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.

