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ON THE COVER
OUR COMMUNITY
18 | FEBRUARY 11 • 2021
DR. JOELLE ABRAMOVITZ
Dr. Joelle
Abramowitz is an
economist at the
University of
Michigan’s Institute
for Social Research
and serves as director of the
Michigan Federal Statistical
Research Data Center. Her
research focuses on health
insurance, medical expendi-
tures, self-employment and the
family. Joelle sits on the execu-
tive board of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Ann
Arbor and is also president of
its young adult division, JYP
(Jewish Young Professionals of
Ann Arbor). Previously, she has
held a number of roles in the
Jewish communities where she
has lived, including teaching
Hebrew school, leading services
and Jewish learning, leyning
Torah, organizing events and
writing for Jewish outlets. A
New Jersey native, Joelle moved
to Ann Arbor in 2016 after
stints in Washington, D.C.,
Brussels, Hong Kong, Chicago
and Seattle. She is an accom-
plished cyclist who biked across
her adopted state of Michigan,
and an avid cook and baker
who writes about her culinary
exploits.
HALLIE EISENBERG
Hallie Eisenberg,
29, is a Michigan
State University
alumna residing in
Metro Detroit (Go
green!). She gradu-
ated with a degree in public pol-
icy/public administration and a
desire to make an impact in her
community and the world.
After graduation, she worked in
development at JARC to raise
money for children and adults
with developmental disabilities.
Currently, Hallie continues to
serve as a dedicated Jewish pro-
fessional in her role as the
NEXTGen Detroit Associate
Director at the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit. Through her role, she
builds creative programs
focused on engaging young
adults in the Detroit communi-
ty to foster their Jewish identity
and build connections. Most
notably, she is responsible for
executing NEXTGen Detroit’s
largest fundraiser, EPIC, which
raises over $300,000 for the
Federation’s Annual Campaign.
When finding some free time,
Hallie enjoys testing out new
treats to bake, attending country
concerts, travel and making the
most of time with her family
and friends.
SHAYA BAUM
Shaya Baum is the
CEO of Wing Lake
Capital Partners.
He received his
bachelor’s degree in
accounting from
Wayne State University. He
started and sold a tax prepara-
tion company at the age of 19.
In 2004, he joined Franklin
Capital as an accountant.
Franklin bought and sold
numerous distressed businesses
and he eventually became the
CEO of Franklin in 2010. Baum
launched a debt fund in 2017
and in 2019 it merged and is
now known as Wing Lake
Capital Partners. He serves as
the CEO of the combined enti-
ties. Wing Lake lends money to
distressed companies and helps
them get back on their feet by
providing financing, consulting
and restructuring services.
Businesses that get caught up in
the vicious cycle of needing cap-
ital to fund their activities and
promote growth, while not hav-
ing the credit and reputation to
obtain that capital, in the past
have been forced to turn to
unscrupulous lending agencies
that extort exorbitant interest
rates that are almost impossible
to pay down. This often leads to
garnishing of wages and freez-
ing of bank accounts and ulti-
mately the loss of people’s hard
gotten businesses. That is until
Wing Lake opened its doors.
With Baum’s innovative think-
ing, and creative mind, the fund
has grown significantly. Wing
Lake can now proudly say that
they help nine out of 10 compa-
nies that reach out avoid bank-
ruptcy. Wing Lake recently
partnered with Rocky Mountain
Bank in Wyoming. They cur-
rently have funded over 75
companies across the United
States to the tune of over $100
million.
DR. ERICA HERC
Erica was born and
raised in Metro
Detroit, where she
has been active in
the Jewish commu-
nity. She graduated
from the University of Michigan
where she was involved in
Hillel. She attended medical
school at Wayne State
University and completed her
internal medicine residency and
infectious diseases fellowship at
the University of Michigan and
is currently an infectious diseas-
es doctor at Henry Ford
Hospital. She has been actively
involved during the COVID-19
pandemic, not only taking care
of patients, but has also been
involved in COVID-19 research
and is an investigator in the vac-
cine trials. She has been a medi-
cal adviser for her local temple
and has devoted many hours to
assisting members in the com-
munity throughout the pan-
demic. She is the mother of Ian
and Emma, who both attend
Temple Beth El ECC, and the
wife of David. During her free
time, she enjoys spending time
with family and friends, travel-
ing (during non-pandemic
times) and working out.
ELLERY ROSENZWEIG
Ellery was born
and raised in Metro
Detroit with a
strong connection
to her close-knit
Jewish community.
She studied at the University of
Michigan where she received
her B.A. in psychology and
minor in community action and
social change and hopes to
return there one day to receive
her master’s in social work.
Ellery is currently working at
Repair the World Detroit as
their youth and family engage-
ment associate running
PeerCorps Detroit, their teen
service-learning program, and
supervising Repair fellows in
their year of service at Detroit
nonprofit organizations. During
the pandemic, she has created
an online series for PeerCorps
exploring social justice issue
areas within the context of
COVID-19. Outside of work,
Ellery is the co-creator of an
Instagram account, @___
Shelle___, where she shares
size-inclusive clothing and
resources on combating diet
culture and fatphobia. She is
passionate about empowering
young people, swimming in
lakes, listening to podcasts and
eating bagels!