About the Excelsior German Center

The Excelsior German Center

The Excelsior German Center (EGC) at the Altenheim in Oakland is known throughout the larger San Francisco Bay Area, and beyond, for our support of the German culture, German language education, and senior well being. Despite being a relatively small organization, with approximately 140 members, we offer and support a large variety of programs.

The EGC and its predecessor, the Altenheim Association, celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2020, and we are proud to contribute to the continuation of our German-rooted culture in many ways. The beautiful Altenheim is a historic landmark building as well as an affordable housing, independent living facility for seniors. German-speaking clubs meet in our building; we visit each other for concerts and other events. German language students assist us as volunteers when we organize our events. EGC supports the German language education including financial assistance for the German Immersion Day, and it sponsors the Berlin and Beyond Film Festival, a Goethe Institute event. The German community in the Bay Area is strong and diverse, and the EGC is honored to be a part of it. Please, feel free to explore all what we have to offer in culinary, artistic, historic, and educational aspects of our lives.

Organization structure

The Excelsior German Center is run by a Board of Directors, nine members who are each at least for 3 years in the EGC and who are elected to serve on the board for two years. At present, the following persons are serving on the EGC Board of Directors:

     Petra Specht, President​
     Petra Kubler, Vice President
     Hannelore Avalos, Secretary
     Karl Pfeiffer, Treasurer
     Marlene Feuerstraeter
     Anthony Schaller
     Hilde Lorentz
     Thomas Kronemeyer
     Nancy Grabow, Recording Secretary

Our every-day work is supported by committees where members are always welcome to join:

The House Committee takes care of all repairs and maintenance issues of our property which includes the Excelsior building, the gardens and the Altenheim complex. It stays in contact with Eden Housing, the non-profit organization which leases the Altenheim buildings as an affordable housing senior residence; and it handles room reservations. 

The Event Committee organizes events and coordinates event volunteers. 

The Communication Committee stays in contact with all our partner organizations, schools, the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate General in SF. It maintains our website and social media sites, and plans / designs newsletters, radio shows, advertisements and/or journal articles. 

The History Committee is tasked with the preservation of historic artifacts, contributes to the story about the Germans in the Bay Area (to be written) and keeps the Altenheim archive in order as well as sets up our own museum room. 

The Finance Committee oversees our finances, produces annual budgets, and reports.

The Grant Review Committee recommends to the board which donation applications should be granted, and in which amounts. 

The Membership Committee is in charge of our membership. It will organize carpools to events as needed, evaluates new membership applications, keeps track of paid membership fees and connects with members as needed.