of work. She received a B.A from Queens College of the City University of New York and a master’s degree from Hahnemann Medical College.

Jim Esenwein
Jim has worked at Sinai since 2013 as a licensed funeral director and embalmer, and is the second generation in his family to serve as a funeral director He is active in promoting “safe and sober” high schools as a volunteer with the Lions Club. Jim is a graduate of San Francisco College of Mortuary Science.

Jessica Z. Garza
Jessica, who has worked at Sinai since 2011, is a licensed embalmer and funeral director. She was attracted to her profession by her personal experiences with family members and a desire to help others facing loss. She graduated from Bakersfield College and is a graduate of Cypress College, where she received a degree in mortuary science.

Robert "Rob" Grossman
Rob is a funeral director/embalmer at Sinai’s Lafayette facility. He began his funeral service career in 1991, having earned an Associates of Science, Funeral Service, from Miami-Dade Community College, Miami, FL. He has also earned two Bachelor’s degrees, one in Nursing and one in Political Science, and two Masters of Science degrees in Administration and Counselor Education. He has worked at Jewish funeral homes in Manalapan, NJ; Baltimore, MD; Rockville MD; and in Aventura and Sunrise, Florida.

Jennifer H. Kaufman
Jennifer is the co-coordinator of Sinai’s Mourner Care Program, having joined Sinai in 2001. She has provided grief counseling since 1992, starting as a hospice volunteer. She has since provided education and facilitation on grief to organizations throughout the Bay Area. Jennifer is also an artist and the creator of a book, “The Book of Losses.” She received her B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.F.A. from California College of the Arts.

Richard "Rick" Roberts
Rick joined Sinai in 2010 as an advance planning counselor, payroll supervisor, and HR administrator.

Wayne A. Rose
Wayne is Associate Executive Director Emeritus of Sinai, where he has worked since 2004. He is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Wayne is active in numerous community organizations, including the American Sephardi Federation, Santa Clara County Mental Health Advisory Board, and San Jose Scottish Rite Foundation. He is a graduate of San Francisco College of Mortuary Science.

Benjamin Jacob Ruhs
Benjamin is a licensed funeral director, working at Sinai since 2013. His connections to Sinai go back to its founding, when his great-great-grandfather and great-great-uncle were employed there and served on its original Board of Directors. Benjamin has been active in numerous community organizations, including the Shriners Hospital for Children of Northern California and the Norwegian Club of San Francisco. He attended Thomas Edison State College.

Edward Sankin
Edward is a licensed funeral director and embalmer, having worked at Sinai Memorial Chapel since 1993. A native of Russia, he is active in many Jewish activities in San Francisco. He is a graduate of Medical University, Leningrad and San Francisco College of Mortuary Science.

Helen Schwartz
Helen is a licensed funeral director at Sinai, having worked here since 2003. Her many volunteer activities in the Jewish community include serving on Congregation Kol Shofar’s Chevra Kadisha, teaching at Kol Shofar’s religious school, and working with Jewish Family & Children’s Services/Bay Area Jewish Healing Center’s Mitzvah Care for Elders program. She received a B.A. in Psychology from U.C. Santa Barbara and an M.B.A. from American Graduate School of International Management.

Elka Stern
Elka, a New York City native, began her funeral service at Greenwich Village Funeral Home in New York in 2009. She attended LaGuardia Community College, majoring in Mortuary Science, and is a graduate of American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service, with an Associates of Science degree in Mortuary Science. She has lived in Israel and speaks Hebrew fluently. She works at Sinai’s San Francisco facility.

Jack L. Weeks
Jack has served as a licensed funeral director and embalmer at Sinai since 1992. He is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and San Francisco School of Mortuary Science.

Cemetery Staff

Cathie Cline-Sheldon
Cathie is the cemetery counselor at Gan Shalom Cemetery, where she has worked for six years. She assists families in understanding their options and works with them in purchasing plots, planning burials, and designing memorial markers.

Lisa Matson
Lisa is the office manager at Eternal Home Cemetery, a position she has held for six years. She is the fourth generation of her family to serve in various capacities at the cemetery, going back to her great grandfather, who started working there in 1936. Her work includes helping people interested in genealogy explore handwritten records of burials at Eternal Home going back to 1901.