OUR COMMUNITY

I

t was a whirlwind 48 hours when 
professionals from our local Jewish 
service agencies touched down in 
Baltimore on a trip dubbed the “Executive 
Expedition.”
The goal of the trip was for agency pro-
fessionals to visit a city that 
offered different program-
ming to their Jewish commu-
nity. Baltimore was chosen 
because it is a similar in size 
to Metro Detroit with unique 
offerings the professionals 
were eager to learn more 
about, said Ashley Schnaar, 
from the Planning & Agency 

Relations department at Federation, who 
adds that the trip was possible thanks to 
the Gerson Innovation Fund.
The Gerson Innovation Fund was start-
ed by the William Davidson 
Foundation to honor 
Dorothy and Byron Gerson. 
Dorothy was William 
Davidson’s sister, and they 
were very close, according 
to her son Ralph Gerson. 
“Both my parents and the 
the Davidson Foundation 
are particularly interested in innovation,” 
Gerson said. “Bill was entrepreneurial and 
innovative and likes to see people encour-
aged to think in a creative way. 

“We thought that it would make some 
sense to help the Federation try and do 
some innovative things with the Jewish 
agencies. So, we put together a fund for 
innovation to sponsor projects that the 
staff would bring to a committee,” he 
added.
The idea for agency professionals to visit 
another city was creative, Gerson said. 
“First, to see if we could learn some new 
approaches we could take back to Detroit, 
but also for the agency leaders to spend 
time together talking about their goals.”
Schnaar said Federation’s Planning & 
Agency Relations team had been looking 
for a travel opportunity for agency profes-
sionals and at the same time was working 
on a plan to support older adults in the 
Detroit Jewish community. “Thanks to the 
Gerson Innovation Fund, we were able to 
combine those goals with the Executive 
Expedition,” she said. 

Detroit Jewish agency professionals visit 
Baltimore for learning and collaboration.

The Executive 
Expedition

Ashley 
Schnaar

JACKIE HEADAPOHL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

22 | JUNE 15 • 2023 

Ralph 
Gerson

The group took a 
tour of a technology 
classroom in 
Baltimore.

COURTESY OF FEDERATION

