20 | JULY 29 • 2021 

JOIN program, an acronym for the Jeannette 
and Oscar Cook Jewish Occupational Intern 
Program. This unique opportunity provides 
paid summer internships for Jewish students to 
gain work experience, attend educational sem-
inars and learn about the Jewish community, 
developing lifelong connections.
JOIN began in 1973 and ran until 1980 when 
the recession in Detroit forced its suspension. 
In 1987, however, Silver and her then-supervi-
sor Gail Stewart decided the program needed 
to restart.
As the JOIN program coordinator, working 
with 12-15 students a year, Silver has been 
instrumental in guiding a generation of young 
people into careers in the Jewish community. 
Local rabbis, educators, communal leaders and 
board members have all graduated from the 
program benefiting the Metro Detroit Jewish 
community. Some have even gone far afield. 
“I see JOIN alumni everywhere,
” Silver says. 
“Once I was watching the Today Show and 
there was a story about the King David dig in 
Israel, and the man being interviewed was one 
of my students!”
From August, however, Silver will be 

focusing more on her family, spending time 
with her three small granddaughters, and 
taking frequent trips to Wisconsin to visit her 
90-year-old mother. 

Debra Silver with her three granddaughters, Mia 
Paige Silver, 3, and Isabella Faye Silver, 10 months 
(on left), and Eloise Margot Cherluck, 11 months

Jewish home, and his 
education had been 
traditional, studying 
in yeshivahs and 
gaining a degree 
in Talmudic Law. 
Newman, however, 
wanted a career. 
“Someone mentioned vocation-
al testing at JVS Human Services, 
and I was lucky enough to come 
across Debra. Over the course 
of 10 sessions, with vocational 
and psychological testing, we fig-
ured out that going to law school 
would fit my temperament and 
skill set,” he explains. “She gave 
me clarity.” 
Newman attended Wayne State 
University Law School, graduating 
in two and a half years. Now mar-
ried with three young children, 
Newman is the founder of the 
Legacy Law Firm, which specializ-
es in inheritance law. 

Moshe 
Newman

continued from page 16
continued from page 16

E

arlier this month, Oakland 
County Executive Dave 
Coulter visited the Jewish 
News’ Farmington Hills office to 
meet with the editorial team and 
Detroit Jewish News Foundation 
Board Member Mark Zausmer 
and Board Advisor Mark 
Davidoff.
Coulter, the former mayor of 
Ferndale, said he was interested 
in fostering relationships within 
the Jewish community. “In many 
ways, I’m still the new guy,
” he 
said. “I know my own corner of 
Oakland County very well, but 
we have a big county, so I’ve been 
engaged in a listening tour, meet-
ing with leaders from all over. 

“The Jewish community is 
centered here in Oakland County, 
and it has a major presence. I 
want to better understand the 
community.
”
Coulter added that he was 
in Washington, D.C., during 
the recent “No Fear” rally again 
antisemitism. “I thought it was 
important to go and was struck 
by the commitment of two young 
men I met there from Oak Park, 
who drove down to the rally 
because they thought they needed 
to be there.
”
Because of the recent surge 
in antisemitism, Coulter also 
addressed the issue of security 
within the community. He said 

he has talked to Oakland County 
Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who has 
been doing proactive outreach to 
synagogues and other places of 
worship regarding security.
Coulter also talked about “mak-
ing county government work.
” 
His board of directors is split 
11-10 between Democrats and 
Republicans. “
And we don’t ignore 
the 10 Republicans,
” he said. “We 
like proposals to pass with broad 
bipartisan support, which we’ve 
done with our budget and federal 
COVID relief dollars.
”
Coulter added efforts are 

underway to build more diver-
sity into county government, 
something he said was lacking. 
Another new project was the cre-
ation of a Community Relations 
Department to better understand 
and work more closely with area 
agencies and nonprofits. His 
office has also set up a welcoming 
initiative for immigrants, which 
the Jewish Community Relations 
Council is a part of.
He said the biggest challenge 
the county faces is still COVID. 
“No question. The pandemic is 
not over,
” he said. “The challenge 
is managing this next phase. 
Although the health aspect is 
much more manageable now, we 
still need to get people vaccinated. 
 “There are also the affects of 
the pandemic on the economy. A 
lot of businesses have recovered 
and are doing great, but there are 
those still struggling. We want to 
target our American Recovery 
Plan dollars to where we can 
make the biggest impact and 
make significant, structural and 
transformational change.
” 

OUR COMMUNITY

DAVID SACHS

Dave Coulter visits the JN in his ef
 orts
to better know dif
 erent segments of
Oakland County.

Listening Tour

JACKIE HEADAPOHL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

County 
Executive 
Dave Coulter

