20 | FEBRUARY 10 • 2022 leading investment manager in Austin, Texas. After more than a decade away, Zack returned in 2017, moving to Birmingham. Shortly thereafter, he met Emily, a phy- sician assistant at Beaumont, who he married not once, but twice thanks to COVID-related wedding planning adventures. Zack and Emily are both committed to helping foster a strong Jewish community in Metro Detroit. Zack is active with Chabad Detroit and the Downtown Synagogue, and he is passionate about his work as a board member with Federation’s NEXTGen Detroit. Zack has focused on creating social events to expand and strengthen community; he has chaired successful NEXTGen events, such as ice skating at Campus Martius, couples kay- aking and the “Pitch Under the Lights” kickball tournament. In his personal and profes- sional life, Zack strives to be a mensch. He works as a vice president and financial advi- sor at the Society for Lifetime Planning, where he serves as personal financial quarterback for his clients, helping with investment management, devel- oping retirement income strat- egies and answering personal financial questions. ELANA MIODOWNIK Elana Miodow- nik has always hoped to give back to the community that helped form her into the person she is today. Being raised in a Southfield home that emphasized Jewish values and tradition helped her develop a positive Jewish identity and paved the road that led her back to Farber Hebrew Day School. As a social worker for grades K-8 at Farber, she helps create a feeling of warmth in school so each child feels loved and, more importantly, they each matter as an individual. Throughout the day, she works with students on building their social skills, learning how to resolve conflict, and how to appropriately advo- cate for themselves and others. As a representative of the religious Modern Orthodox community, she embraces the opportunity to be a positive female Jewish role model in her students’ lives, whether it be attending morning prayers in school, teaching a course on Jewish law or, her most recent favorite, using TikTok to help her students engage in a weekly reflection on each week’s Torah portion and creating a weekly “ShTikTok” together. Beyond Farber, as a member of the Youth Mental Health Workgroup, she works in col- laboration with other commu- nity members to have a greater impact on the mental well-be- ing of our community’s youth. In addition to her role as a social worker, she and her hus- band are the proud parents of three wonderful children. She and her family live in (no sur- prise!) Southfield! Her students’ might be interested to know that in 2000, Elana was slimed as a winner on Nickelodeon’s game show Slimetime Live! ILANA WORONOFF Ilana Woronoff was born and raised in West Bloomfield. She is a licensed social worker and currently works as a resource center coordinator at Jewish Family Service. In this role, Ilana works to support the commu- nity in many ways, including connecting people to coun- seling support, accessing resources for those with aging family members or simply helping people find a kosher butcher. Supporting the com- munity is not only a career for Ilana, but also a passion. Ilana completed her undergraduate studies at Michigan State University, majoring in human develop- ment and family studies with a specialization in Jewish studies. She later received her Master of Social Work degree at the University of Michigan. Ilana grew up at Adat Shalom Synagogue and dis- covered her passion for vol- unteering during the annual Housing the Homeless pro- gram. Following that spark, she currently enjoys serving as a member of NEXTGen Detroit’s Volunteers Committee. An alumna of BBYO Michigan Region, MSU Hillel, JYP-Ann Arbor and many other community organizations, Ilana has a deep love and appreciation for the Jewish community. While not working, volun- teering or spending time with family and friends, Ilana can be found in the kitchen hon- ing her skills as an at-home baker and cook. Throughout the past two years, Ilana has found that the kitchen is not such an intimidating place and now loves whipping up a chocolate babka (with friends on Zoom) or baking a new recipe she stumbled upon on Instagram. JENNA BELTSER Jenna Beltser is the director for the Orthodox Union’s Impact Accelerator. Since its launch in 2018, the Impact Accelerator works with nonprofit startups that address critical issues of the Jewish community through new and innovative methods. Every year, four-to-six organizations are chosen to participate in a cohort experience that includes a nonprofit curriculum, leader- ship training, mentorship and coaching. As founding director of the program, Jenna designed the cohort experience as well as the curriculum and format of the program. She works with each startup nonprofit one-on-one to help them scale their efforts. Prior to the Accelerator, Jenna worked in the financial technology startup world at both Visible Alpha and Novus. The Impact Accelerator blends her passion for the Jewish com- munity with her experience in startups to transform the land- scape of the Jewish future. Outside of the OU, Jenna is involved in her local synagogue and Jewish community. Jenna’s family moved back to Michigan this summer. She lives in Southfield with her husband, Lev, and two children. Jenna graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bache- lor’s in international relations and economics. While at Penn, she studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, where she went bungee jumping at the Bloukrans Bridge, the highest commercially operated bridge bungee jump in the world. continued from page 18 OUR COMMUNITY continued on page 22