Executive Director
Brooke Wirtschafter
Brooke has been a member of our Jewish Action for LA Board and a leader in our work from the start. For the last nine years she served as the Director of Community Organizing at IKAR, developing teams of volunteer leaders, cultivating relationships with local Jewish, labor, nonprofit, and multi-faith organizing partners and elected officials, as well as national Jewish justice organizers. At IKAR, Brooke worked with clergy and lay leaders to advocate at the local, state and national levels on immigrants’ rights, criminal legal system reform, climate action, homelessness, and affordable housing.
Brooke currently serves on the boards of LA Voice, a Los Angeles countywide multifaith justice and advocacy organization and of Sympara, a faith-based civic place-making nonprofit. She has been a member of the City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, a NewGround Fellow, and a JOIN for Justice community organizing course instructor. She holds a B.A. from Barnard College and an M.A. from San Francisco State University in History. Her undergraduate thesis was about Jewish women in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century organizing a boycott when the price of chicken got too high for them to afford. They fought and won! She’s been interested in grassroots Jewish organizing ever since.
Brooke lives in the West Valley with her husband, Jonathan, and is happy to have raised three kids who are now adults in LA.
Board of Directors
Sara Harris
Sara Harris is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Genesis LA, a nonprofit loan fund that finances and supports equitable, community-driven development projects across LA County.
Prior to joining Genesis LA, Sara was the Economic and Community Development Policy Deputy for LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. Her work focused on strengthening tenant protections, increasing affordable housing investments, and supporting street vendors and small businesses in LA County’s Second District. Sara was previously a consultant for the Bridgespan Group, collaborating with nonprofit and philanthropy clients to develop impactful strategies and operating models.
Sara holds a BA from Dartmouth College. She is on the board of the Community Ownership for Community Power Fund, a community-governed fund supporting the acquisition of land and housing by community ownership organizations across California. She is also on the board of Office of People, an LA-based urban planning and policy non-profit. She lives in Echo Park with her partner.
David Levitus
David Levitus is the Founder and Executive Director of LA Forward, which works to practice democracy locally and make Los Angeles County a fair, flourishing place for everyone. He holds a Ph.D. in History from USC, with a focus on American politics, local government, and metropolitan development, and a B.A. from NYU where he majored in History and Economics. David is a board member with LA Voice Action and is a graduate of Coro Lead LA. He lives with his wife and two kids in Sawtelle, where he spent two years on the West LA Neighborhood Council. He comes from a long line of Jews who gave a damn about dignity for every human being and made sure they did something about it.
Yael Maizel
Yael Maizel works for Movement Voter Project. She has spent her career working on democracy and human rights through a Jewish lens. Most recently, she served as West Coast Director at J Street, where she led the congressional advocacy, candidate engagement, organizing, and fundraising strategy across the region. Earlier in her career, Yael lived in Israel and worked with a number of social justice organizations, including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. She is a graduate of the New Leaders Council Fellowship, the JOIN for Justice, and the NIF/Shatil Social Justice Fellowship. She lives in Beverly Grove with her husband and two kids.
Kate Pynoos
Kate Pynoos serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez. In her current role, she oversees the legislative, housing and homelessness teams for the Councilmember. She has worked to pass an increase in the City’s Living Wage, which will bring LAX and hotel workers’ wages to $30 per hour by 2028. She led the office’s efforts to pass the Sanctuary City Ordinance, preventing any city resources from being used to support immigration enforcement. She has also worked to advance fast food workers’ rights and crack down on wage theft.
Kate is a third generation Angeleno living with her husband David and daughter Jo in Hollywood. She holds a BA from Barnard College and a JD from UCLA School of Law.
Emma Taylor
Emma Taylor is Deputy Director of Outreach for the California State Assembly Democratic Office of Communications. She previously spent 5 years at the State Assembly; first as a Field Representative, and then District Director for Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian in the Southeastern San Fernando Valley, and then spent 3.5 years leading Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman's field team. Emma has lead teams known for their exceptional customer and constituent services, successful strategic outreach and deep relationships in their districts and beyond. With over 8 years of field work, Emma is thrilled to be able to use that experience to help all 60 members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus. Previous to her time in government, Emma was Research Assistant to retired State Senator and activist Tom Hayden until his death in 2016. Hayden’s 18 years in the California Legislature inspired Emma’s service to California.
Emma hails from Cleveland, Ohio and earned her BA in History from the Ohio State University before moving to Los Angeles in 2012, and relocating to Sacramento in 2025. She loves to find connections with other Ohio transplants across California and is passionate about supporting independent bookstores, local journalism, and media literacy for our youth.