We are so thrilled to announce the formation of DJJ's first Board of Trustees!
Officers:
Hayley Sakwa - Chair
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Hayley Sakwa is a long-time DJJ member and current graduate student in business and public policy. Born in Metro Detroit and living in Ann Arbor, she's passionate about growing the progressive Jewish community across Southeast Michigan. She's also excited to continue to support DJJ's partnerships with economic and environmental justice organizations in Detroit.
Levi Teitel - Vice-Chair
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Levi Teitel is excited to be joining DJJ’s board as he brings his background in communications and advocacy work, and not to mention sardonic wit. Levi has been involved with electoral and issue campaigns since 2018 coordinating messaging and media outreach, and his work has been published in numerous statewide publications. Outside of politics, he loves spending time in the Michigan outdoors, whether it’s skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, canoeing, or seeing live music on a nice patio.
Mike Medow - Treasurer
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Mike Medow has a two-decade background in strategic operations and nonprofit financial management. He was a senior leader at Allied Media Projects for 16 years, growing the organization to become a nationally recognized leader in creative social change. Mike currently serves as the Finance Director for Fusion Partnerships, a fiscal sponsorship and grantmaking organization serving the Baltimore social justice community. Mike is looking forward to leveraging his nonprofit experiences towards building the new Detroit Jews for Justice organization.
Caryn Noveck - Secretary
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Trustees:
Adina Alpert
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Adina Alpert is the National Training Manager at Bend the Arc, where she spends her time thinking about and working on how to give Jewish activists the tools and analysis they need to dismantle white supremacy and build a world where we can all thrive. Adina is a facilitator with a background in education and an alum of the Avodah Justice Fellowship and Resetting the Table Facilitation Training. Her favorite things include unlocking learning for personal transformation, playing with her niblings, being in and near water, and ice cream.
Devin Samuels
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Devin Samuels is an educator, organizer, and artist who has worked extensively in non-profit and education spaces over the last 15 years. Devin’s pedagogy utilizes poetics and the radical imagination to grow critical thinking, self-reflection, and empathy as primary drivers of social change. With an intense dedication to equity and justice, Devin is thrilled to leverage his position on the inaugural DJJ board to fight for a more just future.
Joel Batterman
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Joel Batterman has been involved with organizing and public policy work in Detroit for ten years, and is especially interested in fostering movements for racial and economic justice across city-suburb boundaries. He has a PhD in urban planning from the University of Michigan, where he focused on the history of regional planning and inequality in the metropolitan area.
Lisa Tencer
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Lisa Tencer grew up in Huntington Woods, and organized with Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow for several years. She worked as a Legislative Caseworker in Congressmember Rashida Tlaib's office and is currently obtaining her Master's degree in Public and Urban Policy at The New School, in New York City. She is an aspiring abolitionist and is committed to organizing for racial and economic justice, inspired and guided by her Jewish faith. She's excited to support DJJ’s incredible work, alongside leaders and allies!
Sara Habbo
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Sara Habbo is the president of the Detroit & Michigan Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the youngest of eight children. She is excited to support the growth of Detroit Jews for Justice in the work of challenging systems of oppression.
Susannah Goodman
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Susannah Goodman is a lifelong Detroiter, artist, founding DJJ Leader, and new parent. She served as DJJ's Deputy Director from 2019-2022, working in the nonprofit arts education field before that. Susannah brings to the Board of Trustees a passion for collective decision-making, creative facilitation, and a core belief that we can make real change in our lifetimes. Also a commitment to good snacks.
Tova Perlmutter
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Tova Perlmutter has over 30 years of experience helping progressive causes obtain and use resources to advance social change. She has served many organizations in a leadership capacity, including Detroit Disability Power, Mondoweiss.net, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice among others. Tova was involved in the origins of DJJ as Project Micah at Congregation T’chiyah, and served on the DJJ Steering Committee during its transition to independence. She is deeply committed to the struggle for racial and economic justice, and is excited about the ways DJJ can contribute to a healthier, freer world for all.
