16 | AUGUST 29 • 2024 J
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hen Dan Brotman began his position 
as executive direction of the Windsor 
Jewish Federation and Community 
Centre in 2020, the community’s demographics were 
discouraging. From an estimated high of 
2,300-3,000 in the 1930-50s, Windsor’s 
Jewish population had dwindled to 
about 1,200, many of whom are elderly.
Some had left to larger cities such as 
Toronto or to warmer climates in the 
U.S. Brotman felt that something had 
to be done to sustain the community 
and that life in Windsor offered some 
overlooked advantages. He cites a lower 
cost of living, proximity to the U.S. and 
a close-knit supportive Jewish community. Windsor 
has Reform and Orthodox synagogues as well as a 
Chabad center and a Federation-run seniors’ resi-
dence. “If you bring in new blood, you’ll have fresh 
ideas,” Brotman says. 
Some recruitment ads — mostly online — and 
webinars were developed along with a word-of-
mouth campaign for J Welcome Home — its offi-
cial name. The first Jewish newcomer to Windsor 
actually came through a previous contact with Dan 
Brotman. 
Marion Zeller, who lived in Johannesburg, South 
Africa, met Brotman on a trip to Israel in 2002. She 
and her husband, Stuart, were planning to leave 
South Africa because they wanted “a better future 
for their children and themselves and more work-
life balance.”
Through Facebook, Zeller learned that Brotman 
was executive director at the Windsor Jewish 
Federation and contacted him. Canada appealed 
to Zeller as a possible new home, and the couple 
visited Hamilton, Toronto and Windsor to check 

them out. Brotman enlisted members of Windsor’s 
Jewish community to help Stuart Zeller find a job 
and, when he did, the couple’s decision to move to 
Windsor was set. 

“The community has been fantastic. 
The people are lovely and welcoming,” 
Zeller says. In Windsor, they appreciate 
the proximity to nature, more family 
time and opportunities for their chil-
dren, as well as easy and fun visits to the 
U.S.
Brotman says their original target 
market was Jewish individuals living 
in other parts of Canada, as well other 
countries including Israel. However, 
the wars in Ukraine and Gaza resulted in increased 
interest in migration to Canada, especially when the 
Canadian government developed a temporary three-
year open visa program, making it easier for some 
individuals from war-torn countries to live and work 
in Canada. 

Brotman says that Jewish communities across 
Canada have experienced an influx of Israelis since 
the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. He says that poten-
tial Jewish individuals from Brazil, South Africa, 
Ukraine and Israel have visited Windsor, meeting 
members of the Jewish community and exploring 
local life. 
“We are helping them with paperwork, jobs and 
registering,” Brotman says. The special visa program 
ends in July 2025. To date, three Jewish families, 
including the Zellers, have moved to Windsor. 

The Zellers emigrated in 2022 and soon Marion Zeller will take 

over the recruitment campaign as the new executive director of 

the Windsor Jewish Federation. She replaced Brotman as of Aug. 

6. Brotman is beginning a graduate program at the London School 

of Economics. (See sidebar.) 

Windsor’s newcomer 
recruitment program 
shows success.

Canada 
Says 
‘Welcome’

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

O

n Aug. 6, Marion Zeller, formerly of 
Johannesburg, South Africa, took 
over duties as executive director 
of the Windsor Jewish Federation and 
Community Centre. Zeller and her family 
moved to Windsor in 2022 — the first new-
comers recruited by the Windsor Jewish 
community to expand its small population.
Zeller graduated from the University of 
Witwatersrand and received an MBA from 
the Gordon Institute of Business, both in 
South Africa. She has a decade of experi-
ence in marketing, business and communi-
ty engagement.
Zeller was an active member and vol-
unteer in Johannesburg’s large Jewish 
community. Prior to the family’s move to 
Canada, she worked at a business incuba-
tor.
The search committee for the Windsor 
executive director position was unanimous 
in its support for Zeller, stating that they 
were “impressed with her vision, passion, 
as well as her relation-building and collab-
oration skills.”
Her goal in her new position is to “bring 
the community back to life and back 
together after COVID.” 
She anticipates planning more events so 
that community members “have a reason 
to come to the JCC — a center where they 
feel welcome regardless of their affiliation.” 
“I am excited for the opportunity to play 
an integral part of the Windsor Jewish 
community and work together with its 
members to grow and build. It is their 
strength, shared vision and values that will 
build our community’s future.”
The center was closed during COVID for 
health reasons, she says, so rebuilding is 
necessary. 
Zeller and her husband are mem-
bers of Windsor’s Congregation Shaar 
Hashomayim, and her children attend the 
Chabad Hebrew School there.
Zeller replaces Dan Brotman who will be 
pursuing a master’s degree in international 
migration and public policy at the London 
School of Economics. Brotman began 
the Windsor Jewish community’s effort to 
recruit Jewish newcomers from other parts 
of Canada and overseas. 

Leadership Transition 
at Windsor Jewish 
Federation

Dan Brotman 

Marion Zeller (second 
from left) and her 
family: daughter 
Emma, husband Stuart 
and son Rafael

RICCI GOLDSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY

