DECEMBER 17 • 2020 | 15

unique model of form-
ing informal Jewish
communities around
“shared interest groups,”
they believed its model
could be exported to
other metropolitan
areas around the coun-
try.
By 2019, The Well
was turning out more
than 1,700 unique
attendees per year to
its gatherings, of which
there were 350 in a sin-
gle year.
So, it was a surprise
to many when Horwitz
announced, in January of this
year, that he was leaving The
Well and Detroit to become
the CEO of Alper JCC in
Miami.
The announcement came
amid a huge honor for The
Well, as it was selected as a
“10 to Watch” organization by
Slingshot, a national group of
young Jewish philanthropists.
The Well had also secured a
five-year continuation grant
from local philanthropist Lori
Talsky, which would ensure
its survival after the expira-
tion of the initial four-year
pilot grant that got Horwitz’s

vision off the ground.
But “I was ready for a
new challenge,” Horwitz
told the JN.
More than that, the
36-year-old Horwitz felt
that he was moving out
of the key life stage The
Well was set up to attract.
His children are now
school-aged, and The
Well intentionally doesn’t
provide Hebrew school.
“I believe one of the
reasons I was successful
in the role was that I
was in a shared life stage with
many of the participants and
could completely relate to the
challenges and opportunities
present in their lives,
” he said.
“Given that The Well’s design
is not to continue on through
the life-stages, but rather to
serve a young adult and young
family population, knowing
that my own family was ‘aging
out’ helped me know it was
time to take the next step.
”
The Well, arguably
Horwitz’s biggest legacy in
Detroit, would now have to
figure out a way forward with-
out its founding director. But
operations manager Marisa
Meyerson, who has stayed on

continued on page 16

The Well’s new leadership team: Executive Director Rabbi Jeff Stombaugh,

Operations Manager Marisa Meyerson and Family Eductor Marni Katz.

COURTESY OF THE WELL

Rabbi Dan
Horwitz

Rabbi Paul
Yedwab

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@HFLDetroit

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