RABBI MATT ZERWEKH
Rabbi Matt
Zerwekh is the
rabbi of Temple
Emanu-El in Oak
Park. Ordained at
HUC-JIR in
Cincinnati, Zerwekh is a prod-
uct of the Detroit Jewish com-
munity and grew up at Temple
Emanu-El, which has situated
him uniquely to help reinvigo-
rate the congregation he has
credited with helping to forge
his earliest Jewish identity.
Under his leadership, Temple
Emanu-El has grown in size
and prominence in the commu-
nity while undertaking import-
ant projects to update and mod-
ernize the congregation’s physi-
cal prayer and gathering spaces.
As the pandemic arrived and
congregations moved online,
Zerwekh led the temple in
quickly pivoting to online wor-
ship and learning opportunities
in mere days, offering daily
online kids’ story times, classes,
and gathering opportunities to
help provide normalcy and
structure for his community
during a fraught time.
Zerwekh has strived to “pray
with his feet” since he began
his rabbinate. Since arriving in
Detroit, he has continued this
work, from marching in the
Dexter/Davison neighborhood
of Detroit with the Dexter
Avenue Baptist Church during
the summer protests in the
wake of the death of George
Floyd, to coordinating a night
of learning about immigration,
which welcomed more than
a dozen rabbis from various
denominations to share one
bimah to teach what Jewish
law teaches about welcoming
the stranger, to delivering an
opening blessing for the Detroit
NAACP’s Freedom Fund din-
ner.
RACHEL MATZ
Rachel Matz, 33, of
Birmingham is a
high school English
teacher and jour-
nalism adviser. She
also supports
teachers with the use of instruc-
tional technology, which is a
rapidly evolving endeavor in
this era of virtual learning.
Rachel also sponsors her
school’s Jewish Student Alliance,
a space for students to discuss
and explore Jewish customs and
identity together, regardless of
their backgrounds. Growing up
in a family that emphasized the
importance of Jewish values and
tradition, Rachel was fortunate
to learn from the examples set
by her grandparents in how to
be an active member of her
Jewish community. This
upbringing led to her commit-
ment to developing her Jewish
identity as an adult. Rachel has
participated in a variety of pro-
gramming through The Well
and Adat Shalom Synagogue,
ranging from musical Shabbat
dinners to thematic escape
rooms. Her most meaningful
experiences have occurred on
trips with The Well to both
Germany and Israel where she
deepened her understanding of
and engagement with the global
Jewish community. Rachel is
also a proud lifetime member of
the National Council of Jewish
Women, Michigan. She espe-
cially enjoys volunteering along-
side her mom, Sandi, who has
instilled in Rachel the impor-
tance of volunteering and activ-
ism. In her free time, Rachel
can be found reading, going to
trivia, looking for great coffee,
learning new challah braids on
social media and spending time
with her dog.
HALEY SCHREIER
Ann Arbor born
and raised, Haley
Schreier has always
called the
University of
Michigan home,
receiving her B.A. and M.S.W
.
at U-M. She is a graduate of the
School of Social Work’s Jewish
Communal Leadership pro-
gram and wrote an undergradu-
ate honors thesis on the rela-
tionship between Jewish moth-
ers and daughters. Haley has
received an additional profes-
sional certificate in Jewish
Experiential Education from
M2: The Institute for
Experiential Jewish Education.
Haley is the director of
engagement at Michigan Hillel,
where she has worked since
2017. She oversees the Host at
Home program, manages the
Hillel Connect Fellowship and
teaches classes helping to make
Jewish learning relevant to col-
lege students. She previously
worked as an education associ-
ate at Michigan’s Holocaust
Memorial Center, developing
the first annual Kappy Family
Anne Frank Art & Writing
competition. Haley has led mul-
tiple Birthright trips and a trip
to Poland. She is active in poli-
tics and trained volunteers for
the Michigan Democrats this
past election. She is the
co-founder of the website Ally
is a Verb and is passionate about
social justice, Michigan sports
and her cat Mezuzah.
LISA BETH NORTH
Lisa Beth North is
an active member
of the Jewish com-
munity — most
recently at Hillel
Day School,
Temple Israel, Temple Emanu-
El and Aish. She volunteers by
serving as PTO secretary, pro-
viding makeup services for the
Easter Seals fashion show, offer-
ing skincare presentations to
cancer patients at DMC
Hospitals and other charitable
work. With the support of the
Jewish community, family and
various therapies, Lisa overcame
a traumatic head injury to
become a licensed esthetician,
professional makeup artist and
entrepreneur. She and her hus-
band, Patrick, have three daugh-
ters and co-founded NorthStar
Luxe. Their family-owned busi-
ness offers beauty, skincare and
luxury services and products.
NorthStar’s debut facial mois-
turizer, Polaris Cream, is a cus-
tom water-based cream with
CBD, white tea, wild rose, hyal-
FEBRUARY 11 • 2021 | 11
“AS AN ARTIST, I AM DEEPLY
INFLUENCED BY THE TEXTURES,
LANDSCAPES AND PATTERNS OF
MY UPBRINGING, AS WELL AS MY
JEWISH AND AFRICAN HERITAGE.”
— OLIVIA GUTERSON
continued on page 12