DIRECTOR cpenrose@makomshalom.org

Christina Penrose has spent over 20 years creating and developing arts and environmental education programs in nonprofit organizations. She holds a master’s degree in Music Education for Social Change. This focus was steered by her passion for environmental and social justice and her deep longing for a cultural turning.  She is always looking for ways to break down barriers and create transcendent community experiences. Christina is dedicated to building community. She is also devoted to her own growth and evolution as she strives to offer her best self to the world around her. She plays clarinet, enjoys being outside, connecting with the land and with her children, and she lives in co-housing in Sebastopol. Her own Jewish journey began shortly after she became a mother in West Sonoma County.

FOUNDING RABBI zelig@makomshalom.org

Driven to support spiritually alive community rooted in Judaism and nature, Zelig is a ritualist, mentor, and teacher aiming to coalesce West Sonoma County Jewish community that awakens souls, weaves relationships, and provides mutual support in changing times.

Zelig cofounded and worked with Wilderness Torah from 2007-2025 to awaken earth based Judaism and experiment with multigenerational village building. Zelig was ordained Maggid by Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi ztz”l, Rabbi and Mashpiah Ruchani (‘spiritual director’) by ALEPH, and received his Masters in Jewish studies at the Graduate.

Learn more about his teachings and lifecycle, mentoring, and rabbi-in-service offerings at Regenerative Rabbinics.

CULTURAL ADVISOR AND COMMITTEE MEMBER

Rachel (Ra-hel) Ruach Golden is a ceremonialist and cultural midwife who is dedicated to regenerating resilient culture. She is the Founder of Tree of Life supporting women’s adulthood initiation for over 15 years.

Currently she offer Spiritual Mentoring and Somatic Experiencing Counseling, private Sacred Fire Ceremonies, and trainings on the cutting edge of ceremony and initiation work. You can learn more about her story and offerings at Tree of Life.

She has the honor of raising her three children with her husband, Zelig Ruach Golden, in the land where she was born and raised of Occidental, California.

FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER (CHAIR)

Joseph Green moved to Occidental with his family because of a calling to live in Jewish village. He yearns to feel deeply known and to pray with beloveds in Jewish community and to be held spiritually accountable in community. 

Joseph grew up in Santa Monica at Leo Beck Temple, where he found community and strong values of tikkun olam. He had his first spiritual experiences at Burning Man assisted by psychedelics, which sent him exploring spirituality through many retreats like meditation, ayahuasca, Landmark Forum, and eventually back to Judaism through meditating with Or Halev and praying with Wilderness Torah. 

Joseph had a career creating social movements, including building software to enable democratic action at Causes and NationBuilder, working to pass comprehensive immigration reform through FWD.us, and enabling legal access to Psychedelics with PSFC and MAPS.

FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER

Yael was born and raised in Marin County and now makes her home in Sebastopol. She comes from both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish backgrounds, with family roots in Morocco and Eastern Europe.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Development from the University of California, Davis, a field of study that deepened her appreciation for the ways people grow, connect, and build meaningful relationships. That perspective continues to shape her commitment to fostering community locally.

She loves her work as a Realtor in Sonoma County, where she helps people find their way home in every sense of the word. She and her husband are raising two bright boys, proudly embracing Jewish traditions in their home. She enjoys traveling, spending time in the wild, and exploring creative artistic outlets.

A strong connection to Judaism has been woven throughout her life, and she is honored to bring that heritage into the founding of Makom Shalom.

FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER

Lauren Gold Ohlsen is an educator and artist and currently teaches handwork at a charter school in Sebastopol. She has been a teacher her entire adult life and holds a Multiple Subject and Single Subject CA Teaching Credential since 2002. 

She grew up in a large Jewish community on the East Coast, and her Jewish values of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) continue to guide her life and work. Lauren has a lifelong passion for caring for and tending to the earth, and she co-owns Permaculture Artisans with her husband.

Since 2001, she has made her home in West Sonoma County, where she lives with her husband and two children in a permaculture food forest garden. Jewish culture, earth based traditions and community are central to her life, and she is deeply excited to be on the board of Makom Shalom.

FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER (TREASURER)

Simcha (he/him) is thrilled to be on the founding board of Makom Shalom.  Simcha has lived in Sebastopol since the fall of 2019, and serves as the Regional Development Director for Repair the World. He is a passionate Jewish leader with 23 years of experience in education, community building and executive nonprofit leadership. He co-founded and directed the Jewish Farm School, directed programs for Hazon Inc, American Jewish World Service, Teva Learning Center, and Eden Village Camp. Simcha is an ordained Chaplain by The Chaplaincy Institute, worked as a Chaplain and Director & Founder of Camp Heart for Vitas Healthcare. He was the former Director of Development for Wilderness Torah. Simcha, originally from Chicago, loves West County and lives with his wife, Jen Myzel and their two children, Emet Tzion and Lilah.

FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER (SECRETARY)

Zeb was raised in a bohemian Jewish household in the San Francisco Bay Area with a deep connection to his Jewish roots and an appreciation for the Pacific Coast. His career journey began in education, community building, and non-profit leadership. Currently, he serves as an attorney at a national law firm, where he guides companies and Indian tribes through the regulatory and transactional aspects of establishing and operating communications networks.

Zeb is honored to leverage his professional expertise and passion for the land to build and nurture a thriving, cohesive, and vibrant Jewish community in West Sonoma County. He resides  in Sebastopol, where he enjoys tending land with his wife and their two children.