Jeffrey Lasday and his wife, Lori, with their children Ilana and David

what Disney World is to amusement
parks — a place where people say,
`Wow!'"
Lasday and his wife, Lori, live in
West Bloomfield. Lori is director of
admissions for the Reform move-
ment's EIE High School in Israel. Their
son David, 27, in Boston, founded and
heads Bring It In-Israel, an Israel-
based program that uses sports to

impart Jewish values, life skills and a
connection to Israel. Their daughter
Ilana, 25, is an AmeriCorps Fellow
teaching in an urban charter school in
Washington, D.C.
Aside from meeting with profes-
sionals and community members,
Lasday is enjoying visiting synagogues
and gathering a feel for the Detroit
Jewish community. ❑

P14y house. T eqf r

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At the JTS convocation: current Hillel board member Ricky Blumenstein,

former Hillel board president Terri Farber Roth, former board member Shari

Kaufman, Hillel head of school Steve Freedman and Hillel teacher Clara Gaba.

all related to Steve's underlying
goal: to equip students with the
skills necessary to be the Jewish
leaders of tomorrow."
A few days after the convocation
in New York, Freedman's JTS honor
was celebrated at Hillel.
At the reception, Rabbi-in-
Residence Jonathan Berger said to
Freedman, "Your focus on our mis-
sion and your passionate belief in
the importance of Jewish education
inspire our community to strive to
bring that vision to life. And we do,
every day."
Freedman's wife, Joan, spoke
about her husband's 35 years of
leading students as well as his
devotion to leading the family's
own four children in the ways of the
righteous. She noted his determina-
tion to model personally and pro-
fessionally how important it is to
treat people properly and to show
respect for one's self.

Hillel's commitment to outstand-
ing general and Jewish educa-
tion is something the Jewish
Federation of Detroit sees as a
local gem.
"I have only just recently moved
to Detroit," said Jeffrey Lasday,
the new head of Federation's
Alliance for Jewish Education.
"However, I am already deeply
impressed with the high quality of
education that permeates Hillel's
hallways and classrooms. By vis-
iting the school, it's easy to see
how Steve Freedman's caring and
insightful guidance inspires Hillel
students, teachers and parents.
"They're clearly all working
together toward reaching a shared
vision of educational excellence in
both Jewish and general studies.
Detroit is very fortunate to have
high-caliber Jewish educators
such as Steve Freedman in our
community." LI

Inside Orchard Mall
1% est Bloomfield
248-851-0066

December 16 • 2010

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