jews d

on the cover

in
the

Class of 2018
Young professionals
making a difference
in the Detroit
Jewish community.

T

his year, more than 90
names of young pro-
fessionals making an
impact in the local community
were submitted for Th e Well &
JN’s 36 Under 36. Th e nominees
were sent to a panel of impartial
volunteer judges who had the
diffi cult task of choosing only 36
names from the list of impres-
sive nominees. Here they are, in
alphabetical order.

AARON APPEL
A native of Troy,
Aaron Appel, 22,
coordinates volun-
teer engagement and
grant writing at the
nonprofit Brilliant
Detroit, which focuses
on creating “kid suc-
cess neighborhoods”
in the city. This work builds off his
background in youth engagement and
community organizing, which he devel-
oped as a student at Oberlin College, as
a housing advocate in Philadelphia, as a
fellow with Repair the World: Detroit and
as the treasurer of Auntie Na’s House — a
grassroots community center on the west
side of Detroit.
Outside of Brilliant Detroit, Aaron co-
chairs a water campaign with Detroit
Jews for Justice (DJJ) in solidarity with
the People’s Water Board. The campaign
seeks to mobilize networks of syna-
gogues and other statewide affiliates
to ensure that the Michigan House of
Representatives passes bills addressing
the water shutoff crisis in Detroit. The
people he has met through DJJ encourage
him to explore his Jewish background
and hold him accountable for being a
better neighbor in Detroit.

ILANA BLOCK
Ilana Block, 32, serves
as the president of
NEXTGen Detroit.
She possesses a
strong passion for the
institutions of our
Jewish community,
and believes that our
deeply rooted legacy
of communal responsibility continues
to permeate the unique spirit of Jewish
Detroit.
Throughout her tenure on the
NEXTGen Board of Directors and
Executive Committee, Ilana has led many
of NEXTGen’s outreach, leadership devel-
opment and campaign initiatives with the
goal of attracting and involving the next
generation to engage in our community
and build upon its legacy. Her accom-
plishments include leading NEXTGen’s
Entrée program — an introductory
course to Federation for a cohort of 70
NEXTGen-aged individuals — and chair-
ing NEXTGen’s annual campaign, which
raised close to $1 million from more than
3,200 young donors.
In addition, Ilana has served on the
Partnership2Gether Steering Committee
and as NEXTGen’s liaison to Federation’s
Women’s Philanthropy Department. She
has also previously served on the Frankel
Jewish Academy Board of Trustees and is
an active parent of two children at Hillel
Day School.
Ilana graduated from the University of
Michigan and was a Dean’s Merit Scholar
at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
She manages her own law practice with a
focus on providing competitively priced
services to young professionals, such as
litigation for small businesses and estate
planning for new families. During her
time at the University of Michigan, Ilana
authored several published articles as an
intern at the Jerusalem Post, and helped to
implement various aliyah and absorption
projects as an intern at the Jewish Agency
for Israel.

AMY BRODY
Amy Brody, 34, of West
Bloomfield is the asso-
ciate director of the
Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit’s
Affinities Department.
After teaching in
New York City and
practicing law in
Metro Detroit, Amy found her true calling
serving the local Jewish community. Amy
takes great pride in investing her thought,
time and energy into bettering our com-
munity. She has positively impacted many
organizations professionally and through
volunteering, including NEXTGen Detroit,

ORT America, College Student Internships
and the David Horodoker Organization.
In her current role, Amy provides cre-
ative and meaningful opportunities for
Jewish community members in their late-
30s to 50s to deepen their connection
to the community and commitment to
Jewish philanthropy. She is dedicated to
ensuring that there will be a vibrant
Jewish community in Detroit for future
generations.

SARAH CRANE
Sarah Crane, 30, is a
lifelong member of the
Metro Detroit Jewish
community. She is
actively involved in
various local organiza-
tions, serving on the
Hillel of Metro Detroit
Board of Governors,
City Year Detroit Alumni Advisory Board
and the Detroit Economic Club’s Young
Leaders group, and she is looking for-
ward to participating in The Well’s trip to
Germany in partnership with Germany
Close Up.
She is an HR manager at KPMG, driv-
ing the firm’s performance development
strategy. She also spent time as a consul-
tant at KPMG, focusing on organizational
change management. Prior to KPMG,
Sarah worked for the Jewish Community
Relations Council of Metro Detroit, where
she cultivated relationships between the
Jewish community and other faith and
ethnic groups by organizing volunteer
opportunities, educational events and
intergroup dialogues.
She bleeds maize and blue and lives
in Detroit with her husband and fellow
Wolverine, Sam. Sarah loves to travel,
read, do yoga and go stand-up paddle
boarding. She’s still waiting for her letter
of acceptance from Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry.

AMANDA FISHER
Amanda Fisher, 31, is
an avid Detroit phi-
lanthropist and suc-
cessful residential real
estate agent at Max
Broock Birmingham.
Born and raised in
the Metro Detroit
area, Amanda has an
unwavering passion for helping families
living in Southeast Michigan.
After graduating from the University
of Michigan with a specialized degree
in marketing and communications,
Amanda founded the public relations
and event production company, Amanda
Fisher Productions (AFP). AFP’s mission
was to assist for-impact organizations
or companies with their philanthropic

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