A lifelong Detroiter and a community builder at large, Matt Lester will step up as the next President to serve Federation when his term begins in September 2020. An attorney with 25 years in real estate development and management, Matt is Founder and CEO of Princeton Enterprises, a company that has become a well-known name in Greater Detroit, while expanding property operations in fifteen states across the Midwest and Southeast.
Beyond the realm of business, Matt has turned his focus towards community development for nearly 20 years - as Federation’s Annual Campaign Chair and an Executive Board Member, as well as in service to numerous boards including the American Joint Distribution Committee, Jewish Senior Life, Kadima, The Jewish Fund, BBYO, Yad Ezra, Forgotten Harvest, Tamarack Camps, United Jewish Foundation, Project Healthy Community, Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Spare time? Matt manages to find it and cherish it with his family, Michigan football, traveling and the simple pleasures of farming on his property in northern Michigan.
Outgoing and genuinely interested in people . . . a true friend and mentor. A trusted advisor, compassionate listener and astute observer of all who seek his counsel. A strategic planner and innovator in business and wealth management. A fundraiser, inspiring others to follow his lead in philanthropy; a creative thinker, problem solver and ready volunteer through more than four decades of service to the community, in partnership with his wife, Susie. An engaging storyteller who loves to make people laugh. Seriously. This is Norm Pappas - joining the ranks of Federation’s legendary leaders: the 2019 recipient of the Fred M. Butzel Award.