President
Dr. Michelle Green Willner
Artistic and Musical Director of the Jewish Community Children’s Choir
Michelle Green Willner is a composer who has been commissioned and performed internationally by various ensembles, choirs and symphonies. She has written many Jewish works based on Jewish themes, history or texts. She thrives on artistic collaborations and her multi-disciplinary works have been performed most recently at the Museum of Tolerance, Art LA Contemporary, other art installations, and alongside Doni Silver Simons, at the 2019 Jerusalem Biennale.
Dr. Green Willner’s awards include eight ASCAP Special Awards, two ASCAP Foundation Grants to Young Composers, Brian M. Israel Prize, SOCAN’s Serge Garant Award, Shalshelet’s 6th Int’l Festival, and The Bruce Geller Memorial Prize. Fellowships include: June in Buffalo, the Wellesley Composers Conference, ASCAP/Fred Karlin Film Scoring Workshop, Mellon Foundation (Columbia University) the President’s Fellow (Columbia University), the Creative Inquiry Fellow (2016 & 2017), and the Max Helfman Fellowship.
Dr. Green Willner received her B.M. degree from the University of Toronto and her M.A. and D.M.A. degrees from Columbia University, New York. She has been directing choral groups in Los Angeles since 1999, and for the past nine years, she has directed the LA Jewish Community Children’s Choir—which is a LA Department of Cultural Affairs Awardee as well as a LA County Arts Grantee.
She has also created an adult series titled,”Every Song Tells a Story” at the LA Jewish Community Sing, where midrashic sources, personal stories, and the hi-stories behind oldies but goodies and contemporary Jewish/Israeli songs are explored alongside the backdrop of a jazz trio.
But more than this, Michelle Green Willner is most proud of raising her four wonderful sons alongside her husband, Alan.
For more information, please visit Michelle’s website at www.michellegreenwillner.com
Treasurer
Sandra Kapin
As the owner/broker of Allure Real Estate, Ms. Kapin handles all the day-to-day tasks of selling, upgrading, and managing real estate properties. She has served on the boards of homeowners’ associations, trade organizations, and arts organizations, such as the Hollywood Master Chorale since 2009. She assists with grant writing and publicity.
Ms. Kapin first met and sang with Dr. Willner in 1999, when she was the Music Director of Mit Gezang Yiddish Chorus.
Director
Sabrina Balter MS
Nutritionist Fitness Consultant
Mrs. Balter enjoys working among children and their parents. She views the JCCC as a wonderful opportunity for Jewish children of all backgrounds to work together to bring joy to the world around them. With experience as a board member of a number of different nonprofit organizations, Mrs. Balter’s enthusiasm for the JCCC and her PR skills will spread the word and bring more children into this wonderful choir.
Director
Sharon Gillerman, PhD
Sharon Gillerman is Associate Professor of Jewish History at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and she also teaches in the Louchheim School for Judaic Studies at USC. In addition, she has been a visiting professor at Brandeis University, UCLA, the University of Hamburg, and Harvard University. Her daughter, Maya, has been joyfully singing with the JCCC for the past two years.
Director
Mrs. Allison Sostchen, MA, MS General Studies Principal
Since 2012, Mrs. Sostchen has enhanced the general studies faculty and curriculum at Gindi Maimonides Academy to ensure that all students are afforded a premiere 21st century education. Mrs. Sostchen continues to develop the leadership capacity within each faculty member, and is a wonderful role model for professional development and focus. She has worked in the field of education as a teacher and administrator for the past twenty five years. Aside from a B.A. from U.C.L.A. in Anthropology, and a DLAP specialization, Mrs. Sostchen graduated summa cum laude from Pepperdine University with an M.A. in Education as well as graduating summa cum laude from California State University Northridge with an M.A. in Educational-Administration-Educational Leadership & Policy Studies. Mrs. Sostchen’s extensive credentials include California Clear Teaching K-9 and California Clear Professional Level Administration.
Mrs. Sostchen is proud to be a part of the JCCC. As a JCCC mother and Board Member she believes that the JCCC provides a unique opportunity for Jewish children and families to join together to share their culture and religion through the beauty of music.
Director
Malka Schulweis
The JCCC was founded by Rabbi H Schulweis, and Mrs. Schulweis felt compelled to become a part of the organization upon his passing, to assure that his legacy continued on.
Advisor
Sylvia Bernstein-Tregub
The JCCC is privileged to have Mrs. Bernstein-Tregub as an Advisor. She is currently a board member of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, Advisor to the board at Schulweis Institute, Director of College Relations and Planning for the Hebrew Union College, Coordinator of the Life Line Program at Cedar Sinai Medical Center, Executive Director of the National Institute for Jewish Hospice Community, Relations Director of the Skirball Cultural Center. In the past she was President of the Valley Beth Shalom Sisterhood, and she was instrumental in establishing the Heschel Day School.
Advisor
Elaine Gill
Born and raised in LA, Elaine Gill is a graduate of UCLA. She and her husband, David, are the parents of four sons and grandparents of seven. Elaine has had a lifelong involvement in music and in the Jewish community. Since its foundation, she has been vice-chairman and an essential force in the Jewish Music Commission of Los Angeles. A past president of Valley Beth Shalom, she has also served on the boards of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, American Jewish University, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Federation Council, and is currently president of UCLA Hillel.
Advisor
Zane Averbach, Esq.
Goldfarb, Sturman & Averbach
The Los Angeles Jewish Community Children's Choir 