32 | FEBRUARY 15 • 2024 

teachers. 
Additionally, Brittany is an 
active member of the Vaad 
Yisrael, a committee at Hillel 
focused on the integration of 
Israel education. She helps 
develop and align Israel 
education learning targets 
from ECC to eighth grade. 
Brittany was honored to 
welcome Israeli students into 
her classroom in October. 
Providing them with a 
happy and safe learning 
environment and seeing 
all of the students connect 
was such a meaningful 
experience for her. 
Brittany is a proud alum of 
the University of Michigan 
where she earned a bachelor 
of arts degree in elementary 
education. After starting 
her career, she went back to 
school and earned a master 
of arts degree in educational 
technology from Michigan 
State University. 
Brittany grew up in 
Metro Detroit and couldn’t 
imagine living anywhere 
else. She loves being close 
to her family and friends. 
Brittany took dance lessons 
for most of her childhood. 
Throughout the last couple 
of years, she enjoyed 
taking tap classes again. 
Brittany was married in 
December 2023. She and 
her husband, Sam, love to 
take walks throughout their 
neighborhood and explore 
different parks and trails 
with their sweet dog, Mabel. 

BRIAN FATA 
It all started 
when Brian Fata 
moved to the 
Detroit area from 
Miami to attend 
the College for Creative 
Studies, kickstarting his time 
in Michigan. Out of college, 
he was a designer for 
manufacturers in Michigan 
and Ohio where he honed 
his professional skills. 
Michigan’s cannabis industry 
led him back, marking his 
entry at the dawn of 
legalization. 
Amid the pandemic, he 
assisted in the distribution 
of thousands of kosher 
meals through the Chabad 
of MSU and the Kiwi Kids 
food program. Leveraging 
connections in the cannabis 
industry, he called upon 
secure transporters to help 
bring the kosher food to 
Lansing and other locations. 
As COVID waned, he 
moved backed to Metro 
Detroit for work, and found 
an amazing friend in Rabbi 
Menachem Caytak, who 
inspired him to foster local 
young professionals’ learning 
initiatives. 
This led to sponsoring 
and leading trips, including 
a significant 2023 journey 
to Crown Heights with his 
then-fiancée now-wife and 
six other young professionals 
from Metro Detroit for a 
Shabbaton. 
He and his wife live in Oak 
Park, where they strive to 
give back to the community 
that has provided them with 
so much. Brian loves a good 
old-fashioned road trip. 

The cheesier the roadside 
attractions the better. 

ANNIE 
KLINGER 
Annie Klinger is 
a prominent 
figure in the 
Metro Detroit 
Jewish community. 
Originally from Farmington 
Hills, she started 
her professional involvement 
at Temple Israel and JCC 
Day Camps at age 13, all the 
way through high school 
(and some of college), where 
she gained infinite personal 
and professional 
connections. 
 When attending Wayne 
State, she joined the 
University Hillel and Jewish 
Student Organization, 
leading her to her Birthright 
trip that continued to fuel 
importance to her Jewish 
identity and community. 
Out of college. she taught 
at Temple Beth El as a 
co-teacher in the ECC. It 
was there that her passion 
for education was reignited, 
and she additionally 
accepted the opportunity to 
be the adviser for Kulanu 
BBG. Annie is currently 
the full-time youth adviser 
at Congregation Shaarey 
Zedek and the adviser for 
Motor City USY (MCUSY). 
This summer, she is 
enthusiastically going to 
be co-coaching the Detroit 
Maccabi Dance Team.
Annie takes extreme pride 
in her community and values 
the people who have gotten 
her to this point. 
Her favorite thing about 

living in Metro Detroit is 
that almost all the people 
she loves are here and all 
sports and entertainment 
are nearby. She has a Gecko 
named Louis Lizardini. 

ATARA 
KRESCH 
Atara Kresch, 
senior at the 
University of 
Michigan, is 
studying art and design, 
business entrepreneurship 
and Judaic studies. She grew 
up in Oak Park, attending 
and graduating from Farber 
Hebrew Day School/Yeshivat 
Akiva in 2019. 
 In 2022, Atara founded 
AtaraKetubot, a Judaica 
business specializing in 
custom papercut ketubahs 
and wedding gifts, shipping 
her work nationally and 
internationally. Her creative 
journey reflects a lifelong 
passion for art and a 
commitment to bringing joy 
to people’s homes through 
timeless creations.
In addition to her 
entrepreneurial pursuits, 
Atara has been an active 
leader within the Jewish 
campus community. For 
the past two and a half 
years, she served as the 
Yavneh National Board 
president, mentoring and 
supporting Jewish student 
leaders on over 70 different 
campuses. 

Three days after the war 
broke out, Atara flew to 
Israel, raising over $20,000 
to buy supplies for soldiers 
in Israel. While there, 
she spent a lot of time 

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