spotlight
Jewish/Chaldean Stewardship
Consulting firm benefits from collaboration and engagement of its main players.
Bill Carroll
Contributing
Writer
I
D
erek Dickow and Ryan Fishman
made sure they stayed the
required 100 feet away from the
polling places when they campaigned for
their respective candidates during the
August primary. But, being only a few feet
apart all day, they struck up a continual
conversation and became pretty well
acquainted.
Now, Dickow, a Chaldean, and Fishman,
a Jew, are working together at Steward
Media, a West Bloomfield-based company
founded by Dickow two years ago. It's a
professional consulting firm specializing
in the representation and management of
associations, businesses, politicians and
nonprofit organizations.
But their pairing is also a big step for-
ward in the Building Community Initiative
started in 2010, seeking harmony and
more collaboration in the Chaldean and
Jewish communities; an endeavor created
by Detroit Jewish News Publisher Arthur
Horwitz and Martin Manna, head of the
Chaldean Chamber of Commerce and co-
publisher of the Chaldean News.
Dickow was chief fundraiser for Klint
Kesto, a Republican, who was elected
Nov. 6 as state representative in the 39th
District. Fishman was campaign manager
for Brad "Bubba" Urdan, whom Kesto
defeated in the primary. Fishman is now
vice president of strategic consultation at
Dickow's Steward firm.
Relying On Partnerships
"Part of our mission is to lead the way in
developing partnerships between Jewish,
Chaldean and other communities of
Metropolitan Detroit, and the partner-
ship with Ryan will help accomplish that:'
said Dickow. "These partnerships are
important, and there have been a lot of
existential and philosophical conversa-
tions about building bridges between our
communities. In effect, we're laying the
bricks and mortar here at Steward Media
by helping each other to develop and grow
the relationship between our similar com-
munities:'
Dickow cited Fishman's "insight and
background in media, publicity and
politics as bringing a new perspective
to Steward:' Fishman said Steward "has
shown an unprecedented dedication and
commitment in the community through
charity work and leadership:'
Steward's third employee is Reina
34 December 13 • 2012
JN
Steward Media: Ryan Fishman, Reina Kalabat and Derek Dickow.
main client was Kesto, who also received
the support of several young, politically
active Chaldean and Jewish business and
professional men seeking common ground
in the political spectrum. Included was a
fundraising dinner attended by 250 com-
munity leaders.
"Klint's victory really laid the ground-
work for the future of Steward's political
business:' Dickow pointed out. "We're
especially proud of him because he's
the first Chaldean to be elected to the
Michigan Legislature. And we're proud
that both Chaldeans and Jews had a strong
role in his election:'
Steward also assisted in the campaign
of Michele Economou Ureste, who was re-
elected West Bloomfield supervisor Nov. 6.
But for every sweet victory there seems
to be a bitter defeat. Steward also worked
for Colleen O'Brien in her bid for the State
Supreme Court, but she lost. Steward sup-
ported a mixture of successful and unsuc-
cessful candidates.
"It's not easy for us when one of our
clients loses an election:' said Fishman.
"But they can take the defeat in one of
two ways. They can just say 'I quit; and
never run again, or they can do what
Bubba Urdan has done. He picked himself
up, analyzed what happened and is now
planning another political initiative for
himself"
Carrying The Torch
Kalabat, who specializes in graphic design
and social media. Dickow, 32, Fishman,
24, and Kalabat, 29, all live in West
Bloomfield and are all single.
Dickow has a degree in philosophy and
political science from Oakland University,
where he was president of the school's
student congress. He then spent some time
in the mortgage and real estate businesses.
"But I'm very interested in people and I
wanted to work with them more closely
on different levels, and, mainly, on events
that are politically and charity driven:' he
explained.
Experience As Reporter
Fishman attended Syracuse (N.Y.)
University where he got a degree in
broadcast journalism, Mideast studies and
political science. He also obtained some
fast experience when he took a part-time
job as a reporter with a Syracuse radio sta-
tion on the Fox News network.
"There was a plane crash in nearby
Buffalo in 2009 that killed 50 people, and
I pinpointed the neighborhood of the
crash and kept calling people until I found
eyewitnesses and interviewed them on the
air; he recalled.
That earned Fishman a job as a news
anchor and a Saturday morning talk show
host, "which lasted until the economy
slumped even further and the station had
to cut back and reduce the staff. But I
returned to Michigan with a great deal of
public relations experience:'
Fishman now works at Steward three
days a week while he attends Wayne State
University's law school. He also serves
on the NEXTGen group of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Kalabat graduated from Western
Michigan University, earning a degree in
business finance, but has worked mainly
since then in various forms of marketing,
media and public relations.
Revel In Kesto's Win
Most of Steward's work so far has been
to support and publicize Chaldean busi-
nesses and organizations. This was fueled
in the recent election when the firm's
With Fishman aboard, Steward plans to
grow and expand Chaldean/Jewish rela-
tionships, accenting the firm's passion for
politics — hopefully across party lines,
stressed Fishman and Dickow.
"This is a great opportunity to bring
together two similar communities through
partnering from a business standpoint and
to give back:' added Fishman. "We want
young people to make a life for themselves
here and stay in Michigan.
"We're moving forward and carrying the
torch; standing on the shoulders of Martin
Manna and Arthur Horwitz in their great
Building Community Initiative'
Dickow takes credit for the company's
unusual name.
"A steward is someone who serves in
an official capacity:' he said. "Our main
focus is to develop programs to serve the
Chaldean and Jewish communities. We're
developing several collaborative efforts
that we can't talk about yet for proprietary
reasons, but they'll come to fruition soon.
"We have a great team at Steward and
we're excited about the future:'
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