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

Adam Pogoda is the third generation of his family
to be involved with Hebrew Free Loan as a member
of the Board, following in the footsteps of his mother,
Lori, and her father, Peter Helman.
“I’m involved in HFL because of my mom,” Adam
said. “We would talk after she would do borrower
interviews, and, without breaking confidences, she
would share stories. My parents are very philanthropic,
but of all her philanthropy, I think she found HFL the
most personally fulfilling, and felt she was making
such a difference.”
The Pogoda family thought highly enough of HFL
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“It takes a village to care the way HFL does,
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last few months. But there’s an amazing positive
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Community donations help Hebrew Free Loan give
interest-free loans to local Jews for a variety of personal,
health, educational and small business needs.

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