26 | FEBRUARY 15 • 2024 

are gentle on the body and 
improve mental and physical 
well being. 

NATALIE 
DUBOIS 
Natalie DuBois is 
a native Detroiter 
and has been an 
active member of 
the Jewish community from 
a young age, participating in 
her temple youth group and 
NFTY-MI, through 
adulthood where she became 
involved with the Young 
Adult Division of Partners 
Detroit (which is where she 
met her husband!). 
 Natalie is a clinical 
social worker, earning her 
B.A. from Michigan State 
University and a master’s 
in social work from Wayne 
State University. 
Natalie has spent 
her career as a Jewish 
communal professional. 
After receiving her MSW, 
she worked in various family 
and youth programming 
positions at Jewish Family 
Service. She also worked 
at Gesher Human Services 
(formally JVS) as the Jewish 
Occupational Internship 
Coordinator (JOIN), a 
program of which Natalie is 
also an alumna. 
Currently, Natalie serves 
as the director of Family 
Support Services at Jewish 
Family Service. Through her 
role, she oversees a team of 
social workers who assist 
individuals and families 
in meeting basic needs 
with a goal of reaching 
their maximum level of 
self-sufficiency. Natalie is 
passionate about facilitating 

programs and special 
projects at JFS that benefit 
the community and families 
in need. 
Natalie and her husband, 
Avi, reside in Oak Park 
with their son. They enjoy 
celebrating the Sabbath with 
friends and family and at 
Kehillat Etz Chayim. In her 
spare time, Natalie enjoys 
outings with her family, 
reading, traveling, doing 
DIY home projects and 
gardening. 

ILYSSA 
OPPENHEIM 
Ilyssa Oppenheim 
is the Jewish 
educator at The J 
– Detroit and the 
Sarah and Irving Pitt Early 
Childhood Center. She 
attended both Hillel Day 
School (class of ’02) and 
Frankel Jewish Academy 
(JAMD at the time, class of 
’06) where her love of 
Judaism began. 
 As her bat mitzvah 
approached, Ilyssa 
volunteered at the Adat 
Shalom Synagogue preschool 
day camp, where she 
continued for nine years 
and fell in love with early 
childhood education. Ilyssa 
earned her bachelor’s in 
education from Michigan 
State University and her 
Early Childhood Director 
credential from the 
McCormick Center for Early 
Childhood Leadership at 
National Louis University.
 In 2018, Ilyssa was 
nominated to be one of the 
JCC Association’s Sheva 
Center Leadership Institute 
fellows. Through this 

fellowship, she traveled to 
Reggio Emilia, Italy, and 
throughout the United 
States to learn best practices 
in Jewish early childhood 
education. 
Ilyssa has written 
Chageinu: Our Celebrations! 
A Resource for Early 
Childhood Educators for 
Teaching Jewish Holidays 
and Traditions, which has 
become a valuable resource 
for the Pitt ECC’s educators. 
Ilyssa spends her days 
working with educators and 
children, infusing Jewish 
values and creating a love for 
Judaism into the classrooms 
in new and exciting ways. 
When she is not teaching, 
Ilyssa loves spending time 
with her husband and 
daughters checking out 
Metro Detroit’s newest places 
and playgrounds. Ilyssa 
has also been collecting 
keychains for most of her 
life. Lately, she has enjoyed 
going through the collection 
and sharing the stories of 
each one with her daughters. 

ELIZABETH 
EMMER 
Elizabeth Emmer 
is a first- and 
second-grade 
general studies 
teacher at Hillel Day School. 
Each day, Elizabeth builds 
upon foundational skills with 
her students for them to 
grow academically, socially 
and emotionally. She knows 
that forming relationships 
with each child is necessary 
to help students reach their 
full potential. 
This year, Elizabeth and 
her co-teacher welcomed 

Israeli students who were 
affected by the tragedy of 
Oct. 7 into her classroom. 
Elizabeth is also the K-4 
math curriculum coordinator 
at Hillel, where she supports 
teachers implementing 
the curriculum to meet 
the needs of their students 
and provides professional 
development opportunities. 
This is Elizabeth’s 10th year 
as an educator at Hillel Day 
School. 
Elizabeth grew up in 
Metro Detroit with her 
family. She graduated from 
the University of Michigan 
School of Education with 
a bachelor’s degree in 
elementary education, 
with a focus in elementary 
mathematics. Elizabeth 
received her master’s degree 
in literacy from Grand Valley 
State University. 
Elizabeth lives in West 
Bloomfield with her 
husband, Michael, and their 
daughter, Blake. They have 
roots at both Temple Beth El 
and Temple Israel. 
In her free time, Elizabeth 
enjoys spending time with 
friends and family, cooking 
or baking, skiing, being 
outdoors and staying active. 

RABBI SHMULI 
WOLF 
Rabbi Shmuli 
Wolf is a 
Brooklyn native 
whose journey 
through the rich tapestry of 
Jewish life reflects a deep 
commitment to community 
and connection. From his 
formative years at yeshivah 
in Scranton, Penn., to 
studying Torah in Israel, 

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