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

continued on page 20

SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 19