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JCA Staff

Lauren Bastien, Community Organizer
Lauren joined Jewish Community Action in the summer of 2007. She grew up in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in History.

Photo of Lauren Bastien

Lauren works on youth organizing and immigrants’ rights organizing at Jewish Community Action. In the fall of 2009, Lauren helped Jewish Community Action launch the Seeds of Justice Fellowship. The fellowship helps Jewish high-school students from around the Twin Cities learn about the connections between Jewish ethics and social justice, and community organizing, while working on local racial and economic justice campaigns.


Adele Brown, Senior Organizer

Photo of Adele Brown

Adele came to the staff in March 2001, having been co-chair of JCA’s Gateway Inter-faith Table (GIFT) for Affordable Housing. She holds a master’s degree in Hospital & Health Administration, and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Macalester College. Adele is a member of Mount Zion Hebrew Congregation (Reform), where she chairs the Tzedek Committee. She also is a member of the national Commission of Social Action of the Union for Reform Judaism.


Carin Mrotz, Operations Manager

Carin joined Jewish Community Action in the spring of 2004. Originally from south Florida, Carin received her bachelor’s degree in Religion from the University of Florida. Since moving to the Twin Cities in 1997, Carin has worked as a teacher and trainer, and prior to joining the staff of JCA, she was the Evening School Director at a local private college. In 2006, she completed her master's degree in public and nonprofit administration at Metropolitan State University. Carin is unaffiliated and organizes JCA's Indie Jews initiative.

 Photo of Carin Mrotz


Lyudmyla Petrenko, Community Organizer/Programmer
Lyudmyla works for both Jewish Community Action and the Sabes JCC, and has been on staff since June 2009.

Photo of Lyudmyla Petrenko

Originally from Ukraine, Lyudmyla earned a bachelor's degree in Communication from Bethany Lutheran College and a master's degree in Speech Communication at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she was a member of the National Scholars Honors Society and taught Speech 100. Through VOICE: Community Building Initiative, Lyudmyla engages immigrant senior citizens from the former Soviet Union. She is fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian.


Vic Rosenthal, Executive Director

A founding organizing committee member and past board president of JCA, Vic also was executive director of the Minnesota Senior Federation for nine years. Vic has been a community organizer for more than 30 years—much of that time working on behalf of affordable and accessible healthcare and the concerns of senior citizens. He is the recipient of a Bush Leadership Fellowship, which he used as a time to study Jewish history and literature and to become more involved with Jewish Community Action.

Photo of Vic Rosenthal

Vic was also a recipient of the 2004 Leadership for a Changing World award from the Ford Foundation. He earned his master's degree in Public Administration at Rutgers University and his undergraduate degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton. Vic is chair of the social action committee and a member of the Temple of Aaron (Conservative).

Melissa Rudnick, Community Organizer

Photo of Melissa Rudnick

Melissa joined JCA's staff in December 2006, after serving on JCA's Board of Directors. Melissa has organized professionally since 2000, including with the AFL-CIO/Stamford Organizing Project, HOME Line, and Grassroots Solutions. Melissa grew up in Minneapolis at Temple Israel, graduated from South High School and received a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz.


David Snyder, Community Organizer  

David joined JCA's staff in August 2005 as a community organizer. He grew up in Minneapolis, was a founding member of Shir Tikvah and is a proud graduate of South High. David received a bachelor's degree from Goucher College and a Master's Degree in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University, where he played a key role in a successful multi-campus living wage campaign. David then spent four years as a Union organizer with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (now UNITE HERE) in Baltimore, before moving back to the Twin Cities. 

Photo of Dave Snyder


Velva Stewart, Community Organizer  

Velva joined JCA's staff in May 2011 as a community organizer, thanks to a generous grant from Atlantic Phalnthropies, administered by the National Communty Reinvestment Coalition. Velva will continue her role with the NCRC (Northside Community Reinvestment Coalition). She organizes specifically with older residents around issues of foreclosure prevention and financial education, among other issues. Velva has lived in north Minneapolis since the late 1960's, and has been deeply involved in community work throughout her life. She retired from a position with Hennepin County in order to organize with JCA and the NCRC.

 Photo of Velva Stewart

All photos © 2009, Victor Bloomfield (except Kami and Velva)
 



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Jewish Community Action
2375 University Avenue West, Suite 150
St. Paul, MN 55114
Phone 651/632-2184  Fax 651/632-2184