AUGUST 12 • 2021 | 25
two generations ago with my
mother’s parents who met at
Tamarack Camps. We still
like to tell the story about the
baseball game at Tamarack
(the Fresh Air Society at the
time), and the boy who threw
a wild pitch into the stands
and hit a girl in the head. The
pitcher was my grandfather,
the girl was my grandmother.
No injuries were reported, as
I understand, but it was the
pitch that started our family.
My grandparents, all four
of blessed memory, were
very community-driven.
In particular, my maternal
grandparents spent their time
building bridges between the
Jewish community and the
Black and Arab communities.
Building a greater Detroit was
a longtime desire and goal
of theirs. My parents were a
part of that and loved being
involved in making friends
across those community
lines, blurring those lines —
teaching one another.
I grew up with a strong
sense that my parents’
and grandparents’ Jewish
identities were essential to
them. However, my own
Jewish identity didn’t truly
materialize until I participated
in a Teen Mission to Israel
in 2004. My parents decided
to enroll me after seeing an
advertisement for the trip in
the Jewish News, and I’m so
glad that they did. At 17, I
was not unlike other teens in
high school — rebelling for
the sake of rebelling, including
by struggling with my Jewish
identity and the concept of
organized religion.
But then, when I stepped
off the bus in Israel at that
first stop at Castel — that
lookout point over Jerusalem
— suddenly I realized where
I stood and how connected I
was to our ancestry and the
history of the land. And it was
in that moment that something
clicked, and I thought that
maybe my Jewish identity was
more important than I realized.
I carried that Jewish identity
to college and adopted MSU
Hillel as the place I most
loved to be on campus. I’m an
Alpha Epsilon Pi alum, but
MSU Hillel was where I spent
much of my time. I studied
there, hung out there, led
Shabbat services there for six
years. I can’t say enough about
Cindy Hughey and Jonathon
Koenigsberg [executive
director and associate director]
and how they and the rest of
the incredible staff made MSU
Hillel a home for all of us.
What eventually drew me to
community work in my 20s,
though, was the realization that
I had received so much from
the Jewish community and
that I felt it was time to start
giving back. I also had friends
in community leadership roles
showing me the way.
To be on the receiving end
of our community resources is
a good thing but giving back
feels great. Sixteen years a
community volunteer in Jewish
Detroit, and I still consider
myself a “newcomer,” just
getting started on a lifelong
journey with Federation. And
I couldn’t be prouder to be on
my way.
ON PROFESSIONAL
AND LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
Q: How does a computer geek
become a patent lawyer?
KS: I started college with
a love for video games
and pursued computer
programming coursework
to learn how to make them.
With programming — writing
software — the only resources
you need are a computer and
your brain to create, invent and
solve problems beyond your
wildest dreams.
I found it to be a challenging
and fulfilling activity …
until I realized that most
of software development is
debugging — fixing broken
code — especially when it
was written by someone else.
It turned out that debugging
was not something I enjoyed.
Still, I was halfway toward my
computer science degree, and
it made no sense to throw out
that knowledge. So, I looked to
see how I might apply my skills
to another field and found the
answer in patent law.
Patent law is pretty
specialized. I had to take
an additional bar exam to
get my license to practice
before the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. I work
with inventors — engineers at
global corporations, industry
leaders in software and
telecommunications — in all
sorts of other spaces. I’m the
guy who can translate their
science into legalese. I learn
about what they’ve invented
and how it works, and then I
write patent applications, which
are dense, legal documents
explaining how to make and
use the invention, to help them
protect those inventions. Not
unlike any other aspect of law,
it’s challenging, it’s rewarding
— and there’s a lot of strategy
involved.
The past couple of decades,
in particular, have seen an
explosion in the number of
patents awarded to software
inventions. In just the span of
time that I’ve been in practice,
the rate of U.S. invention has
been mind-boggling.
ON NEXTGEN DETROIT
AND THE STRENGTH OF
COMMUNITY
Q: How did you first get
involved with Federation?
KS: My two-year term
on the board of Tamarack
Camps (2015-17) was my
introduction to communal
leadership. Joining that board
led to a wider network with
Federation’s NEXTGen Detroit
and my first assignment
as cochair of Federation’s
Interfaith Couples Group.
With that connection, Tara
and I had all the incentive we
needed to jump into a new
Jewish community adventure
together. Tara’s role in
helping to shape Federation’s
programming opportunities
for interfaith couples and
encouraging others to
participate was as formative as
mine.
Tara grew up Presbyterian,
but if you ask her, I imagine
that she would say that
religious belief is a personal
choice, and that she doesn’t
identify with any religion
today. Before we married,
we were in clear agreement:
Out of respect and love for
our blended families, we have
chosen to raise our kids in a
Jewish household where we
can celebrate Christmas and
Easter with their maternal
grandparents.
I was so excited to have
the opportunity to co-chair
the Interfaith Couples group.
As studies have shown for
years, our family represents
an estimated 50-60% of the
population that is interfaith.
To be a vibrant Jewish
community, we must embrace
our diversity and welcome
interfaith couples, with the
acknowledgement that this is
their community as well. If we
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