Adamah Detroit

Rabbi Ari Witkin is the director of leadership development at the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit. He holds a MS in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and was ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where he was a Wexner Fellow. Fun Adamah fact, Ari and his Liz Traison met at Pearlstone where he worked, when she was working for Hazon. Basically the merger before the merger.

Rabbi Blair Nosanwisch is passionate about building loving and nourishing communities through care, prayer, Torah, and food. She was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2021, joining the Adat Shalom team that same year, and bringing with her an emphasis on spiritual care.

Hi, I’m pleased to be a part of the group and look forward to meeting everyone. I have a garden on the east side of Detroit (Marjorie Street Garden) and also take care of a the formerly orphaned B’nai David Cemetery. I’m originally from Chicago but have been a proud Michigander for over 25 years. .

Recognized twice by Crain’s Detroit Business, first as one of Metro Detroit’s Most Influential Women and more recently as a Notable Woman in Nonprofits, Jodee has led significant organizational growth and transformation as a professional and volunteer at some of Detroit’s finest institutions, including COO of New Detroit, Executive VP of Programs at the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, Director of The Jewish Fund, and Program Officer at The Skillman Foundation. Jodee is a past President of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and Co-Founder SukkahxDetroit. Jodee has a J.D. from Wayne State University and practiced nonprofit and corporate law at Bodman PLC.

Involved in Jewish education and engagement for over 40 years. My Masters Degree is in Library Science. I took a hiatus 12 year from Jewish communal work to go into the travel business. I was a travel writer for five years.

Karla Goldman is Sol Drachler Professor of Social Work and Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan where she directs the Jewish Communal Leadership Program.  She is a historian of American Jewish communities and author of “Beyond the Synagogue Gallery: Finding a Place for Women in American Judaism (Harvard University Press).

Real estate and building management professional employed by Newmark. Responsible for managing the Max M. Fisher Federation Building and supporting my counterparts at Camp Tamarack, the Jewish Community Center and several other properties affiliated with JFMD.

Rachel Jacobson is a cross-sector collaborator with 15 years of experience in the climate adaptation, resilience, and environmental fields. As Lead Researcher for State Climate Policy at Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, she works with state and federal advocates and policymakers to bring the benefits of federal funding for climate action to low-income and marginalized communities. Rachel previously worked with the American Society of Adaptation Professionals to increase climate resilience across North America and with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the White House Council on Environmental Quality to enact the climate adaptation goals of the Obama administration. She has also consulted with private sector companies on ESG training and staff development and conducted research and planning efforts in coastal watersheds across the U.S. Rachel is an active participant in Jewish communal life in her current home of Ann Arbor and in the communities she previously lived: Seattle, Washington DC, and Boston. She has served as an Interfaith Sanctuary Coalition volunteer coordinator, taught Jewish text classes for people of all ages, regularly serves as a Shabbat and High Holiday prayer leader, and welcomes people from all backgrounds into her home for Shabbat and holiday meals alongside her spouse and children.

Rebecca Starr is the Director of Regional Programs for the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where she also oversees all program development, management, and partnerships in the Midwest region. In this role she manages strategy and organizational synergies throughout North American regional hubs. Raised on a sheep farm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Rebecca is a proud product of the University of Michigan where she earned undergraduate degrees in education and Judaic studies as well as a master’s degree in social work and a certificate in Jewish communal service. Rebecca channeled her love for fitness into certifications as a personal trainer and indoor cycling instructor. She serves on the board of Camp Ramah in Canada and is a member of the steering committee of Adamah Detroit. Rebecca is married to Rabbi Aaron Starr and they are the proud parents of two sons.

Ryan has served in homeless and human service agencies in Metro Detroit for more than 15 years. He joined South Oakland Shelter (SOS) as CEO in 2010, assuming the role at Lighthouse in 2019 as the two organizations merged. Ryan and his team have expanded Lighthouse’s scope of services to encompass emergency shelter and food distribution; financial assistance; affordable housing and community development; supportive service solutions; and crowdfunding technologies that have contributed to thousands of displaced people getting back on their feet and finding a renewed sense of purpose. He has focused Lighthouse on meeting the critical and escalating emergency and longer-term needs of the working poor, homeless, and otherwise impoverished members of our community who face immense systemic challenges against the backdrop of a pandemic and hyperinflation.

Sam Stolper is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, where he teaches and does research on environmental economics, policy, and justice. His research spans several topics, including transportation, energy efficiency, renewable power, air quality, water affordability, and carbon neutrality. He currently serves on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Council on Climate Solutions.

Tara Forman Hack is the Executive Director for the Pathways Family Foundation, where she designed and implements the foundation’s grantmaking process, oversees organizational partnerships and strategy, and evaluates its ongoing impact and growth. Prior to this role, Tara worked as a grant writer and development consultant as well as a program associate at the Jewish Foundation of Metro Detroit. Outside of work, Tara is active as a board member of Hebrew Free Loan and the Jewish Women’s Foundation, as well as a chair of the Autism Alliance of Michigan’s annual Hero Walk. She also frequently reviews books online and hosts Shabbat as often as she can with her husband and two children.

Jackie Victor is the co-founder and former CEO of Avalon International Breads, a socially responsible artisan bakery founded in Detroit’s Cass Corridor in 1997. Inspired by the leadership of Detroit grassroots activists James and Grace Boggs, Avalon helped to model socially responsible business practices and grassroots revitalization of Detroit.  Jackie’s Detroit journey was itself revitalized when she became involved in the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, serving on the Board from 2012-2018.  Now a Detroiter in residence in Huntington Woods with her husband Tom Zerger, Jackie is finding her footing in the Metro Detroit Jewish Community., “noodling” around with notions of Jewish spirituality, food and community and knocking on doors to protect US Democracy! Jackie is the mother of two young adults, a strong supporter of the Grace Lee Boggs School and a proud board member of The Ecology Center of MI.