38 | DECEMBER 2 • 2021

C

ontinuing an annual
tradition each fall to
recognize “Detroit
Expats” who have roots in
Jewish Detroit, the Jewish
Expat Reception was held
Sept. 24 to honor the legacy of
Dr. Larry Brilliant and Gene
Sperling.
Gene Sperling, who grew up
in Ann Arbor, is a senior aide
to President Joe Biden and, on
behalf of the president, leads
the COVID Rescue Plan for
the country. He was National
Economic Council director
and national economic advis-
er to Presidents Obama and
Clinton, the only person to
have served two presidents in
that role.
Dr. Larry Brilliant, who
spoke over Zoom, is a pio-
neering physician and epi-
demiologist who used his
educational experience at the
University of Michigan and
Wayne State University to go

on to lead the UN campaign
to eradicate smallpox in India.
He served as the first executive
director of Google.org and as
the chair of the Skoll Global
Threats Fund. He founded the
Seva Foundation, which has
restored sight to more than 4
million blind people in dozens
of countries.
Dr. Brilliant’s roots run
deep in this city, from his
father’s Brilliant Music’s loca-
tion to his motorcycle rides
Downtown to get his wisdom
teeth filled to his experiences
in BBYO/AZA, where he met
his wife.
As a Mumford High School
graduate of 1961, his contribu-
tions to our world are global
but his life’s roots are within
this city. In his autobiography,
he talks about his identity as a
Jewish Detroter, and how the
issues he saw early on helped
guide the remarkable leader
he’d become.

faces&places

Homecoming

2021 Jewish Detroit Expat reception
honors Dr. Larry Brilliant and White
House Adviser Gene Sperling.

ADAM FINKEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES FELDMAN

Gene Sperling shares remarks with the crowd.
Lisa Soble Siegmann, Program Partner of The Max. M & Marjorie S.
Fisher Foundation, provides an overview of Jewish life in Detroit to
the attendees.

Eli Saulson, Congressman Andy Levin and former Congressman Sandy
Levin.

ABOVE: Richard Bernstein, Justice
of the Michigan Supreme Court,
converses with Howard Handler and
Lisa Applebaum.

LEFT: Rabbi Ariana Silverman of the
Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue.