Continuing Board Members
Joelle Abramowitz is a New Jersey native who made her way to Ann Arbor in 2016 via Washington DC, Brussels, Hong Kong, Chicago, and Seattle. She is a PhD economist and works at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Joelle has held a number of roles in the Jewish communities where she has lived and has written for several Jewish online outlets. She is currently co-chair of Limmud Michigan, executive committee chair of the Jewish Young Professionals of Ann Arbor, on the leadership team of jUnion: The Michigan Graduate Student Union, and an active Moishe House Without Walls host.
Jessica ‘Decky’ Alexander grew up on the North Shore of Chicago (Highland Park) and has lived in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti since 1993, arriving here to attend graduate school. Decky received a BA in Theatre from Lawrence University and an MFA in Educational Theatre from Eastern Michigan University. She is a professor of Applied Drama/Theatre and the Director of Engage@EMU, EMU’s office dedicated to academic, community and business engagement. Decky currently is a founding faculty associate and board member for EMU’S Center for Jewish Studies, which led to involvement with the greater Washtenaw Jewish Community and the Federation. Here, she has coordinated several of its Salon events, focused on local issues around unconscious bias, profiling, and the Flint Water Crisis. Currently, Decky chairs the Jewish Community Relations Committee, coordinating its Conversation with 7 series. A member of Temple Beth Emeth, Decky lives in Ann Arbor and is married to Bruce Kutinsky.
Marla Chinsky grew up in Richmond, Virginia. She received her BS in Accounting from the College of Charleston and her Masters in Accounting from the University of Virginia. She worked in both Audit and Advisory for Deloitte in Washington D.C. before moving to Ann Arbor four years ago and transferring to an internal Financial Planning and Analysis role. Marla grew up with her parents serving in Federation volunteer roles and was active in the Federation community in DC. She served on the Finance Committee here in Ann Arbor for two years before taking on the role as Treasurer and chair of the committee last year. Marla and her husband, Josh, have a 2 year old daughter, Evelyn, and recently welcomed their son, Caleb, in early April.
Babette Levy Daskin was born and raised in University City, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. She has a B.A. in Economics and M.B.A. with a concentration in Health Care Management from Boston University and spent a year at Hebrew University during her undergraduate years. She met her husband, Mark, an engineering professor at U-M, in Boston, and they have since lived in Austin and Chicago plus a year in Tel Aviv prior to arriving in Ann Arbor in 2010. They have two grown daughters, Tamar and Keren. Babette worked in the healthcare industry in administrative and marketing roles during her career and now does tax preparation part-time when she is not volunteering with the Federation as Campaign Chair and the Ann Arbor Chapter of ORT America. Babette is dedicated to sustaining a vibrant Jewish life here in Ann Arbor and loves to spend time in Israel when she can.
Hanna Goodstein was born and grew up in Israel. There, she met her husband Peter. The long distance relationship lasted about two years, after which she came to Flint, MI where they eventually married. She received a Bachelor’s degree in General Studies and a Master degree in Public Administration from the University of MI – Flint Campus. She taught at the Flint Hebrew School – Ivriah – for 20 years and worked for five years at the Flint Jewish Federation and Social Services in various capacities. She retired from United Way of Genesee County where she worked for 16 years, as Resource Development Director. Hanna and Peter have two adult sons and two grandsons who live in Washington DC. They moved to Ann Arbor 10 years ago, and Hanna has been involved with the Ann Arbor Jewish Federation for about six years. Presently, she serves on the Israel and Overseas Committee, the Allocation Committee and the Board of Directors.
Randy Milgrom grew up in Oak Park, Michigan, attended United Hebrew School, and held his bar mitzvah services at the former B’nai Moshe in Oak Park. Randy received a BA in Philosophy and English from the University of Michigan, and earned a JD at UCLA School of Law. He practiced corporate law in Los Angeles for a decade before returning in 1991 with his wife Patti and son Sam to Ann Arbor, where he has since been making his living as a writer and editor. Randy was a member of the board of JCS while Sam was attending classes and receiving his bar mitzvah training there. Randy became involved in Federation work as a member of several committees (most recently as chair of the Strategic Communications Committee) beginning in 2012, and since 2015 has been an active and dedicated board member.
Murray Rebner is a diagnostic radiologist who works at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak. He has lived in Ann Arbor since 1981 when he trained at U of M. Murray married his lovely wife Sue in 1985, and they have two adult children, Rachel and Max, who graduated from the Hebrew Day School.
Liz Wierba is a clinical psychologist and lecturer at UM with a private practice in Ann Arbor. She has previously served as a board member for the JCC (ECC Steering Committee) and HDS (Recruitment). Liz and her husband have two sons, and their family are members of TBE. As the child of Eastern-European immigrants to Canada, she appreciates the importance of Jewish institutions in integrating and supporting her family and helping develop her Jewish identity.
Joshua Sukenic grew up in the Detroit suburbs and moved to Ann Arbor in 2015 with his wife, Marci, and three children, Brendan (11), Lily (8) and Jackson (6), excited to live in and contribute to our vibrant community. Josh received a BA in Economics from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and an MBA in Marketing, Finance and Entrepreneurship from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Josh is a local business executive who specializes in transforming and scaling organizations for growth through marketing, sales and operational excellence. Joshua’s focus and passion on the Board is driving engagement, involvement and the next generation of leadership in our Ann Arbor Jewish community. Josh and his family are members of Temple Beth Emeth and Beth Israel. Josh’s wife, Marci, runs the Chai Mitzvah engagement program for the Jewish Federation of Ann Arbor.
New Board Members
Mike Davidoff moved to Ann Arbor in 2018 with his wife, Amy, and two boys, Benji (14) and Blake (12). Mike grew up in New Jersey and graduated college from U of M. His life journey took him on a twenty-two year detour with stints in New York, Chicago and Indianapolis before returning to his beloved Ann Arbor. Mike is a lifelong investment professional with an MBA from the University of Chicago and the CFA designation. Mike currently works as a portfolio manager in the Trust and Investments Group at Bank of Ann Arbor. Mike has previous board experience through his board position at his Indianapolis synagogue and currently serves on the professional board of Imerman Angels, a peer-to-peer cancer connection non-profit and in an advisory board position for Equarius Risk Analytics, a local technology start up company.
Marla Linderman Richelew grew up in Southfield and Bloomfield Hills. Her husband Josh is a Sports Administrator for U of M and their kids, Naomi and Josh, attend Skyline High School. Marla is the founder of the Ann Arbor law firm, Linderman Law PLLC, where she specializes in employment and business law, and is a Past President of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, at the State and Washtenaw County levels, a Past President of the Washtenaw Association for Justice and Past President of Washtenaw County’s New Lawyers Section. She is on the Executive Board of the Michigan Association for Justice, is a Co-Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Federal Pro Bono Project, serves on the PTSO Board for Skyline High School and also volunteers with Jewish Family Services of Ann Arbor. In 2006, the State Bar of Michigan awarded Marla the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award, as did the Washtenaw County Bar Association. Marla has been named a Leader in the Law, Top 20 Women in the Law and Up and Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, has been designated a Michigan Super Lawyer since 2009 and as a Top 25 Women Consumer Michigan Super Lawyer since 2013. She was Bat Mitzvahed at Temple Israel and is a member of Temple Beth Emeth.
Robert Stern grew up in Oak Park, Michigan and received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan. As an entrepreneur he founded KTR Dental, which imports and distributes dental instruments from Israel, Switzerland and Lichtenstein. In addition, Robert is also a founder and CEO of Fusion Digital Solutions, a metal 3D printing facility specializing in dental prosthetics and devices. Robert moved to Ann Arbor in 2015 from NYC. He has deep ties to the Ann Arbor Jewish community; his grandfather was instrumental in the establishment of the University of Michigan Kosher Dining Club in 1965 with B’nai Brith. This began the daily kosher dinners and Shabbat meals offered to students at the U of M Hillel. Robert has been on various Ann Arbor Jewish Federation committees; campaign, allocations, and finance. For the past ten years, Robert has been a volunteer and corporate sponsor of American Friends of Dental Volunteers for Israel and he has facilitated the donation of tens of thousands of dental instruments to the DVI clinic in Jerusalem. In his free time, Robert enjoys traveling and has briefly lived in Helsinki, Hong Kong, and Israel.
Andrew Tankanow grew up and currently lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Jennifer, and two children Max (6), Lauren (4). Andy received a BA in Business Administration from Michigan State University. Andy owned and operated Moonwinks Café for 11 years and was part of the group to found the Dixboro Farmers Market . He has served four years on the Federation’s Allocations Committee and one year the Finance Committee. Andy currently works as Director of Operations and Supply Chain for New Eagle LLC, a local engineering and controls development organization. In his free time, Andy enjoys playing golf with his wife, drinking a good cup of coffee and playing soccer with the kids.