About Us

Staff

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Liz Orlin
Executive Director, Sinai Memorial Chapel. More about Liz coming soon!

Kelly Bonillas
Kelly is the Cemetery Superintendent for each of our cemetery properties around the Bay Area. He has 21-years of grounds crew experience, 21 years as an operations manager at Holy Cross Catholic Cemeteries. His belief is during the darkest time that these families visit the cemetery, and if we can provide a ray of light, we have done our job.

Samuel J. Salkin
Sam (FDR3371) is the Executive Director Emeritus of Sinai. He joined our Sinai team in 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.

David Habib
David (FDR3127) is the managing funeral director at our Sinai office in the South Bay. He joined our Sinai team in 2005. He holds an MBA from Notre Dame De Namur University and is active with several Jewish community organizations on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. David is fluent in Hebrew, English, and French.

Josh Alpert
Josh (FDR3582) is our licensed funeral directing manager at our Sinai office in the East Bay. He joined our Sinai team in 2011. Josh represents the fourth generation of his family to work in the funeral profession. Josh is a graduate of the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service, New York.

Robert T. Perez
Robert (FD262 EMB7430) is the operations manager at our Sinai office in San Francisco. He joined our Sinai team in 2011. He is a graduate of San Francisco College of Mortuary Science and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENT TEAM

Sharon Brusman
Sharon (FDR4186) is a licensed funeral director at our Sinai office in San Francisco. Sharon graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with an MPH. She joined our Sinai team in 2014 and received her funeral directing license in 2018. She is co-chair of the Chevra Kadisha at Congregation Kol Shofar.

Juan Santos
Juan (FDR3777) is a licensed funeral director at our Sinai office in San Francisco. He joined our Sinai team in 2018 and has worked in the funeral industry since 2007. He holds a BA in Religious Studies and a MA in Theological Studies and Multicultural Church from Chaminade University of Honolulu.

Roger Meyer
Roger (FDR2384) is a licensed funeral director at our Sinai office in Lafayette. He joined our Sinai team in 2015 and has worked in the funeral industry since 2004. He holds a BA in Management from St. Mary's College of California in Moraga.

Kiet Van
Kiet (FD4037) is a licensed funeral director at our Sinai office in Palo Alto. He joined our Sinai team in 2008. Kiet holds a BA in Business Management Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Rachel Martinez
Rachel is our Cemetery Administrator based primarily at Gan Shalom Cemetery in Briones with additional responsibilities at Home of Eternity Cemetery and Mausoleum and Home of Peace Cemetery in Oakland. Rachel is a Certified Funeral Arranger through the California Funeral Directors Association (CFDA) and holds a cemetery sales license (#4139587) and an advanced preneed funeral sales license (#1200620).
She joined our Sinai team in 2022 after working at Oakmont Memorial Park & Mortuary in Lafayette. Rachel assists families in understanding their options and works with them in purchasing plots, planning burials, and designing memorial markers.

Tom Ottosen
Tom Ottosen is a Funeral Director (FDR2197) and Embalmer (EMB8336). He began his career in Montana, where he was born and raised. He moved to the Bay Area in 1992 and has more than 25 years of experience working in funeral service. Tom earned a B.A. from Sonoma State University and is a graduate of Mid-America College of Funeral Service.

Todd Forbes
Administrative Funeral Director - Sinai Memorial Chapel - Lafayette

ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM

Lisa Matson
Lisa is our office manager at Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma. She joined our Sinai team in 2004. 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.

Annette Bonillas
Annette is an Office Administrator at Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma. Annette supports all our funeral directors by managing the California Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS). Annette joined our Sinai team in 2015.

Lisa Finkelstein
Lisa is the Administrative Manager at our Sinai office in San Francisco. She joined our team in 2018. She holds a BA from the University of Oregon and an MNM from Regis University in Denver.

Nina Trofimov
Nina is our Operations Administrator at our Sinai office in San Francisco. She joined our Sinai team in 2000.

COUNSELING TEAM

Cheryl Bartky
Cheryl is a bereavement counselor serving the East Bay. She joined our Sinai Mourner Care Program team as the coordinator 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 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.

Gloria Saltzman
Gloria is a bereavement counselor serving San Francisco. She joined our Sinai Mourner Care Program team in 2016. She maintains a private practice in San Francisco, and, through the AIDS Health Project and the Women's Cancer Resource Center, provides hospice care and support to those living with chronic illness. She received a B.A. from SUNY Binghamton in English Literature and Women’s Studies, an M.A. in psychology from New College of California, and an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of San Francisco.