About Us

Staff

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Samuel J. Salkin
Sam (FDR3371) is the Executive Director 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.

Daniel Villa
Daniel (FD262) is the General Manager of Sinai. He joined our Sinai team in 2017. He has 30+ years of nonprofit leadership experience in all levels of Cemetery Management. He holds an MBA from Pepperdine University, Bachelor of Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and a certification from the International Cemetery Crematory Funeral Association (ICCFA).

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.

Sharon Brusman
Sharon (FDR4186) is the managing funeral director at our Sinai office in the East Bay. Sharon graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with an MPH. She joined our Sinai team in 2014. She is co-chair of the Chevra Kadisha at Congregation Kol Shofar.

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

Raymond Soudah
Raymond (FDR4202) is a licensed funeral director at our Sinai offices in San Francisco with additional responsibilities at Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma. Raymond is a licensed Advanced Funeral Insurance Salesperson (#1061468). He joined our Sinai team in 2018 after working at Fernwood Cemetery and Funeral Home in Mill Valley, San Francisco Medical Examiner Coroner’s Office and Chapel of the Chimes in Hayward.

Josh Alpert
Josh (FDR3582) is a licensed funeral director at our Sinai office in San Francisco. 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.

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.

Cara Walden
Cara Walden (4090683 NGL-1067957) Cara joined our Sinai team in 2020 as our licensed pre-need counselor. She holds a BA from Hobart and William Smith as well as a Masters Degree in International Development from Concordia University. Her commitment to the community and serving others is demonstrated through her time in the Peace Corps and volunteering for the Young Adult Leadership Committee of Congregation Emanu-El.

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.

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 our Office Manager based primarily at our Sinai office in Palo Alto with additional responsibilities at our offices in San Francisco and Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma. Annette supports all of our funeral directors by managing the California Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS). Annette joined our Sinai team in 2015 after working at Valente Marini Perata & Co. Funeral Home.

Cathie Cline Sheldon
Cathie is our cemetery counselor at Gan Shalom Cemetery in Briones. She joined our Sinai team in 2006. She assists families in understanding their options and works with them in purchasing plots, planning burials, and designing memorial markers.

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.

Jerry Gonzalez
Jerry is our Facilities Operator at our Sinai office in San Francisco. He joined our Sinai team in 2015.

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.

Debra Melmon
Debra is a bereavement counselor serving the North Bay. She joined our Sinai Mourner Care Program team in 2005. She maintains a private practice in in Psychotherapy and Counseling in the North Bay based in Sebastopol. She holds a BS in Agronomy from the University of California, Davis, an MA & MFT in Holistic Psychology from John F. Kennedy University.