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Federation's
Leariars

Three stars on the rise

VIVIAN HENOCH I SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

A

t the Jewish Federation,
young leaders have a long
history: Chosen initially for
their "potential," young
leaders tend to develop remarkable
community work habits as fundraisers,
volunteers, chairs, board members,
mentors and role models.
Representing Federation's NEXTGen at
its very best, this year's Young Leadership
Award recipients are: Amy Shefman, Sylvia
Simon Greenberg Award; David Kramer,
Frank A. Wetsman Award; and Ilana Liss,
Mark Family Young Leadership Award.
We asked them what it means to be a
young leader in Jewish Detroit, and each
responded in his or her own modest way.

Amy Shefman,
Stepping
Forward

Reflecting on receiving
the Sylvia Simon
Greenberg Award,
which provides a
stipend to attend the
General Assembly of
Amy Shefman the Jewish Federations
of North America
in Jerusalem later
this year, Shefman shares, "I strongly
believe in tikkun olam and giving back
to the community. These are values my
husband, Scott, and I encourage our boys
to uphold as well. For instance, every
year, as a family, we participate in It's a
Mitzvah, along with the TOV [Tikkun Olam
Volunteer] packages programs, to name
just a few Federation community events."
A newcomer to the community,
Shefman chose to get involved with
Federation. Her affinity for Federation's
work, particularly in its support for the
State of Israel, matches her own deep
affection for the Jewish homeland, having
spent summers with her grandparents,
who lived in Netanya.
Since 2007, Shefman has assumed
many Federation leadership roles within
Women's Philanthropy. Always willing
to nurture and educate others, she has
earned the respect of her co-workers in
her service as vice president of Women's
Philanthropy and as a strong solicitor
for Federation's Annual Campaign;
additionally, she has served as co-chair,

Community Connections, and co-chair,
Food for Thought and Community Services
Division. Active in Tikkun Olam Volunteers,
Shalom Family and It's a Mitzvah,
Shefman often involves her husband and
two sons, demonstrating firsthand to her
children the joy she feels working to help
others.
Shefman plans to continue her
volunteer work with Federation's Women's
Philanthropy, which empowers women to
get involved and become educated about
the many needs in our community
"If we could all pitch in, even just a
little bit," Shefman says, "our Jewish
community can remain strong and
vibrant."
Naming role models in women's
philanthropy, Shefman includes Susie
Pappas, Susie Citrin, Marcie Orley and Lisa
Lis, to name just a few.
"These women, along with many
others, are truly inspirational," Shefman
says. "I've learned a lot from all of them
along the way."
Summing up her motivation as a
community leader, Shefman chooses the
classic quote from the Diary of Anne
Frank: "How wonderful it is that no one
need wait a single moment to start to
improve the world."

David Kramer,
Giving Back

Stating that he is
"humbled to be
recognized" and
particularly honored to
follow in the footsteps
of many friends and
David Kramer
mentors who have won
the Wetsman Award,
Kramer mentioned
that he draws inspiration from last year's
winner, Jeff Camienier, "whose legacy to
the community will live on despite the
fact that he is no longer with us."
Driven by a strong need to give back
to the community, Kramer readily shares
his story.
"Like many people in our community of
my generation, I grew up in a comfortable
environment and had the opportunity to
attend good schools, go to camp and not
want for anything.
"My mother and her parents came to

the U.S. after surviving the Holocaust and
living in a displaced person's camp in
Germany. The Jewish community (the Joint
Distribution Committee, in particular)
sustained them after the war. Fifty years
later, the Brown Center, part of JFS, gave
my grandmother dignity in her last years
on Earth.
"My father's father came to the U.S.
from Russia as a boy and was able to
become financially successful, in part,
because of a loan from Hebrew Free
Loan. I know that many of us have similar
stories. We owe it to our families and our
community to recognize how the Jewish
community has sustained us and to give
back to the community that has given so
much to us."
Kramer is past president of
Federation's Young Adult Division (now
NEXTGen). He is board chair of Orchards
Children Services in Southfield and a
member of the board of Hebrew Free
Loan. He is a past member of the boards
of the Federation and Jewish Community
Relations Council. A participant on
numerous Federation leadership missions,
Kramer recently returned from the Detroit
Mission to Cuba.
For Kramer and his wife, Anessa,
encouraging work in the community is a
family priority. They are the proud parents
of two young boys, whom they routinely
involve in community volunteer work.
Not surprisingly, Anessa was the 2010
Sylvia Simon Greenberg
Awardee.

Ilana Liss,
A Detroit
"Returnee"

Chosen as the
Mark Family Young
Leadership Award
Ilana Liss
recipient, Liss said she
was honored to have
had the opportunity to
work with so many past award recipients
and count many as friends and mentors.
"When I saw my name on that plaque
in the Max M. Fisher Federation Building
with so many great young leaders, so
many who are thoughtful, articulate,
caring and dynamic, I was humbled."
Although Liss moved to Chicago for a
couple of years after college, she returned

to Detroit in 2004 with her husband,
Zachary. She took a job with Schechter
Wealth Strategies, where she now holds
the position of director of solution design.
When she returned, she recognized
that she was one of the young adults —
growing in numbers — who now choose
to make Detroit their home. And so she
decided to join the ranks of Federation's
young adults turning their attention to the
challenge of revitalizing the city.
A past president of Federation's Young
Adult Division (now NEXTGen), Liss serves
on the Federation Executive Committee
as a member of the boards of both
Federation and United Jewish Foundation.
She has been chair of the Young Adult
Campaign, a participant in the Kiev
Exchange Program and a member of
numerous committees.
Reflecting on the many people who
have influenced her path within the
Jewish community, Liss credits the women
in her immediate family.
"Both my mother-in-law's [Beverly Liss]
years of dedication to Federation and
the Detroit Jewish community and my
mother's [Belle Kohen] strong emphasis
on the importance of a Jewish education
and a Jewish home have shaped me as an
adult and as a mother. I'm also blessed
to be very close to my two grandmothers,
Francis Fink and Sheri Kohen, who I count
on for advice and guidance."
Leaving town once again (albeit
temporarily), Liss shares that receiving the
Mark Family Award at this particular time
is a "bittersweet moment" as she and her
family are about to relocate to Cincinnati
where Zachary will complete a fellowship
at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
"We have every intention of coming
back and settling permanently in Detroit,"
Liss says. "In the next two years away
from home, I'll have the opportunity to
reflect on all the things that make our
community special. And I hope to find
ample opportunities to borrow ideas from
the Jewish community there and bring
them home to Detroit."

❑

Vivian Henoch is a writer with the Jewish

Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. This

article was written for the June issue

of myJewishDetroit on Federation's

website.

May

30 • 2013

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