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with children to demonstrations for children’s
holiday projects.
Prior to moving back to Michigan, she was a
pre-kindergarten teacher at Aleph Bet Preschool
through the Chabad of Phoenix, Ariz. The desire
to contribute to the revitalization of Metro
Detroit as a “mompreneur” is one of her greatest
accomplishments, thus far.
She believes it truly takes a village to raise
a child and one key factor of this is to provide
a community — in a safe environment — for
our littlest children to make first friendships.
Serving on several committees for The Well,
J-Family, and Hillel Day School, Lindsay makes
her societal focus creating a positive, interactive
and educational community geared specifically
for parents and their children within the Jewish
community.
Lindsay’s husband, Zak, and beautiful
daughters, Lillee and Emma, are her ultimate
inspiration and motivation.

RABBI SHRAGIE MYERS
Rabbi Shragie Myers, 32, is the
executive director of Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah, the oldest and
largest Jewish day school in
Michigan. He received his
rabbinic ordination from the
Chief Court of Jerusalem,
where he lived for seven
years. He joined the Beth
Yehudah “Partners” program, working closely
with NEXTGen and the entire Jewish community
to get young Jews involved and inspired. His wife,
Chanaliza, uses her master’s in special education
to help students at the Yeshiva maximize their
potential.
In 2015, Shragie assumed the role of executive
director at Beth Yehudah, where one of his
responsibilities is overseeing the team that
organizes the incredible annual dinner for more
than 2,500 guests.
Shragie is a member of Detroit Hatzalah, a
volunteer ambulance corps. He also created and
still participates in many innovative educational
programs for young adults, including “Grill the
Rabbi” and “Friday Night Live.”
In the years prior to moving to Detroit,
Shragie taught at a summer camp for orphans
in the Ukraine and volunteered at Boy-zone, an
outreach camp for Jewish teens. He is a graduate
of the Ner L’Elef Outreach Training Institute and
the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

SANFORD NELSON
Sanford Nelson, 29, of Detroit
is president of operations at
Nelson Ventures, which focus-
es primarily on commercial
real estate development in
Detroit and the metropolitan
area.
A graduate of the University
of Michigan, Sanford spent
a portion of the last five years working in
Michigan’s film production community, producing
the feature film Eloise, which was released inter-
nationally in 2017.
Sanford has been a resident of the city of
Detroit for four years and is extremely proud and
passionate about his hometown. He is currently
focused on developing mixed use real estate
projects in neighborhoods all over the city, with

an emphasis on empowering the small business
owners that occupy space in his buildings.
In the Jewish community, Sanford is known
as a collaborator, working with multiple Jewish
organizations such as the Jewish Federation
and NEXTGen, ChabaD Detroit, The Well and
FIDF. Sanford often throws large parties for
Jewish causes at various venues in the city as
well as hosting smaller gatherings at his home
Downtown such as Chabad Jewish Learning
Series.
Outside of the Jewish community, Sanford
supports several Detroit organizations such as
Gleaners Community Food Bank and the Detroit
Institute of Arts. When he is not busy working
on his real estate projects or attending various
art events around Detroit, Sanford is at Cafe
D’Mongo’s Speakeasy in Capitol Park, where he
has a side business running the club’s weekly
grilled special.

ARIELLA LIS RAVIV
Ariella Lis Raviv, 30, is the
director of business develop-
ment for the WW Group, a
Weight Watchers franchise
in Michigan and Ontario. She
holds a B.A. and M.A. from
Brandeis University, where
she researched the ways tech-
nological design influences
religious behavior. She spent time post-college
working for an Israeli collaborative technology
startup and as a grant-maker and community
development director for a Jewish federation in
New Jersey.
She is former board member of the Slingshot
Fund (a national organization that creates an
annual Zagat-style guide of innovative Jewish
organizations) and is a current evaluator for the
Slingshot Guide. She is founder of the Emerging
Leaders Micro-Loan fund through the Michigan
Women’s Foundation, which provides loans
to local female entrepreneurs. She is also an
executive board member of the NEXTGen Board
of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
She is a board member of Adat Shalom
Synagogue and a co-founder of JACII Detroit —
the local branch of JACPAC — a political action
committee that encourages young adults to
support political candidates who are pro-Israel,
pro-choice and pro-separation of church and
state. She is also a trustee of the Jewish Women’s
Foundation of Metro Detroit.
She is married to Tzvi Raviv and has two
daughters, Hadassa and Yehudit. They live in
Farmington Hills.

KRISTINA MILLMAN-
RINALDI
Kristina Millman-Rinaldi, 34,
has been changing the face
of animal welfare in Detroit
since Detroit Dog Rescue’s
inception in 2011. The non-
profit organization is Detroit’s
first and only no-kill shel-
ter, which finds homes for
neglected dogs and animals that are victims of
violent crimes.
As Detroit Dog Rescue’s executive director,
Kristina worked closely with Detroit Mayor Mike
Duggan’s administration to create Detroit’s first
animal welfare committee. This partnership

resulted in new leadership and policies for the
city’s municipal animal shelter. Detroit now
works harder to find alternatives to euthanasia
due to overpopulation, while focusing on public
safety.
Kristina has been a part of several
documentaries and reality shows highlighting
Detroit’s stray dog epidemic. She also received
the Mackinac Humanitarian Award, Beaumont
Hospital’s President Award for Community
Giving and has been named WDVD’s “Woman
of the Year” for her ability to create solutions in
underserved communities.
She attributes her empathy and compassion for
animals to her Jewish grandparents, who always
valued traditions and the ability to help others.
Perhaps that is the key to Detroit Dog Rescue’s
success, too. Detroit Dog Rescue was awarded
Best Non-Profit in 2016 and 2017 with a second
shelter location opening in 2018 on Detroit’s west
side. To learn more about Detroit Dog Rescue, go
to DetroitDogRescue.com.

RUBY ROBINSON
Ruby Robinson, 33, is the
supervising attorney for the
Michigan Immigrant Rights
Center (MIRC), a statewide,
legal services nonprofit that
focuses its practice on immi-
grants and matters affecting
immigrants, specifically vul-
nerable and low-income non-

citizens.
In his role as supervising attorney, he is on the
forefront of advancing the interests of immigrants
statewide through direct representation, impact
litigation, coalition building, training, pro bono
mentorship, technical advice, advocacy and more.
When Ruby is not working, he is active with
several Jewish community nonprofits and
synagogues in and around Detroit where he
holds leadership positions. He sits on the board
of the Jewish Community Relations Council/
American Jewish Committee and is co-chair of its
government relations/advocacy/domestic affairs
subcommittee.
Last year, he co-chaired the Limmud Michigan
programming committee. He is also very involved
with the two community-focused synagogues:
Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue — where
he sits on several committees and often leads
services — and B’nai Israel Synagogue of West
Bloomfield—where he is a gabbai.
Last year, Ruby was humbled and honored
when selected to be a Wexner Heritage Program
member along with 19 other Jewish Detroit
leaders for a two-year intensive Jewish leadership
training program. When Ruby is taking a respite
from the above, he loves spending time with his
friends, family and fiancée. He enjoys reading,
traveling, hiking, running, canoeing, exploring
Detroit and taking a Shabbat nap.

JARED ROTHBERGER
Of his many achieve-
ments, Jared Rothberger of
Bloomfield Hills is most proud
of the fact that some 250 peo-
ple in Metro Detroit count on
a paycheck thanks to his com-
pany, Jan-Pro Detroit. As chief
executive officer of the fran-
chise’s Detroit market, he and

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February 8 • 2018

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