Making A Different more recognition we get," said Isaacs, who this spring saw "interim" Staff Writer dropped from his title as executive director of the Agency for Jewish C onsidering his first trip Education of Metropolitan Detroit. through Detroit, it's a won- "It's going to take time. Things aren't der Judah Isaacs came back. going to change overnight." July 1967, and was "It Within two weeks of Isaacs' July we were driving back from the 1, 1998, start as interim executive Montreal Expo to Dayton," he director, a national educational con- recalled. "Someone told us that we sulting agency reported that AJE was couldn't take 1-75 through Detroit in substantial trouble. The report of because of the riots. We drove the Jewish Education Service of through anyway." North America cited "fuzziness" The 35-year-old Isaacs is six years about the respective roles of the AJE, into his return trip to Detroit. He other education services and the just finished his first year heading grant-making Jewish Federation of this community's nerve center for Metropolitan Detroit in providing Jewish education programs and educational programs and services. resources. The JESNA report suggested that "I don't know how much we've AJE's planning process was often changed, but the more we do, the `'chaotic." "There were a lot of good and valid points raised in JESNA," Isaacs said. fir a go. Now, he says, the agency's o t'E A zw' sze planning process is much AVrrhe* more organized. For exam- za w .0 mi mku ple, the Hebrew-only Mifaash 3.0 program for Americans and With two new leaders at the helm, Israelis is completely sched- uled for next year, as are 90 LONNY GOLDSMITH :Rz .45 the Agency for Jewish Education Love of learning has helped ease transition for new chief of AJE. percent of the offerings for next year's workshops for congregational school teachers. The trick is to help the differing units broaden their view of the edu- cational system. "No one's looking at Jewish education as a life-long experience," Isaacs said. "If the AJE can be part of their plan, it will be good." The way staffers at the Southfield- based agency are talking, the AJE may be ahead of Disney World and Saturn dealerships on the list of "happiest place to work." "Internally, we have a lot of people smiling and enjoying their jobs," said Wendy Sadler, AJE's director of school services. "It makes what you do here incredibly pleasurable." Is the new atmosphere attributable to Isaacs? "When you look at the head of any company, they set the climate," Sadler said. "I think a lot of credit goes to - him and I can unequivocally say it's been wonderful. He's the type of per- son every major company would love to have. You know if he heard you, there will be follow up. Isaacs had worked five years as an associate senior planner at the Federation before he was tapped to help revamp AJE. The move came a a good time for him. "I knew there was no place for advancement," he said. "I was lookin to do something else." Isaacs was born in Wisconsin and, after a short stint in Dayton, Ohio, his parents moved to New York, in part to assure access to high-quality Jewish education. Isaacs went to the Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy (SAR) in Riverdale, N.Y., where "I learned to love learning," he said. University schooling at Queen's College led him to Yeshiva University's Wurtzweiler School of DIFFERENCE on page 10 of Metropolitan Detroit is poised for the communal programming hurdles of a new century. Communal Activis Favor for rabbi evolves into presidency of Agency for Jewish Education. DIANA LIEBERMAN Special to the Jewish News 7 he new president of the Agency for Jewish Education of Metropolitan Detroit has no radical ideas for the group. Instead, James Jonas, who took over the gavel from Lynda Giles on June 9, hopes to maintain the policies of inter- agency collaboration and continuous improvement that he said have given the AJE new credibility and effectiveness. "The agency will continue to gain communal support by continuing the legacy that Lynda has created," Jonas said, upon accepting the presidency at a pro- 6/25 1999 gram held at the Jewish Community Center's D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building in West Bloomfield. "My hope is to build on what Lynda has begun," he said. Jonas, a former president of Temple Israel, said he anticipated no problem working in partnership with congrega- tions. "In fact," he said, "I began my volunteer career with the agency because Rabbi Harold Loss asked me to. It was the 'do me a favor' policy." Jonas has done more than his share of "favors" in the Jewish community over the years. In addition to his continuing involve- ment with Temple Israel, the Detroit native has served on local, regional and national boards of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. He was co-chair of the first task force uniting the Jewish Federation of . Metropolitan Detroit with area syna- ocrues an effort that has become a cr bb standing Federation committee. He. has been a proactive board member and officer of the AJE, and most recently served as co-chair of the Teen Mission 2 Israel. Ellen Krivchenia, who maintains a close relationship with the AJE board in her position as the agency's admin- istrative manager, said she looks for- ward to continued growth under Jonas' leadership. "He is very much trusting of the staff because he knows we will do the best job we possibly can," she said,c_\ and he is ready to give us the suppol and the tools to do so. Giles said Jonas was "a wonderful choice" for AJE. "With the Teen Mission, he not only worked on programming for sev eral years, but also met with teens, tal ing to them about what they felt was important," Giles said. This past mer, he and his wife used part of thei vacation to go to Israel with the kids.' Jonas is a CPA by profession, spe- cializing in the field of real estate. "Because of his expertise in the area, we always knew we could call on hir whenever we needed work on the building," Giles said.