Q&A with Ilana Liss, President of YAD, JFMD

I work as a Client Advisor in the areas of Insurance and Estate Planning at Schechter Wealth Strategies. I live in Birmingham and have a very talkative almost 2 year old daughter, Lily; a disobedient Yorkshire terrier, Roscoe; and I’m married to my 7th grade sweetheart, Zach, who is a Urology Resident at Wayne State University. We think the Detroit area is a great place to live, work and start a Jewish family.

YAD is the Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit. We plan programming for young people (20ish to 40ish) to sustain Jewish identity and build Jewish community. We specifically hope to develop a sense of communal responsibility through philanthropy and social action, and to offer social opportunities for young people and young families.

When I moved back to Detroit from Chicago, it was surprising to realize that although I grew up here, I hardly knew anyone. None of my friends from growing up lived here. My generation has been slow to move back home, due in part to the economic situation in Southeast Michigan. When I started attending YAD programs, it was uplifting to meet many other young people who came back here for similar reasons (family, quality of life) and were interested in creating a vibrant community for young people here.

Being YAD president was definitely not a goal that I put on my to- do list. I recognized a few years ago that things were getting really depressing around here, and the discussion among community leaders here, and my peers both here and out of town was always so negative. I felt like we were becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, and really wanted to work on changing the tone of the discussion. I thought this was the time for someone to step up and take a leadership role to hopefully put some optimism into the conversation- so why not me!

YAD offers great events and programs that appeal to a broad range of young people. Through our Detroit Clusters initiative, we have several interest groups that are a great way to meet people with similar interests, whether you’re into outdoor activities, reading, Jewish learning at a bar, or yoga. A few more examples of the great upcoming programming include an event for young families (Bagel Babies) and a great way to share a Shabbat meal with old and new friends coming up with our Shabbat dinner Exchange. We also have several Leadership Development programs aimed at teaching young people how to lead as volunteers and in their professional lives. At the heart of everything we do, we are part of the JFMD and want young people in Detroit to get how important it is to help fellow Jews here at home and around the world. I hope people here and people thinking about coming back here are aware that there is A LOT going on!