OUR COMMUNITY
I
t was a cold, rain-soaked
Monday evening when I
visited the Meer Indepenent
Living Apartments on the
JCC Campus, yet the per-
son I’m here to see, Tracey
Proghovnick Edelstein, exuded
sunny warmth, greeting me at
the door and pausing to kibitz
with residents and pet a dog. In
her office — after insisting on
giving me a gift bag — she gave
me the bad news — we’re aging.
“If you’re lucky, you’re going
to get old,” she said.
Most of us try to avoid
talking (or even think-
ing) about our later years.
Proghovnick Edelstein has
done the opposite nearly every
day for 25 years at Jewish
Senior Life. Since joining JSL
in 1998 as a social worker, she
has managed various aspects
of intake at JSL facilities and
has also worked closely with
other local Jewish organiza-
tions, such as Jewish Family
Service, to ensure seniors’
needs are met. (For those of
you who, like me, get your “Js”
confused, JSL handles most
senior housing in the area,
whereas JFS takes the lead on
care for seniors who are still in
their own homes. Both receive
a portion of their funding
from the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit.) As the
current director of residential
marketing and community
relations, she communicates
what JSL has to offer.
The throughline is a passion
for her work and empathy for
those she serves.
“Tracey has the ability to
build relationships with peo-
ple, even in the most challeng-
ing situations,” said Barbra
Giles, who helped recruit
Proghovnick Edelstein to JSL
and still works for the organi-
zation as executive director of
strategic initiatives.
As Proghovnick Edelstein’s
role has evolved, so has the
community and its needs. The
overall population of Jewish
seniors in Detroit is growing,
per the most recent commu-
nity survey, as the historically
large baby boomer generation
enters retirement. Seniors are
now living longer and increas-
ingly aging in home, which
means that, on the flip side,
they often encounter JSL when
they are older and frailer.
And then there are the
more acute challenges, such as
when the COVID pandemic
forced JSL to stop accepting
new residents. In that difficult
time, when there was no need
for residential marketing, she
found herself at a reception
desk, screening residents and
permitted visitors.
“She never, ever considers
herself above doing any job that
needs to get done,” Giles said.
For her decades of dedica-
tion to Detroit Jewish seniors,
Proghovnick Edelstein was
awarded the Mandell L. and
Madeleine H. Berman Award,
the Federation’s highest honor
The Upside
of Aging
30 | JUNE 29 • 2023
Meet Tracey Proghovnick Edelstein,
this year’s Berman Award winner.
DAVID ZENLEA MYJEWISHDETROIT.ORG
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HARDWICK/FEDERATION
Tracey Proghovnick Edelstein
Tracey Proghovnick Edelstein has worked for Jewish
Senior Life since 1998.