Jim is a San Francisco Bay Area native born and raised in San Mateo.  A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, Jim’s commitment to service work began with a three year stint teaching middle school and counseling at-risk youth before moving into the business world.  Jim joined logistics technology company Skyway Systems in Watsonville in 1985 where he worked his way up to Director of Marketing.  After three years, Jim moved into the media industry and served as a general manager for Westar Media where he launched two consumer publications in the Southern California market.

Joining Diablo Publications in 1991, Jim started a marketing and communications services division, DCP, at Diablo and played a key role in the growth of the business over the next nineteen years.  As an equity partner and member of the executive team, Jim’s role at Diablo/DCP expanded over the years to include operational and P&L responsibilities for the business.  Jim also played a key role in developing and consulting with DCP’s board customer base which includes numerous nonprofit and for profit organizations.  He has been a speaker for the American Marketing Association, American Advertising Association, and NYU’s Stern School of Business.  Jim also served on the board, including a stint as President and Chair, of the CPC, the national trade association for custom media.

Jim’s volunteer work has included serving as a trustee of the Soquel/Capitola School Board, Board Chair of the Child & Family Therapy Center, and board member of the East Bay Agency for Children.  He served as captain for the 2009 American Cancer Society Relay for Life company team and has been a long time volunteer and guest speaker for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program.  He is active in Congregational life (Beth El/Berkley), most recently chairing the search committee for the Director of Education and serving on the membership committee.

Joining the Federation team fulfills a long-held desire to focus his energies in the nonprofit sector in the Bay Area.  Jim’s great grandfather, Morris Spiegelman, served two terms as the President of the San Francisco Hebrew Free Loan and joining the Federation to continue a multi-generational commitment to Bay Area Jewish life is particularly gratifying for Jim.

An avid whitewater rafter, Jim also holds advanced SCUBA certification and, at the relatively ripe age of 47, decided to take up downhill skiing.  Jim lives with his wife Nancy, and daughter Bryn in Berkeley.