18 | OCTOBER 14 • 2021 

I

n 2019, the Shalom 
Hartman Institute (SHI) 
opened an office in 
Detroit thanks to support 
from the William Davidson 
Foundation. 
 At that time, Detroit was 
among the many Jewish com-
munities throughout North 
America working to engage 
and strengthen Jewish com-
munal life, a sense of people-
hood, and to understand the 
changing nature of the rela-
tionship between Israel and 
American Jews.
Founded in Israel, SHI is 
a center of transformative 
thinking and teaching that 
addresses the major challenges 
facing the Jewish people today 
and elevates Jewish life in 
Israel and around the world.
SHI North America hired 
Rebecca Starr to oversee the 
Midwest office and her role in 
the organization shifted as she 
also serves as the director of 
regional programs.
When Hartman started to 

bring ideas and scholars to 
the Detroit community, they 
organized four cohort groups. 
These included educators and 
rabbis, communal profes-
sionals and the local Jewish 
Funders Network. 
The fourth cohort was 
established as a pilot pro-
gram in partnership with the 
Jewish Community Relations 
Council/American Jewish 
Committee (JCRC/AJC). 
The Detroit Community 
Leadership Program (DCLP) 
invited applicants to apply to 
be part of a diverse cohort of 
Metro Detroit’s most influen-
tial Jewish lay leaders. 
The aim of this group, 
which was led by scholars 
from the Shalom Hartman 
Institute, was to set a concep-
tual framework for under-
standing the relationship 
between Israel and North 
American Jewry, to mediate 
the tone and tenor of complex 
communal discourse, and to 
bring what they learned back 

to the organizations and insti-
tutions in which they hold 
leadership positions. 
“The JCRC/
AJC has been 
thrilled to partner 
with the Shalom 
Hartman Institute 
of North America 
for the last two 
years,” said Rabbi 
Asher Lopatin, 
JCRC/AJC executive director. 
“It is vital that we support 
community leaders as they 
study how Jewish sources and 
traditions lead to the values 
and advocacy that the Jewish 
community and our organi-
zation support for the wider 
world.”

A SUCCESSFUL COHORT
In the DCLP’s first few 
months, participants had the 
opportunity to meet and learn 
in person alongside visiting 
scholars such as SHI leaders 
Elana Stein Hain and Lauren 
Berkun. However, once the 

pandemic began, the format 
and goals of the program 
changed as sessions were held 
solely on Zoom, and the trip 
the group planned to take to 
Israel in June of 2020 with 
other leaders from across 
North America was canceled. 
To pivot amid this chal-
lenge, the Jewish communal 
conversation grew under these 
changing circumstances with 
participants expanding their 
conversations to include ques-
tions that arose as a result of 
the pandemic and challenging 
political situations in both 
Israel and the U.S. 
The work shifted from a 
focus on Israel exclusively to 
one that helped leaders think 
about the role of leaders in 
times of crisis. 
“Being part of the Detroit 
Community Leadership 
Program exceeded all of my 
expectations,” said Audrey 
Bloomberg, a member of this 

OUR COMMUNITY

Shalom Hartman Institute and JCRC/AJC to convene 
new leadership group after successful pilot.

Training Leaders

LAUREN GARFIELD-HERRIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Members of the cohort pictured with mentors, 
Rebecca Starr, Rabbi Asher Lopatin and JCRC/
AJC Associate Director Lauren Garfield-Herrin

Detroit 
Community 
Leadership 
Program’s 
second cohort:

• Jonathan Aaron
• Brad Axelrod
• Alicia Chandler
• Michael Curhan
• Suzan Curhan
• Andrew Doctoroff
• Ken Gold
• Ryan Hertz
• Jeffrey Klein
• Susan Klein
• Jodie Krasnick
• Ellen Lipton
• Marc Lipton
• Beth Margolin
• Steve Margolin
• Andi Nitzkin
• Sarah Roberts
• Larry Winer
• Michelle Younger

Rabbi Asher 
Lopatin

JCRC/AJC

