24 | AUGUST 17 • 2023
F
or the first time in decades,
Detroit hosted the National Young
Leadership Cabinet (NYLC)
retreat. The retreat was held from July
31 through Aug. 2. The opening plena-
ry at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit
featured speeches from several local
and national dignitaries, headlined by
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
NYLC is Jewish Federations of North
America’s (JFNA) premier young leader-
ship development program that inspires
the next generation of global Jewish
leaders toward philanthropy, communal
engagement and activism. Cabinet has
molded six decades of Jewish leaders
and philanthropists and has more than
4,500 current members and alumni who
foster flourishing Jewish communities
across North America and around the
globe.
Other dignitaries who spoke at the
opening plenary include Gary Torgow,
chairman of Huntington Bank; Eric
Fingerhut, president and CEO of
JFNA; and Dennis Bernard, president
of the United Jewish Foundation of
Metropolitan Detroit and
the chair of the Security and
Antisemitism Committee of
JFNA.
The Detroit retreat
attracted nearly 300 people
from all over, which Bernard
believes says a lot about the
city and its Jewish community.
“We are one of the strongest, most
dynamic Jewish communities in the
country, and we have a large delega-
tion we send to the NYLC every year,”
Bernard said. “And I think people are
curious about Detroit. You heard that in
the governor’s speech; we’re the come-
back city, and people like comebacks.
People want to see it. It also says a lot
about the influence our Cabinet mem-
bers have within Cabinet across the
country.”
Bernard, who invited Whitmer and
introduced her at the event, recalls
meeting with her a few years ago when
she came to his office. The discussion
centered on her commitment to the
Jewish community.
“I asked her to make sure we main-
tain the $4 million funding that would
come to our Jewish community’s social
service agencies. She lied. She turned it
into $6 million,” Bernard said. “She has
been an incredible friend to our Jewish
community — $6 million dollars to our
agencies, $15 million for security for our
community.”
Annual NYLC retreats elsewhere don’t
get the governor of the state to come
and speak, Bernard stated.
“It’s (indicative) of the strength of our
Jewish community that we could get the
governor to do it,” Bernard said. “It’s
also (indicative) of our governor who
came and did it. She wanted to be there.
She is very in tune with our Jewish com-
munity.”
ONE-ON-ONE WITH WHITMER
After her speech, Gov. Whitmer spoke
exclusively to the JN, and said she was
“thrilled” to be at the retreat and praised
Michigan’s “incredible, strong Jewish
community.”
“A lot of members of Cabinet have
informed the work we’ve done in
Michigan: the actions we’ve taken to
support Jewish social services, to ensur-
ing the community is safe when there’s
been a rise in antisemitism,” Whitmer
said. “But I think hosting Cabinet here
is a great opportunity for us to tell our
story and also to hopefully get more
OUR COMMUNITY
Keynote speaker Gov. Whitmer spoke exclusively
to the JN about a number of topics.
Detroit Hosts
National Young
Leadership Cabinet
Retreat
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
Dennis
Bernard
LEFT: Samantha Foon and Lacey Foon,
both of Bloomfield Hills; Lou Goldhaber of
Franklin, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Jordon
Wertheimer of Birmingham.