Wherever we find ourselves today, we are a different community than we were one year ago. We have seen unprecedented threats to our health and wellbeing, tectonic shifts in the workplace and in our schools, and pivotal changes in our habits at home and away. Few have wrestled more intimately with the challenges of safeguarding the future of Jewish Detroit than Dennis Bernard, newly elected President of the United Jewish Foundation of Metropolitan Detroit. And few are as well prepared to meet the community challenges ahead.
As Founder and President of Bernard Financial Group, Michigan’s largest commercial mortgage banking and servicing firm, Dennis holds a longtime record of professional and philanthropic leadership in both the Jewish community and greater community of Detroit. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Michigan, Dennis has co-chaired Federation’s Covid Emergency Campaign in partnership with Matt Lester, Federation President (also beginning his term in October). “Faced with a crisis, humans are truly remarkable,” Dennis reflected, “The response of our Jewish community - with their hearts, with their brains, with their wallets - has been nothing but astounding.”