Business & Professional
Philanthropic Leadership
Fisher Foundation names its first top professional.
F
ollowing a national search,
board members of the Max M.
& Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
have named Douglas Bitonti Stewart as the
first executive director.
"We are very pleased to have Doug on
board. He brings to our foundation nearly
20 years of experience in philanthropy and
a true passion for the nonprofit sector,"
said Marjorie Fisher of Farmington Hills,
the foundation's chairperson.
"Doug is well known as a person of
unquestioned character. His commitment
to serve the interests of our family and
what we would like to accomplish through
this foundation will help us to truly have
the impact we envision," added Julie Fisher
Friedman
Abba I. Friedman, of
counsel attorney at the
Detroit-based firm of
Butzel Long, was recently
named to the Michigan
Super Lawyers 2006.
His area of practice is
construction law.
David M. Levenfeld
and Ian Burnstein have formed Storage
Opportunity Partners LLC, headquarted
in Farmington Hills. Storage Opportunity
Partners specializes in the acquisition,
repositioning and disposition of self-stor-
age facilities in the New England and
Michigan markets. For information, visit
www.storageop.com , or call (617) 658-1200.
Marx Layne & Company, a Famrington Hills-
based full-service market-
ing and public relations
agency, has named
Lauren Garfield of
West Bloomfield account
assistant. She is respon-
sible for supporting public
relations strategies for
clients in the real estate,
Garfield
hospitality, nonprofit,
retail and professional services sectors.
The Detroit-based Wayne State University
Board of Governors elected officers dur-
ing its Jan. 24 meeting. Eugene Driker
of Detroit and Birmingham resident
Richard Bernstein were unanimously
elected by their colleagues to one-year
terms as chair and vice chair, respectively.
32
February 8 2007
Cummings
of Bloomfield
Hills, the foun-
dation's man-
aging trustee.
Stewart, 37,
comes to the
foundation
after a career
in fundraising
Douglas Bitoni Stewart
serving organi-
zations such as
Michigan State
University, Botsford General Hospital in
Farmington Hills, Arthritis Foundation, the
Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation
and most recently C.S. Mott Children's
Miller
Driker
Driker, one of the
founders and a senior
member of the Detroit
law firm Barris, Sott,
Denn & Driker PLLC,
has been an active vol-
unteer in cultural and
charitable activities in
Bernstein
Detroit and in the Jewish
community. Bernstein
works as a trial attorney, who represents
victims of personal injury or disability
discrimination. He also is an adjunct pro-
fessor at the University of Michigan-Ann
Arbor.
Also receiving unanimous votes to a
one-year term as a 2007 board officer was
Oak Park resident Julie H. Miller. She
has been an administrative officer to the
Board of Governors since 2001 and is sec-
retary of the university and senior execu-
tive assistant to the president.
Fishman
Graham Fishman of
West Bloomfield sub-
mitted two provisional
patents to the U.S. Patent
Office. Both provi-
sional patents relate to
improvements for Sleep
Hospital and Women's Hospital of the
University of Michigan Health System in
Ann Arbor.
•
"I am extremely honored to have a
chance to serve the Fisher family help-
ing to synergize their giving and build on
the incredible legacy of Max Fisher',' said
Stewart.
Based in Southfield, the foundation
was formally endowed after the passing
of philanthropist and global Jewish leader
Max Fisher March 3, 2005, at the age of 96.
Renowned for his business acumen and
global philanthropic achievements, Max
and Marjorie, his wife of 51 years, ensured
their giving would continue to benefit the
causes close to their hearts and those of
their children and grandchildren through
the creation of the foundation.
"Our immediate work moving forward
will include mapping out our priorities for
the coming years and both working with
the groups Mr. Fisher held in high regard
while seeking additional organizations and
programs that the family feels are effective
in our mission areas',' said Stewart.
The foundation's multifaceted mission
will reflect the values of its founders and
their shared Jewish heritage to empower
families, serve those at-risk, mprove the
health of the community and world and
support higher education and the arts. E
Apnea CPAP Headgears. Fishman will pur-
sue licensing these design concepts with
CPAP mask companies.
she was associated with the law firm of
Dickinson Wright.
Lisa Ellman, daughter
of Howard and Carol
Ellman of Bloomfield
Hills and a graduate
of Bloomfield Hills
Andover High School,
works as an associate at
Mayer, Brown, Rowe &
Ellman
Maw LLP in Washington,
D.C. She is a graduate of
the University of Chicago Law School and
holds a master's degree in public policy
from the Harris School at the University
of Chicago. She is a member of the bar in
Illinois.
Dr. Karen Colby
Weiner, a psychologist
and executive and life
coach in Southfield, is
president-elect of the
Michigan Psychological
Association. She is com-
pleting her second and
Weiner
final four-year term as a
member and vice-chair
of the Michigan Board of Psychology. She
has served as president of two other state-
wide organizations, the Women Lawyers
Association of Michigan and the Michigan
Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology.
During her tenure in the active practice
of law, Dr. Weiner served as a law clerk
to Justice G. Mennen Williams of the
Michigan Supreme Court, after which
Harvey Bronstein
of Southfield was re-
elected for his third con-
secutive one-year term
as vice chair for both
the Michigan Higher
Education Assistance
Authority as well as
Bronstein
the Michigan Higher
Education Student Loan
Authority. These authorities have jurisdic-
tion over almost all state and federal stu-
dent grants and loan programs. Bronstein
was appointed to the boards by Gov.
Jennifer Granholm in 2003.
Berkove
Gail Berkove, a
Southfield resident and
psychologist in private
practice, was awarded
"Fellow" status by the
Michigan Psychological
Association. She is a
Fellow of the Michigan
Women Psychologists.
Former Detroiter Michael Schatz has
joined the executive team of Berloni
America, a design group headquartered
in Royal Oak. He will be responsible for
developing an aggressive growth plan,
sales and marketing for dealer represen-
tation in all significant markets. He will
operate out of Chicago.