I

n a recent email to friends and support-
ers, SOAR took the wraps off its new 
logo and name. 
“Earlier this year, under the interim 
executive directorship of Wendy Bice and 
Diane Henderson, and with the full sup-
port of the board of directors, the decision 
was made to update SOAR’s legal name 
to SOAR LLI (SOAR Lifelong Learning 
Institute), a name more reflective of 
SOAR’s mission and purpose,
” the email 
read. SOAR stands for “Society of Active 
Retirees.
”
SOAR LLI also introduced its new exec-
utive director, Debra Yamstein, who took 
her post on June 6.
“We are thrilled to have Debra on 
board,
” said Susan Greenfield, SOAR board 
chair. “We feel so fortunate Debra chose 
SOAR as the place she wants to work 
among the many nonprofit 
organizations that would love 
to have her.
” 
Yamstein comes to SOAR 
after serving six years with 
JVS Human Services, her last position as 
vice president of Senior Adult Services 
and Community Inclusion. Her work 
included managing programs, including 
the Dorothy and Peter Brown Jewish 
Community Adult Day Program, which 
provides programs and services for people 
living with dementia and their partners. 
At SOAR, her focus will be on growing 
SOAR’s membership and funding through 
member engagement, community collabo-
rations and innovative programming.
“I have a passion for working with older 
adults and, as a lifelong learner myself, 
SOAR’s mission resonates deeply with me,
” 
Yamstein said.
In addition to being a lifelong leader, 
she’s also a lifelong traveler, a dedicated 
mother and one who remains calm and 
steady, even under pressure. “My father 
used to ask me if I was going to become a 
Jewish nun,
” joked Yamstein, who grew up 

in Oak Park, one of three children born to 
Ralph and Marlene Yamron.
Yamstein attended Michigan State 
University’s James Madison College but left 
that program after switching her major to 
religious studies. “So much of who we are 
comes from our religious backgrounds,
” 
she said. “I believe this education gave me 
the ability to better understand different 
people and cultures.
”
Her intention to study various cultures 
was realized years later when she and a 
travel mate circumnavigated the globe. 
“When you spend nine months living out 
of a backpack, you realize what you don’t 
need and you see that, truly, everyone 
wants the same things out of life: to be 
happy, have their family close by and feel 
like they belong. Traveling opens your 
mind to a global worldview and you start 
to think more deeply 
about the change you can 
make at home and in the 
world.
”
Yamstein earned a 
master’s of social work at Wayne State 
University, then worked for several com-
munity agencies before landing at JVS. 
She met and married her husband, Brian 
Epstein, in 2008. She and her husband 
combined their last names into “Yamstein.
”
The Yamsteins, who love to camp, hike 
and just hang around home, have two 
daughters, ages 10 and 13, and a Maltipoo. 
“I was looking for a position that 
matched my skill set and also embraced a 
healthy work-home life balance. When I 
saw the SOAR job posting, I thought, ‘This 
is it!’ I had just enrolled my daughters in 
the Hawk Community Center’s summer 
camp program.
”
Greenfield said, “In Debra, we have a 
professional who is dedicated to lifelong 
learning and enhancing the lives of SOAR’s 
members. I hope all of our staff, instruc-
tors and members give her a warm wel-
come to SOAR.
” 

OUR COMMUNITY

A new logo, a new name and a new executive director.
What’s New at SOAR

JN STAFF

16 | JULY 28 • 2022 

SOAR’s Shared 
Interest Groups

Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) are 
a way for SOAR members to take 
a deep dive into areas of common 
interest. SOAR’s SIGs are an inti-
mate, free benefit of SOAR mem-
bership and are hosted by a SOAR 
volunteer (or team of volunteers) 
and typically meet once a month 
(presently on Zoom) to discuss a 
book, film or issue. Find out more 
at www.soarexplore.com.

“I HAVE A PASSION FOR 
WORKING WITH OLDER 
ADULTS AND, AS A 
LIFELONG LEARNER 
MYSELF, SOAR’S 
MISSION RESONATES 

DEEPLY WITH ME”

— DEBRA YAMSTEIN

Debra 
Yamstein

