Executive Bios
Jeffrey Paul, Board President
A longtime board member of JVS, Jeffrey Paul was first introduced to the agency by fellow board members Salli and Bernie Harris, and initially became involved with JVS’ services for people with disabilities. That eventually led to a position on the Board of Directors for Community Care at Home, a non-profit home health care agency, as well as the chairmanship of the Business Enterprise Committee.
Said Paul, “My first assignment with JVS was viewing business plans submitted to the Department of Rehabilitation by people that wanted to start their own businesses in order to be self-sufficient. Ten years later, we’ve approved many plans, counseled people with disabilities, and changed many lives for the better.”
Paul has earned his business expertise through numerous ventures, including Fashion Square Car Wash and from his involvement with the UCLA Business Economics Council. He and his wife Nancy reside in Malibu.
Vivian Seigel, Chief Executive Officer
According to JVS’ CEO Vivian Seigel: “Helping people gain work skills and find good jobs enables them to ultimately achieve all of their own dreams.” With that philosophy in mind, Vivian Seigel has continually looked for ways to expand JVS’ services to more people in Los Angeles, from downsized career professionals to at-risk students to people with disabilities.
She came to JVS in 1977 as a career counselor, when the agency had less than a 1,000 clients. When she took over as CEO in 1996, the agency had only 5,000 clients and a budget of just over a million. Today, she oversees one of the largest non-profit career-counseling organizations in the state, with nearly 30,000 clients, 18 locations and a budget of 12 million.
Seigel has also worked with numerous state and county agencies to address shortfalls in services to people with special needs, including co-authoring a bill to provide funding for employment services to individuals, allowing them to enter the workplace instead of relying on government support. JVS operates three WorkSource Centers – one in the mid-Wilshire area, one in Antelope Valley and the other in Marina del Rey. She has also spearheaded JVS’ expansion of its business and career services division due to the increasing numbers of unemployed professionals and businesses needing to streamline their hiring processes.
Vivian Seigel served as president of the International Association of JVS from 2001 to 2003, working with the 28 affiliated agencies across the United States, Canada, Israel and South America. She has also reached out to the community, forming successful partnerships with agencies like the California State Department of Rehabilitation to provide job-services to people with disabilities and individuals looking to start their own businesses; with Beit T’Shuvah, to help people struggling with homelessness and drug addiction get their lives and careers back on track. In 1995, she established an award-winning program with Marriott Corporation, which prepared economically disadvantaged workers for jobs in the hospitality industry.
She also took the non-profit world in a new direction with the launch of Community Care at Home, a business that provides in-home nursing care that grew out of JVS initiative that provided nursing training to people on welfare. Said Seigel, “The way of the future, for a non-profit to survive in today’s competitive market, is to act and think like a business, and find new ways to support their social service work without relying solely on private donations and foundation support.”
In an era where most people have six to eight career and company changes, Vivian Seigel has been with JVS for over 30 years, helping people achieve independence and stability through work. When JVS celebrated its 75 anniversary in 2005, the agency was commended by Senator Dianne Feinstein, who stated, “Your exceptional work exemplifies how one organization can make a profound difference in the lives of many.”
Claudia Finkel, Chief Operating Officer
An opinion leader in the field of career development who has worked with numerous non-profit and for-profit boards as well as Los Angeles County and the State of California, including the Workforce Investment Board, Claudia Finkel is Chief Operating Officer at JVS, a non-profit, non-sectarian organization helping more than 24,000 people each year with employment and career related services.
Her leadership has helped JVS grow to a twelve million dollar organization with a staff of hundreds. She is the executive in charge of all staff and agency services including programs that help place refugees and immigrants and welfare to work recipients in Certified Nurse Assistant training, programs that help train the disabled for careers in the food service industry, and programs that help at-risk students, including foster and emancipated youth, land their first job. Finkel is also responsible for securing funding for these services, meeting with state and county representatives, lobbying Sacramento and developing new programs to meet the needs of Los Angeles’ ever-changing population. She is also responsible for the oversight of three L.A. based WorkSource Centers, which have a 78% to 88% placement rate, well above average.
She has also made a difference in the lives of countless women through JVS’ innovative WoMentoring program. A concept created by Finkel, WoMentoring reaches out to disadvantaged, in-transition women in Los Angeles to help them successfully enter the workforce. The program is an ideal example of her ability to identify a problem and develop a unique solution that gets both businesses and communities involved. Participants include single mothers, women on welfare, recent divorcees and professionals from organizations like Union Bank, the Los Angeles City Council and more. She has also helped initiate innovative training programs in banking and healthcare.
Nationally licensed as both a counselor and career counselor by the National Board of Certified Counselors, Finkel is also a Registered Career Counselor. She is the past president of the California Career Development Association and on the executive board of the International Career Development Conference.
About JVS
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If your business is facing layoffs or closure, JVS' Rapid Response team can help!
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Whether you're looking for a job or needing to fill one, JVS' online job bank ParnossahWorksLA.org is free to job seekers and employers alike!
