Dear Jewish Michiana,
Below is an update on the current leadership of the Federation.
As you know, our community has suffered a great loss with the recent passing of Federation President Lisa Lerman
z”l
. Her death is not only a tremendous loss for her family and her many friends, but also for the Federation where she has been a leader for so many years. To honor her memory, Lisa will continue to be listed as our President through the remainder of her term (June 30, 2020). Michael Kirsch, who has served as Federation Treasurer and a member of the executive committee since 2015, has been appointed by the Board of Directors as Interim President to fulfill the official duties of the president through the end of Lisa’s term. Mara Boettcher, who previously served as Treasurer, has been appointed by the board as our Treasurer for the remainder of Michael’s term. Many other members of the board have stepped up to help during this transition and the community owes all of them our gratitude.
Additionally, I wish to inform the entire community that I have asked the board of directors to accept my notice that I will be resigning from my position as Executive Director at the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley effective on March 27, 2020.
I have been thinking about this in the back of my mind for a while and the loss of Lisa had a big impact on me and accelerated my thoughts. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity that the community has given me over the course of these past six years, and I am 100% committed to helping make this transition as smooth as possible, helping the leadership move from strength to strength. I have been honored to be your Executive Director and I look forward to continuing to be an active member of the Jewish community. My family and I will be remaining in this community that we have come to love and we are deeply invested in its continued success. The warmth and Chesed the Jewish community has shown us is why we plan to continue to make Michiana our home. I intend to expand my education in order to pursue a career in a different direction and hope to contribute to the greater community in new and exciting ways. I am very grateful to the board of directors and the entire community for all of the support they have and continue to show me and my family.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me or any of the members of the Board of Directors.
L’Shalom,
Ben Davis
