O

ur sense of belonging comes from the memory that we 
were all once strangers. This quintessential contradiction 
of Jewish identity, explicitly commanded in the Torah 
and echoed throughout our history, binds our people together and 
drives a shared commitment to tolerance and empathy. 
It certainly drives Spencer Lucker, 34-year-old resident of the 
Boston Edison neighborhood. By day, he helps fellow Detroiters 
as director of employer engagement for Mayor Mike Duggan’s 
Workforce Development Board. In his spare time (a precious 
resource since he has 6-month-old twins), he oversees community 
outreach and identity efforts on NEXTGen’s executive committee.
His passion for Detroit’s Jewish community, particularly those 
new to it, owes to the fact that he was very recently a complete 
stranger here himself. Lucker is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, 
and moved here just three years ago from Washington, D.C.
“We need to ensure that all Jewish young adults in Metro Detroit 
are able to feel the warm embrace by the Jewish community that I 
did when I moved here three years ago,
” he said. 
 The need to welcome young Jews is a growing one. The number 
of Jews in Metro Detroit ages 18 to 34 more than doubled between 
2005 and 2018, and there is anecdotal evidence that the influx has 
continued during the pandemic, as young adults seek more afford-
able housing and look to be closer to family support networks. 
This is cause for celebration, not to mention a credit in part to 
community efforts like NEXTGen, which was established about a 
decade ago with the express goal of attracting and engaging millen-
nials. “In many ways, we’re ahead of the game,
” Lucker says.

Meet Spencer Lucker, 
who works for Mayor Mike 
Duggan and volunteers his 
time with NEXTGen Detroit.

The 
Perfect 
Stranger

DAVID ZENLEA SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

18 | FEBRUARY 3 • 2022 

OUR COMMUNITY

JOHN HARDWICK, FEDERATION

Spencer Lucker

