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Orthodox home, Wagner was drawn
to Shaarey Zedek when her daughter
started nursery school there. Her hus-
band, Donald, grew up at Temple
Israel; he his also held leadership posi-
tions at Shaarey Zedek.
They had just moved back from
Washington, D.C., and the Shaarey
Zedek school fit her daughter's needs.
"For the past 25 years, Shaarey
Zedek has been a focal point of my
family's life," says Wagner. "It was
warm and inviting. I started going and
the more I went, the more people
became family."
When the girls were little --
daughters Amy and Sheri are 21 and
25, respectively — it took only a mat-
ter of weeks before Rabbi Groner
knew that the little girl tugging on his
robe was Amy Wagner.
The Wagner family is "very tradi-
tional, Shabbat is Shabbat. Judaism's
always been in my heart. My parents
did that," Wagner says.

Where No Woman
Has Gone Before

Dottie Wagner is poised to become
• Shaarey Zedek's first female congregational president.

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN

Staff Writer

I is a first for Shaarey Zedek.
In April, Dottie Wagner will
become the first woman at the
helm of the largest Conservative
congregation in metro Detroit. But
he says it's no big deal.
"Twenty-five years ago, this proba-
bly would have been a unique situa-
tion," says Wagner, a West Bloomfield
resident who grew up in the Young
Israel community of Oak Park.
"Today, women in leadership roles are
accepted and expected."
Come April 1998, Alan Schwartz

•

will step down as synagogue president
shul's lay leadership track is a 10-year
and hand the reins over to Wagner.
commitment.
"Dottie has served the congregation
"You are nominated as secretary,
admirably for many years," says Rabbi
then move up the ladder," explains
Irwin Groner. "She has distinguished
Wagner. "It's a lifetime commitment.
herself, especially in the field of youth
Normally, you're a foot soldier, serving
education. She brings to the
in all different capacities."
office of president her love of
And
she has. Wagner has
Dottie Wagner,
the traditions, dedication to the Shaarey Zedek's served on education and
synagogue and her commitment first woman
membership committees
to Conservative Judaism.
and led a Torah scribing
president.
"We are certain that with the
campaign.
pasage of time, there will be
Other area shuls, like Beth
other women presidents who follow
Shalom, B'nai Moshe and Adat
the path that Dottie has begun."
Shalom, have had female presidents
So why did it take so long for
for years, she says.
Shaarey Zedek? Simply because the
Although she was reared in an

"Judaism's always
been in my
heart.

She received a bachelor's degree ,
from the University of Michigan and a
master's degree in reading disabilities
from Columbia University. She has
served as a reading specialist for
Federation's Open Door program and
works at Darchei Torah, an Orthodox
day school in Southfield, four after-
noons a week.
The family lived in Washington,
D.C., and New York before coming
back to Michigan. For at least the past
decade, Wagner has sat on the board
of Camp Ramah, "another love of my
life."
She knows that in a two-year presi-
dency, there's only so much a person
can do. "You don't turn the world
upside down; you make inroads.
"When I became secretary, some-
one said, 'Oki you look at the face of
your daughters and husband? Such
pride.' Our involvement at Shaarey
Zedek has been a family involvement
— not just me. I drag them along,"
says Wagner. "It's an exciting chapter
in our life. I'm really looking forward
to it." ❑

12/5
1997

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