About Howard

Howard's fascination with rituals started in junior high. He recalls sitting on a bench across the street from the church in the center of his hometown, excitingly anticipating a bride and groom’s joyous exit out the double doors, surrounded by their cheering family and friends.

Fast forward to 2008 when the California Supreme Court legalized same sex marriages. Couples were flocking to San Francisco to be legally married. He was honored to help make history in declaring couples' legal vows. Howard is ordained as both a nondenominational reverend, and Rabbi. Whether religious, spiritual or secular wedding, Howard gets choked up at each and every one he officiates.

Howard is also an active philanthropist serving in elected leadership positions with a variety of non-profit boards. Howard has served as President of Brandeis Hillel Day School; as a Board member of the Jewish Community Federation (JCF), a Board Chair of JCF’s LGBT Alliance and Board Secretary of Jewish Family and Children’s Services. He has volunteered with a number of other organizations (all in an officer capacity), primarily those serving either the Jewish or gay communities.

Howard completed the prestigious two-year Wexner Heritage Foundation study program and received the 2000 Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for outstanding young leadership.

He earned his B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his M.B.A. from Harvard University. He also studied Austrian architecture while in Salzburg for a college semester abroad and learned about construction processes at M.I.T.

All his friends know that he is addicted to chocolate chip cookies. Only some know that his favorite color is orange.