Join us in our mission to extend hope, dignity, and compassion.
Kindness Initiative will be closed Friday September 11 in observance of Rosh Hashanah. Shana Tova! , Join us in our mission to extend hope dignity and compassion. , If this is an emergency please call 911. For all non-emergency inquires please call (858) 216 - 1666.
Team

Meet Our Leadership

Meet Our Team

Leadership & Staff

At Kindness Initiative, our team is here to ensure that no Jewish individual or family in San Diego faces hardship alone. With dignity, compassion, and a personalized concierge approach, our case managers, administrative professionals, and outreach staff work together each day to provide hands-on support, connect members to essential resources, and strengthen our community through kindness in action.

For general inquiries, please contact [email protected]
To contact a specific staff member, please call (858) 216-1666, followed by their extension.

Our Governance

Kindness Initiative is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, guided by a volunteer Board of Directors and supported by dedicated committees and advisors who help steward our mission with integrity and care.
Board of Directors
  • Selwyn Isakow, Founder and Chairman
  • Simone Abelsohn
  • Bruce Abrams
  • Alan Binder
  • Dr. Paul Hyde
  • Dr. Suzanne Marcus
  • Susan Monk
  • Sari Rudy
  • Sarah Shekhter
  • Jack Shevel
  • Brad Slavin
Board Committee Advisors
  • Barry Entous, Finance & Strategy
  • Blake Thompson, Real Estate
  • Rabbi Simcha Weiser
Women’s Committee Chair
  • Sari Rudy
Men’s Committee Chair
  • Jeff Schwartz

Personal Dignity at Kindness Initiative

At Kindness Initiative, personal dignity means recognizing and reinforcing the inherent worth, individuality, and potential of every person we serve. Poverty, crisis, homelessness, or dependence on others can gradually erode confidence, independence, and a person’s belief in their own ability to move forward. We therefore seek not merely to provide assistance, but to restore a sense of agency, self-respect, hope, and control. Members and Clients are treated as individuals with strengths, preferences, choices, and aspirations not as problems to be solved or recipients of charity. Through respectful relationships, personalized support, meaningful choice, and opportunities to participate in their own path forward, we strive to ensure that every interaction communicates: you matter, your voice matters, you are capable, and your circumstances do not define your worth. Ultimately, dignity is restored when a person begins to see themselves not through the lens of what they lack or what has happened to them, but with renewed confidence in who they are and what they can become.

At Kindness Initiative, restoring personal dignity is not only an important outcome in itself; it is also an essential step toward rebuilding the confidence, agency, and sense of possibility that enable Members to actively participate in the tasks and decisions necessary to achieve their individually defined and aspirational goals.

Terms & Conditions

Kindness Initiative Member Etiquette Policy Statement

Just as we expect our staff, volunteers, and service provider organizations to abide by basic civil interpersonal behavior consistent with Jewish values, we expect our Members to:

  • Be courteous, polite, and respectful to all service provider staff and volunteers.
  • Assist yourself wherever possible in attaining emergency and self-sufficiency plans.
  • Offer warm and sincere greeting; be prompt in responding to calls, e-mails, or correspondence; and be on time for all appointments.
  • Try not to become frustrated with disappointing performance of service providers. You have an opportunity to reflect your concerns in the website post-event survey.
  • Always exhibit the highest levels of personal hygiene.
  • Take responsibility for your own safety.
  • Don't talk about others in a negative or hurtful way (Lashon Hara).
  • Be kind to others. You are a Member of the Kindness Initiative.

Not adhering to any of the above repeatedly may result in termination of membership privileges.

Other Jewish Values KINDNESS INITIATIVE Encourages Include:

  • Taking responsibility to participate actively in the local Jewish community, both as an expression of good citizenship and as a model for others.
  • Continuing to expand your Jewish understanding and knowledge.
  • Always acting ethically.
  • Supporting the unique relationship between Israel and the Jewish Diaspora.
  • Being an exemplary ambassador for yourself, your family, and the Jewish people through your actions.