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Spotlight on...Rafael Mandelman, Class of 1988

Rafael Mandelman attended middle school at Brandeis from 1985 to 1988. After Brandeis, he attended Lick-Wilmerding High School, before heading east to Yale College for his bachelor's degree. Following college, Mandelman attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University for his master's of public policy, before returning back to the Bay Area to attend law school at UC Berkeley. Mandelman is currently a deputy city attorney in the Office of the City Attorney in Oakland and serves as president of the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees. 

What years did you attend Brandeis?
1985-1988 (6th-8th grades)
 
What school did you attend after Brandeis? 
 
Lick-Wilmerding High School
Yale College, B.A.
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, M.P.P.
UC Berkeley School of Law, J.D.
 
What do you currently do? 
 
I am a deputy city attorney in the Oakland City Attorney's office. My practice is focused on real estate transactions and economic development. I am also very involved in local civic/political affairs. I was elected to the City College Board of Trustees in 2012 and currently serve as president of that board. I have been an elected member of San Francisco's Democratic County Central Committee since 2006. I am also chair of the Board of the LGBT Community Center.  
 
What do you remember from your time at Brandeis? 
 
I remember Brandeis being a super warm and nurturing place. I remember really wonderful teachers, some of whom I have been lucky enough to keep as friends in my adult life. I hadn't had much in the way of a Jewish upbringing prior to attending Brandeis, and Brandeis was pretty critical to my developing a sense of my Jewish identity and getting comfortable with Jewish cultural and religious tradition. I will always be grateful for that.  
 
How do you think Brandeis helped shape who you are or or the work you are doing?
 
Being involved in the Jewish community is very important to me, and I directly trace that back to my days at Brandeis. As an adult I have served on the Jewish Community Relations Council and on the New Generations Board of the New Israel Fund, and currently I am a member of the Public Policy Advisory Committee of Jewish Vocational Services. I also think it was probably at Brandeis that I first really began to have an understanding of the imperative of tikkun olam, our obligation to engage in the work of repairing the world, which has definitely been an important influence in defining my life pursuits.  
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