Jewish affairs, largely inspired
by his father-in-law and that
Israel trip.
In the late 1980s, Wolfe
was introduced to the Jewish
Community Center by his
friend and mentor Jerry Sobel.
Calling it a “natural fit,
” Wolfe
became involved with the
organization and worked his
way up to eventually be elected
president in 1997. There, he
met various Jewish commu-
nity leaders, including people
involved with Federation.
When asked to take a chair

on the board of governors at
Federation following his three-
year term as president of the
JCC, Wolfe gladly accepted. He
also became president of Adat
Shalom Synagogue.

FEDERATION PRESIDENT
Wolfe’s interest in the Jewish
community continued to
blossom as did his work with
Federation. After working
on a number of Federation
committees over the years, he
eventually was elected president
in 2015.

In his three years as
Federation president, Wolfe is
particularly proud of several
achievements under his watch
as president of Federation,
including moving Federation’s
education department to the
JCC, which could give the
Center better focus on how
they serve people within the
community through learning
initiatives.
Larry and Andi Wolfe
often volunteer together, for
instance with ORT, a global
education network driven by

Jewish values. Larry serves on
the board of World ORT, as
have many noted Detroit ORT-
supporters including previous
Butzel Award winners David
Hermelin and Dr. Conrad
Giles, Andi, likewise, is a board
member of ORT America.
Yet these initiatives only
begin to scrape the surface of
Wolfe’s work in Jewish Detroit
and beyond.
As president of
the D. Dan and Betty Kahn
Foundation, established by
Andi’s family, Wolfe presented a

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

Butzel Award winner Larry Wolfe

“EVERYTHING LARRY TOUCHES,
HE PUTS HIS WHOLE BODY AND
SOUL INTO.”

— ANDI WOLFE

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