14 | OCTOBER 22 • 2020 

O

n Oct. 1, Matt Lester 
and Dennis Bernard 
were installed as pres-
idents of the Jewish Federation 
of Metropolitan Detroit and 
the United Jewish Foundation, 
respectively. In their roles, they 
will work to ensure the needs of 
Detroit’
s Jewish community are 
met and its assets safeguarded.
 But this is not the first time the 
two have worked together. Since 
the COVID-19 pandemic began 
in March, the two men have 
co-chaired Federation’
s COVID 
emergency taskforce. Lester led 
the campaign to raise more than 
$7 million to meet the commu-
nity’
s needs, allocating money to 
both Federation and non-Federa-

tion agencies.
 “Even though we’
re going 
through a traumatic period, our 
community opened up with 
their hearts, their brains and 
their wallets,
” Bernard said. “We 
raised a lot of money from very 
good people and foundations to 
do emergency funding. Bernard 
added that the taskforce con-
tinues to work with agencies to 
ensure efficiencies of both dollars 
and services, including child care, 
food and mental health care for 
those who need it. 
 The COVID emergency 
campaign still has significant 
resources to meet the communi-
ty’
s needs. “We are going to need 
them, make no mistake about it,
” 

IN 
THE
JEWS D
ON THE COVER

Matt Lester and Dennis Bernard 
begin a new era as leadership at 
the Federation and Foundation.

JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HARDWICK

Dynamic Duo

Matt Lester was born and 
raised in Franklin, leaving 
Michigan for only three 
years during college. He 
shares Bernard’
s philos-
ophy of a life based on 
family, business and com-
munity.
Lester said he comes 
from a family that always 
emphasized giving back, 
and he’
s involved in many 
community organizations, 
including the DIA, DSO 
and Forgotten Harvest, 
among others, in addition 
to Federation. “For me, I 
found meaning and enjoy-
ment in living a Jewish life 
and getting involved in 
the Jewish community,” he 
said.
His Jewish journey 
began, he said, with a 
Federation young adult 
mission to Israel in 1999. 
Later, he participated in the 
Grosfeld Mission, which 
he eventually went on to 
lead. Then he was asked to 
join Federation’
s Israel and 
Overseas Committee, the 
Blumenstein Leadership 
Institute, the Sherman 
Leadership Institute, 
Federation’
s Annual 
Campaign Chair, numer-
ous boards, including 
the American Joint 
Distribution Committee, 
Jewish Senior Life, Kadima, 
the Jewish Fund, BBYO, 
Yad Ezra, Forgotten 
Harvest, Tamarack Camps, 
United Jewish Foundation, 
etc. The list is long. 
“I doubt there’
s a 
Federation president who 
has had more or better 
mentorship and opportu-
nity to grow as a Jew and 
to get to know, understand, 
and love and care about 

their Jewish community 
than I have,” Lester said. 
“And it’
s thanks to a count-
less number of Jewish 
leaders too numerous to 
mention, although I often 
start with Jane Sherman, 
Nancy Grosfeld and Penny 
Blumenstein, three matri-
archs of our community.”
He and his wife, 
Nikki, have two chil-
dren: Ella Rose, a senior 
at Cranbrook, and son 
Richard, a freshman at 
Cranbrook. Lester is 
founder and CEO of 
Princeton Enterprises, a 
real estate company that 
has expanding property 
operations in 16 states 
across the Midwest and 
Southeast and employs 
1,000 people. Lester said he 
considers his business to be 
“like a third child.”
A former competitive 
skier, Lester is working on 
becoming one again at 55, 
which is “a new trick for 
me,” he said. “I’
m literal-
ly training with a senior 
champion world-class 
cross-country ski racer, but 
I’
m a downhill skier.” 
Lester says his priority is 
spending quality time with 
his family and enjoying the 
outdoors on their family 
lifestyle farm in Charlevoix, 
where they grow all kinds 
of crops and raise chick-
ens. The farm can house 
more than 30 people. “The 
best part about the farm is 
being able to share it with 
others, which we do every 
year,” he said. “It’
s most fun 
for me when the farm is 
packed with families and 
kids running around and 
learning about the farm 
and exploring.”

MEET MATT LESTER

COURTESY OF FEDERATION

