Heather moved to Hawai`i from California with her husband in 2016 and joined the KBS board in 2024. A retired Registered Nurse, Heather is a prolific author who writes fiction and non-fiction for adults and books for young readers. When not writing, she enjoys volunteering at the Pana`ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens in Hilo and being a mentor for cochlear implant recipients. She keeps active by hiking and cycling. Her latest pursuit is learning Hebrew.
Vic graduated high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. After two years of college he ended up in Southwest Oregon working as a carpenter and doing some commercial fishing. Vic next headed to Juneau, Alaska where he did commercial fishing and carpentry. In winter 1986 he came to Kona to work on the Hyatt Hotel (previously Hilton) in Waikoloa. Vic got his Hawai`i Contractors License and did a variety of construction projects – specializing in concrete work – from 1990-2014. Now retired, he always provides invaluable support to KBS events and projects.
Born in Chicago and raised in a kosher home that celebrated all the Jewish holidays, I attended Hebrew school, and was bar mitzvahed 1n 1960. I dropped out of college my senior year to join a radical street theatre troupe that toured the country and even performed at Woodstock. After that Berkeley Street Theatre Company, I began a journey that took me, in 1970, here to Hawai`i, where I launched my 46-year career as a real estate Broker.
I am married with four children and seven grandchildren. For fun, I own an organic farm, perform magic shows (including Chanukah and Purim parties for KBS), create watercolors, and sit on the Board of The Society For Kona Education and Arts (SKEA), of which I am a founding member. In 2025 I designed and initiated the creation of a Jewish Peace Monument at Paliaku Gardens. I would like to assist the congregation in finding a permanent home.
Una has lived in Captain Cook for more than 40 years. She is an organic coffee, chocolate and mac nut farmer. An accountant who worked in the non-profit world for 15 years, she loves gardening, cooking, environmental activism, dance and quilting. She is the mother of two grown daughters, one of whom resides in the S.F. Bay Area, and the other moved to Hawai`i Island in 2026. Una has three grandsons and is married to Leon Rosner, one of the original members at the founding of Kona Beth Shalom. She was president of the KBS board 2012-2016 and resumed the leadership role from January 2018 to September 2019. In 2026 she took on her current role as congregation treasurer.
Nella joined the KBS board in 2015 and has been secretary since 2016. She and husband Alan retired and moved to Kona with their daughter, Rachel, and her family in 2013. Nella worked at UCLA Hospital Labs for the last 15 years of her employment. She continues her medical connection as a volunteer at the Kona Community Hospital Auxiliary. Looking for Jewish outreach, Nella and Alan enjoy the Shabbat services and warm atmosphere of KBS.
R. Shari and her partner, Alice Bratton, relocated to Kona from Tokyo in 1998. A Chicago native, Shari has spent most of her life with an affiliation to Judaism, a bond strengthened in 2004 when she studied for her adult Bat Mitzvah. A lifelong lover of languages, the melodies to chant the words of the Torah spoke to her. R. Shari trained a number of KBS b’nei mitzvah students and served as president of Kona Beth Shalom for five years. In 2012 she took a position as Associate Professor at the national university in Hirosaki, a small castle town in Japan. In 2022 she was ordained after completing rabbinic studies. R. Shari’s goal is to create a community atmosphere that engages congregants to participate in, understand, and reap the full rewards of Jewish tradition and ritual.
Born in Brooklyn and moving west throughout his life, Barry is an orthopedic surgeon (professionally) and a musician (amateur). He and his wife, Gloria, joined KBS shortly after arriving in Kona from Northern California in 1986. Several years later he began his service on the Board, eventually became president. When the opportunity was offered to rejoin the congregation leadership, Barry accepted. For 13 years, until his first retirement as president, Barry led many of the Shabbat services and still occasionally fills that role for Shabbats, Simchat Torah and other observances. His and Gloria’s main interest is to make KBS more attractive with interesting programs and discussions, and to enhance communication between members. Meanwhile the couple organized and continue to lead Kona’s Traveling Jewish Wedding Band and have become dual wedding officiants.
A KBS board member since 2012, Elaine has served as secretary and in 2016 she led the construction of a new website for KBS, also serving as co-webmaster. Before retiring, Elaine worked for many years at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California for many years. She and husband Paul now live in Holualoa. An avid swimmer and snorkeler, Elaine loves to swim out in Kailua Bay to the King buoy, where she frequently is accompanied by dolphins. She joined KBS to connect with other Jews on the island, and likes the warm, friendly and joyful atmosphere it provides. In addition to serving on the KBS board, Elaine has volunteered at the Waimea headquarters for the Keck telescopes.
Living in Hawai`i since his 1996 retirement from the practice of law, Joel has served on many community boards, including those of Kona Beth Shalom, the Aloha Performing Arts Company, Habitat For Humanity, the West Hawaii Regional Hospitals, the Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra Society, the Pualani Estates Homeowners Association, and the Kona Orchid Society. He has also been a member of the Hawaii County Cost of Government Commission, Board of Ethics, and Board of Appeals. Joel has continued his musical pursuits, playing with the Kamuela Philharmonic, performing in solo and chamber music recitals, and as a member of Kona’s Traveling Jewish Wedding Band. He has also served as Music Director for Aloha Performing Arts Company productions, including “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Evita,” “South Pacific,” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Courtney grew up in the big city of Houston, Texas. After getting a Bachelors in Fine Art at the Kansas City Art Institute, she migrated to Kona in 2010. This sunny island and its aloha taught Courtney the importance of community.
She currently works as a ceramic artist, focusing on sculptures that tell stories. Courtney finds inspiration in children stories and the natural world. She appreciates when things seem simple but are actually complex.
Courtney was a teacher in a variety of subjects and ages for more than 15 years. In addition she enjoys cooking, gardening, and swimming
Craig moved to Kailua-Kona in early 2025. He and wife Trish Silverman have two adult sons, Benjamin and Samuel. Craig grew up in Denver, Colorado, where he attended Denver Public Schools, graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs with a political science degree, and earned his law degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Craig worked for 16 years in the Denver District Attorney’s Office, where he became a Chief Deputy D.A. He entered private practice in 1996 and remains an active lawyer in Colorado. Craig also worked in the media, as news columnist, legal analyst, and talkshow host on TV and radio.
Raised by an outstanding attorney father who started Orthodox and a great mother who was Reformed, Craig is a third-generation Denverite and attorney. Craig and Trish were married at Beth Joseph Synagogue in Denver, the traditional synagogue where Craig had his Bar Mitzvah. The congregation has since merged with Beth Hamidrash Hagadol, where, coincidentally, Alan and Nella Silverman (no relation) were married. Craig likes dogs, golf, and beaches, but he dislikes snow.
Alan moved with Nella from Southern California to Kona in 2013 to live close to their daughter Rachel’s family, especially granddaughter Ridley. They also have an adult son, Sam, who lives in Southern California. Alan retired after 50+ years in radio broadcasting: anchoring and producing programs, reporting news and covering events from space shuttle launches to backstage at the Oscar ceremonies for local stations in the US, worldwide on Voice of America and internationally to audiences in South Africa, Ireland, Israel and other countries. Since moving to Hawai`i, Alan learned to bake bagels and challah. WebMaven for the KBS website, he provides technical support at services and various online activities.