Staff & Board

Lexi Leban joined the Jewish Film Institute as Executive Director in 2011. A longtime member of the Bay Area film community, Leban has over 20 years experience in all aspects of film, from production to distribution to exhibition. Prior to her appointment, she served as the Academic Director of the Digital Filmmaking & Video Production at the Art Institute of California and creator of their Bachelor's degree program. As a documentary filmmaker, Leban has directed award-winning films that focus on women's rights, criminal justice and LGBT issues. Her films have screened widely at festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Her most recent film, Girl Trouble aired nationally on the acclaimed PBS series Independent Lens and an interactive game based on the film debuted at Sundance. She served for 8 years in the marketing and web operation department at New Day Films, a 40 year old filmmaker-run educational distribution company with over 230 award-winning titles. She earned a BA degree in Political Science from Barnard College of Columbia University and an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University.

Jay Rosenblatt is an internationally recognized filmmaker whose work has received many awards. A selection of his films had theatrical runs at the Film Forum in New York and at theaters around the country. Eight of his films have been at the Sundance Film Festival and several of his films have shown on HBO/Cinemax, the Independent Film Channel and the Sundance Channel. Articles about his work have appeared in the Sunday NY Times Arts & Leisure section, the LA Times, the NY Times, Filmmaker magazine and the Village Voice. Jay is a recipient of a Guggenheim, a USA Artists grant and a Rockefeller Fellowship. He has served on numerous festival juries throughout the world including the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and the Tampere Film Festival in Finland. In 2002, he co-produced and curated the 9/11 program "Underground Zero" which was named one of the Ten Best Films in 2002 by the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2005, Jay received the inaugural Freedom of Expression Award from the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.

Jay is originally from New York and has lived in San Francisco for many years. Since 1989, he has taught film at various universities in the Bay Area, including Stanford University, S.F. State University, and the San Francisco Art Institute. He has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and, in a former life, worked as a therapist.

A resident of the Bay Area since 1970, Lori Campbell has over 35 years of nonprofit financial and
management experience. Working closely with Trustees and senior staff, Lori has provided expertise in
areas of strategic planning, budget and finance, board training, fund development, human resource, risk
management and facilities operations.
Her specialties include strategic assessment of organizational financial health, designing and
implementing systems, policies and procedures for financial management, coaching agency leadership
and facilitating board and staff retreats.
Lori has been a member of the Board of the California Association of Nonprofits, the Foundation for
National Progress, the Bay Area Independent Schools Business Officers Association, the National Alliance
on Mental Illness and the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market.
Lori graduated Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley and was a PhD
candidate at the University of Chicago. 
Married with three sons, Lori lives in Westwood Highlands, a sleepy hamlet in the southwest corner of
San Francisco. She tries never to miss Opening Day, and prefers seats on the third base side.

Marcia Jarmel is a long-standing member of the Bay Area documentary filmmaking community. She co-founded PatchWorks Films with husband-collaborator Ken Schneider in 1994 and has been producing, directing, and managing impact for their slate of award-winning films ever since.

Together they’ve produced five feature documentaries and many shorts—the latest, a PBS film nominated for Best Music Documentary by the International Documentary Association and awarded Best Documentary at the Woodstock Film Festival, LOS HERMANOS/THE BROTHERS.

Earlier her THE RETURN OF SARAH'S DAUGHTERS and HAVANA CURVEBALL both premiered at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.

Marcia has been funded  by public broadcasting's Independent Televisions Service (ITVS), Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). Other support has come from the National Endowment for the Arts, and many foundations and private donors. Her work has screened internationally at film festivals, on television, and in museums, libraries, and educational settings.

Additional credits include producing and directing films for the San Francisco World Music Festival, co-editing the Academy-award nominee, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE, and assistant producing the Academy Award nominees BERKELEY IN THE SIXTIES and FREEDOM ON MY MIND.

Marcia has taught both undergrad and graduate film courses at NYU and Chapman University and been honored with residencies with Working Films, the Fledgling Fund, SFFilm, the Kopkind Colony, and BAVC Media Maker. She has served as a juror for the Emmys, BAVC MediaMaker, and many film festivals.  

Information on her work can be found at: www.patchworksfilms.net

Nate Gellman is a communications, branding, and development professional with years of experience in the San Francisco Bay Area's nonprofit arts and Jewish communities. Nate joined JFI as an intern in 2014 for the 34th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and was the Marketing & Communications Manager through 2018. He most recently served as Communications Manager at McEvoy Foundation for the Arts in San Francisco, where he developed public relations and engagement campaigns for McEvoy Arts' interdisciplinary exhibitions and events in the visual arts, film, literature, and performance. During that time Nate served on JFI's Board of Directors before rejoining the organization in 2021 as the Director of Development and Communications. Originally from Los Angeles, Nate graduated from Bard College, NY with a degree in Languages & Literature. When not engaging with JFI's diverse community of filmmakers and film lovers, he can be found attending film screenings, art openings, concerts, or cycling throughout the Bay Area.

Phone: 415.621.0556 x213

Joanne Feinberg brings over 30 years of film production experience, and many thousands of hours of thoughtful film viewing, to her work as an award-winning producer, editor, consultant and film programmer. She served as Director of Programming at the Ashland Independent Film Festival in Oregon for 11 years and was instrumental in creating this nationally recognized and highly respected top regional festival admired by industry, filmmakers, and audiences alike. In 2020 and 2021, Joanne served as the Guest Director of Programming at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, MT. She has programmed for Mountainfilm in Telluride, CO, and serves on many juries and selection committees including the Cinema Eye Honors. She graduated with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a combined degree in Cinema Studies and Film & TV Production. A deep love and understanding of cinema informs all of her endeavors.

A veteran of the filmmaking community in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, Claudia Finkle, brings her
expertise and enthusiasm to the Jewish Film Institute. After graduating from the Art Institute in San Francisco Claudia went on to edit over 20 feature length narrative and documentary films. Claudia has served on the Board of American Cinema Editors and Women In Film. When not watching films you will find Claudia dancing to the beat of the clave in Cuban music.

Have a question or comment and not sure who to reach? Contact the main office number or email and we will direct you to the appropriate staff member.