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Leadership and Board

President

Sol Ortasse

Sol Ortasse may hold the record for most years on Mishkon’s Board of Directors. He served in the 1990s, then returned in 2016 as Treasurer, which office he held until his election as President this year.

He and his wife, Marleen Urbaitis, became members of Mishkon in 1992 when their daughter, Alexandra, enrolled in the Preschool at Mishkon — and they’ve remained active in the community ever since. Over the years, Sol has helped organize key community events, including Casino Night, annual galas, and Mishkon’s 100th Anniversary tribute book, while Marleen is famous these days for the delicious kiddushim she makes for us.

Sol brings a background in sales and marketing to his current job in business development for an international hotel consulting and development firm.

Family, Jewish tradition, and Israel are central to Sol’s life. He lived in Israel for three years during high school, and Alexandra followed a strong Jewish educational path: beginning at Mishkon’s preschool, continuing through Sinai Temple’s day school, attending Young Judaea summer camp, spending her post high-school year in Israel, and ultimately graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder. Though she now lives in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she returns home regularly to celebrate Jewish holidays.

A lifelong Dodgers fan, a UCLA Bruin, and a classic film buff, Sol also enjoys travel and genealogy, tracing his Sephardic and Ashkenazi roots. His dedication to Jewish learning and community was inspired by his father — a Sudan-born aeronautical engineer and Jewish educator — whose family made Aliyah to then-British Palestine in 1935. That legacy of commitment to Jewish values and education continues to guide Sol’s leadership and connection to Mishkon today.

Sol can be reached at president @mishkon.org.

Executive Committee Officers

Andy Bender
Vice President