28 | FEBRUARY 10 • 2022
OBGYN in 2021 by the Ann
Arbor Family Press.
In addition to her day job,
Monica is an active member
of Ann Arbor’s Jewish com-
munity. She is the immediate
past president of the Ann
Arbor Orthodox minyan
where she continues to serve
on the board, and she also
serves on the board of the
Hebrew Day School of Ann
Arbor where her children go
to school.
She is a grassroots Jewish
leader who has initiated sev-
eral core Jewish community
programs in Ann Arbor.
During the pandemic, she
organized weekly Shabbat
activities for kids in a local
park, including a community
Tot Shabbat for younger kids
and a mini minyan for ele-
mentary-aged kids.
Perhaps most importantly,
she and her husband, Ben,
are proud parents to three
children: Solly, 7, Gavi, 5,
and Mira, 2. On Sunday
nights, Monica can be found
playing a mean game of
mahjong.
VERA
NEWMAN
Born and
raised in
Panama City,
Panama, Vera
Newman grew
up in a close-knit Jewish
community with Sephardic
influences.
After marrying a native
Detroiter and relocating
to Michigan in June 2012,
she began developing and
experimenting with recipes
that reflected her Syrian,
Moroccan and Panamanian
roots.
In November 2020, Vera
published The Marblespoon
Cookbook, the culmination
of a year-long effort that
included writing, styling and
photographing all 160 recipes
herself. The cookbook, which
has sold nearly 10,000 copies
to date, was a natural exten-
sion of Vera’s mission — to
help busy moms cook deli-
cious, easy and nourishing
meals for their families.
Vera also shares recipes on
her Instagram “cooking blog,”
@marblespoon, in magazines
like Whisk by Ami and web-
sites like kosher.com. Fluent
in English, Spanish and
Hebrew, Vera gives cooking
demonstrations over Zoom
and Instagram.
Vera’s passion for cook-
ing and party planning
led her to start a private
catering and event plan-
ning business in 2016,
also named Marblespoon.
Her goal? To beautify and
enhance the celebrations
marking the special mile-
stones in people’s lives.
To give back to the Detroit
Jewish community, Vera
donates her time and services
to support local organiza-
tions.
Ultimately, Vera seeks to
utilize the talents God has
blessed her with to help
beautify the world and uplift
others.
She lives in Oak Park with
her husband and their four
kids.
continued from page 27
OUR
COMMUNITY
YONGZHENG MARK
PORCELAIN BOWL
WITH LID
PRICE REALIZED:
$200,000
NOW ACCEPTING
CONSIGNMENTS FOR 2022
V I S I T S T E F E K S A U C T I O N S . C O M F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N
FINE ART, JEWELRY,
MID-CENTURY MODERN DESIGN,
OBJETS D’ART, AND MORE
Get The Detroit Jewish
News print edition delivered
to your door every week for
less than $2 per issue.
thejewishnews.com/subscription
Stay in the know
with all things Jewish...
Subscribe
Today!
The team at Storage Business
Owners Alliance is proud of all
of your accomplishments.
Congratulations
Congratulations
Alec!
Alec!
— Ian Burnstein,
President & Founder