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Written by Barbara Bayer, Editor
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Thursday, January 26 2012 12:00 |
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 Google Todd Stettner and you won’t find much. Yes, you can find statements attributed to him as executive vice president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. But you won’t find stories written about him. That’s because he does his job well, leading the way for others to take credit for his successes.
His leadership style is one reason Stettner is being honored at Congregation Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner’s 14th annual Purim Gala, Sunday, Feb. 12, at Oakwood Country Club. He will receive the Mordechai Award, which is presented to someone who epitomizes the devotion to the Jewish community or Israel as shown by Mordechai in the Scroll of Esther, which says that Mordechai “...sought the good of his people and was concerned for the welfare of all …”
Jewish Federation President Miriam Scharf can’t think of a more deserving recipient than Stettner.
“As the CEO of the Kansas City Jewish Federation, Todd has been instrumental in creating a collaborative, open and engaging environment in the Jewish community. He has earned the respect and admiration of lay leaders, staff and his colleagues around the country,” Scharf said.
Stettner’s friendly leadership style is easily noticed when you first enter his office. One can’t miss the candy jars on his conference table, put there as an open invitation for people to stop in for an informal chat.
“I started doing that when I became the COO of the East Bay Federation in Oakland. The lay people loved it. I thought it would be a good way to get my staff to come in my office because they don’t want to come in and see the boss. That way I could informally find out what’s going on,” he explained.
It worked and he continued the practice when he came here as Kansas City’s top Jewish Federation’s official in 1999.
“People come in with their children and their grandchildren,” he said.
The road to KC
 A native of The Bronx, N.Y., Stettner, who now has more than 33 years of experience in the social service field under his belt, didn’t always know he was going to spend a lifetime in the field of Jewish communal service. But he’s always liked being involved in organizations in high school and college. He served as president of his high school chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and among other things was on the Intra Fraternity Council while he was an undergrad at Marrietta College in Marietta, Ohio. College was where he first really discovered his Jewishness.
“In New York it’s easy to be a Jew. Even though Jews are still a minority … Jewish culture is so much a part of the culture of New York. Because of that I sought out my Judaism more and started taking religion courses,” he said.
His first taste of Jewish communal work came just after graduation in 1971. He worked as a temporary fundraising assistant at Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in New York.
They liked him and wanted to keep him full-time, but instead he chose to go to grad school at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work of Yeshiva University. He graduated with a master’s degree in social work, with an emphasis in the field of community organization, in 1974.
His first full-time job was at the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. During the two years he was there, he met his future wife, Shirley. They now have two grown sons. Jordan and his wife, Ali, live in Chicago. Youngest son Max lives and works in New York City.
Todd Stettner has worked either with Jewish federations or community centers his entire professional career. Besides Milwaukee and New York, he’s worked in the San Francisco Bay area, Tucson, Ariz., and Seattle.
While Stettner was in California, national federation officials decided it would be a good idea to train high-level executives to become CEOs. A management program was created and Stettner was invited to participate in the first two-year-program. Part of the program included an internship, which he served in the East Bay Federation in California. As had become a pattern, the leadership liked Stettner and asked him to stay on. This time he would become the first person in that size federation to hold the title of chief operating officer.
“They offered me the job ahead of schedule. I just really hit it off with them and I did that for five years,” Stettner said.
Ready to be CEO
After five years as COO of East Bay, Stettner was ready for his own federation. He interviewed here for the position being vacated by A. Robert Gast. Kansas City appeared to be a good fit for Stettner, and it’s been his home for almost 13 years now. That’s longer than any other place he’s ever been.
“They say some things are beshert (meant to be). ... The strategic plan had just been approved in 1998 and they were looking for someone to implement it. When I read it, a lot of the ideas were very similar to what we’d been doing in California,” he recalled. “I was interviewing at another community and they said we don’t want you to go to that other community. You’re our guy.”
Stettner likes being in Kansas City and is proud he was able to bring the strategic plan “from paper to reality.”
“You can get your arms around a community like this. You can feel that you are making an impact. In the big city … it was hard to make a difference. It was hard to really make change. It is much easier to make change in a community like Kansas City. The impact is much stronger. I like being at a place in my job where I could make an impact.
Stettner doesn’t use the term collaboration when he discusses the Jewish Federation’s accomplishments over the last several years. But he’s been a part of a lot of collaborative efforts that have made a big impact. One of those efforts is The Funders Council, which was created by Stan Bushman and the late John Uhlmann.
“It started as a very loose get together with the Jewish Community Foundation, the Jewish Heritage Foundation and Federation. I said to Merilyn (Berenbom, former Federation president) this is really an incredible thing that we should be doing on a more regular basis. So we started to meet quarterly and then as we got to know each other better, trust began to build and it has grown so now we meet almost monthly,” he said.
“It’s really unique in the entire federation system. There is really no other community that I am aware where the foundations and the federations work together like we do,” he said.
His collaborative manner also helped keep the Jewish Community Campus “whole” when the Lewis and Shirley White Theatre was being built.
“There was a lot of tumult that came with the building of the theater,” he said, explaining that some of the agencies strongly considered moving out of the Campus at that time. “This was when Pella Fingersh was president and we really worked very hard to keep the Campus whole and I think that’s been very important for the community.”
It would be remiss not to mention the Jewish Federation’s continued fundraising success under Stettner’s leadership. While it’s been hard for Jewish Federations nationally to raise more dollars due to the downward economy, Stettner said Kansas City has been able to grow the Annual Campaign as well as supplemental giving.
“Everything has shrunk a little during the recession. But over the years we’ve been involved in a number of emergency campaigns — the intifadas, the Israel emergency campaigns, the Lebanese war — all of which Kansas City has done a fabulous job raising funds,” he said.
Stettner is honored to be BIAV’s choice for this year’s Mordechai Award.
“Because we have BIAV, there are many people who come to this community who wouldn’t come otherwise. I think that adds to the richness of the fabric of the community,” Stettner said.
“We don’t have a very large Orthodox community in Kansas City. In some places the Orthodox community goes their own way and doesn’t really integrate with the rest of the community. That’s not the case here and to a large extent that’s been because of its leadership — both rabbinic and lay,” he continued. “I have been a participant in the Purim Gala for a while and sometimes they’ve come to me for suggestions as to who the honoree should be. So I was very flattered when they came to be and asked me to be the honoree. I think they are an important part of the community and I think they give a lot back to the community, far more than their numbers dictate.” |
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Written by Beth Lipoff, Contributing Writer
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Thursday, January 26 2012 12:00 |
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 For Emily Adler, the essential part of her involvement with United Synagogue Youth is giving others a place to belong.
“I try my best to reach out at conventions and talk to as many kids as I can,” she said. “It’s one thing to get people to come to conventions but (I want) to get them to feel like someone will notice if they’re not there… I try to reach out and try to make people feel comfortable.”
Known as Emi to her friends and family, the 18-year-old Adler is the regional membership and Kadima vice president for USY and held a similar position in the local USY group last year.
This month’s Salute to Youth honoree, who is the daughter of Meg and Randy Adler, likes that she can make a difference by being in these positions.
“This year we’ve really tried to approach USY as a community rather than a youth group. It’s a place where everyone can feel at home and feel accepted,” said Emi, who is a member of both Congregation Beth Shalom and The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
Many of the teens involved with USY have attended the Herzl or Ramah summer camps. Having attended camp at Ben Frankel, Emi knows what it’s like to join USY and not know very many people. She wants everyone to experience the inclusionary spirit she did.
“Freshman year at the spring convention, I went not knowing a single person my age. There were 14 other freshman girls in my cabin — by the end, we were like a family,” she said.
Stefanie Williams, director of informal education and youth activities at Beth Shalom, says she’s impressed by Emi’s commitment to USY and her enthusiams for the youth organization is “unrivaled.”
“She was very enthusiastic about it and came to every weekly program and really wanted to create a place for other people like it had been for her,” Williams said.
According to Williams, Emi comes in extra early to prepare for programs and stays late to assist with the clean-up.
“There’s a nice camaraderie ... Her efforts are definitely appreciated by all, and she’s inspired other people to come early and set up and be a part of it from start to finish,” Williams said. “It’s neat to see somebody find their place and just excel.”
Emi also participated in an organized trip to Poland and Israel in 2010.
“It was such an eye-opening experience. We had a lot of regional board members on our trip. They inspired me to reach out and be myself and make friends without any regrets,” she said.
The content of the trip also provided a learning experience for her.
“Going to Poland, you can read and go to museums and learn as much as you can about the Holocaust, but the thing that really gets you is being able to reach out and touch things and realize people were there … It made me appreciate Israel so much when I got there,” she said.
Outside of youth group, Emi is a senior at Blue Valley North High School. An avid debater, she is also involved with Future Business Leaders of America. She has competed at various levels with FBLA, placing first in the district and third in the state last year.
In the classroom, she serves as a teacher’s aide in the advanced computer applications class, helping students learn the Microsoft Access database program.
“It’s really fun. The business department at my school is great, and I’ve gotten a lot out of working with a variety of teachers there,” Emi said.
She plans to attend the University of Missouri and major in business with a minor in Spanish. While in college, she wants to stay connected to the Jewish community through Hillel and by attending synagogue in Columbia, Mo.
Emi isn’t sure of her exact career goals but says she will probably work at her family’s business, Kansas City Audio-Visual, at some point.
“She’s just an amazing young lady who loves to make people happy and loves to be helpful,” Williams said. “She’s the person you know (who), even if you haven’t talked with her in a really long time, (will) be there for you. She’s going to be successful in the future because of it.” |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, January 25 2012 15:24 |
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Written by Barbara Bayer, Editor
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Thursday, January 26 2012 12:00 |
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 A pioneer is a person who is among the first to settle a region. The members of Zemach family are pioneers who live in Moshav Kadesh Barnea, a small village in Israel’s Negev Desert. They moved there 10 years ago from Rehovot.
The Zemachs — Chami and Oksana Zemach and their daughters Gali, 13, Tamar, 11, and Michal, 4 — are traveling around the world for a year to share what Chami called “the normal story about what people do and what people are like in Israel.”
They were in Kansas City for a few days the week of Jan. 16.
The Zemachs left Israel Aug. 1, 2011, and will return exactly one year later. Their oldest daughter, 22-year-old Yulia, stayed behind to continue her education. The younger children are being home schooled during this journey they call The Israeli Family Project. When it’s all said and done they will have visited 27 countries and four continents.
Kansas City was not originally on their agenda. When they arrived in the United States in November, coincidentally Israeli emissaries to the United States were meeting in New York. The Zemachs visited with the emissaries, who were able to connect them with Jewish community across the country. Lilach Nissim, the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City emissary, arranged for the Zemachs to stay at the home of Sharon and Peter Loftspring while they were here.
Sharon Loftspring said the Zemachs were delightful to have as houseguests.
“It was a really, really fun experience for us. I think the best part was talking to them casually at night after they come home.
They are interesting, interesting people,” Loftspring said.
Chami Zemach said they decided to take this trip because they’ve had a chance to visit with a variety of people who visit their desert village. This convinced them people wanted and needed to know more about Israel, not just the Israel that is shown on television.
“We know that people around the world really want to know about Israel. We want people to know that Israel is much more than the conflict,” he said.
They planned the trip for more than two years and believe they will tell their story to thousands of people before the journey is complete. While in Kansas City, they were featured on NBC Action News and KMBC-TV 9. Their activities included visits at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Congregation Beth Shalom, the Jewish Community Center Heritage Center with Rabbi Scott White and an informal dinner at the home of Sheila and Ken Sonnenschein.
Living in the desert
When the Zemachs moved to Kadesh Barnea, only about 30 families lived there. It has now grown to 55 families. Chami described the village as an agricultural area where people grow lots of fruits and vegetables.
“People are really flourishing there in the desert,” he said. “It’s very interesting to see how new areas are being developed and being created there.”
In Israel, the Zemachs own a factory called Desert Magic. It produces jams, sauces and chutneys made from fruits and vegetables grown nearby.
“We started this business in our home to see if it was something that could work. After a few months it started to grow and they built the factory,” said Chami, an Israeli native. Their products are sold in Israel and the United States.
The Zemachs are very involved in their community because they believe it is important to take an active role in building the Negev area.
“We really believe that the Negev and the desert is a big challenge for Israel. This is where the development of Israel should be. Israel should grow to this area because it is half of Israel and hardly populated at all. Just about 20 percent of Israelis live in the Negev,” Chami said.
Connecting with people
 On the first leg of their trip in Europe, Oksana, who was born in Belarus and moved to Israel more than 20 years ago, said they met mostly non-Jewish people.
“Here we are in many Jewish communities, but we have also had programs in public schools and churches,” she said.
Her favorite way to talk to people is while cooking Israeli food together. She said while they cook, they talk about life.
“Food brings people together and Israeli food is very special. It comes from many different countries and is very interesting,” she said.
The food they plan and prepare for these dinners, Oksana said, is almost always foods Israelis eat every day, “nothing fancy or expensive.”
“Usually we have about two hours to do this and it’s kind of magic. We make a lot of food, about eight or nine dishes for 20 or 30 people,” she said.
Chami said this project has taken his family to places that tourists don’t usually find. So far he’s greatly enjoyed meeting the people, and has some interesting stories to tell.
“Israelis don’t know that that there are many people around the world that are very supportive to Israel,” he said.
One of his favorite stories is about a non-Jewish woman he met in The Netherlands. She discovered about 15 years ago that there were 182 people from her city that were deported to Auschwitz. Chami said the woman decided there should be a memorial in the city and took it upon herself to build it.
“After they built the memorial, they started a ceremony once a year on the date the Jews were deported,” Chami said.
The Zemachs just happened to be there on that date during this journey and were invited to participate.
“The ceremony is actually a walk through the town on the route where they made the Jews go to the railway station. So about 200 people walked in the evening,” he said. “The girls had the opportunity to put the flowers on the memorial. We were the only Jews there,” he said.
Chami said the journey to this point has met their expectations.
“Of course we have had many surprises and have learned a lot everywhere we’ve been,” he said. “We’re very happy that we have had the opportunity to meet with so many people and to tell them about Israel and fill them in on daily life and not about the conflict.”
You can keep up with the Zemachs journey on Facebook at the The Israeli Family Project.
“We write every day about what we are doing and share our stories,” Chami said.
They also welcome emails at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. Check out the family’s video on You Tube at www.il-family.com. |
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Written by Barbara Bayer, Editor
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Thursday, January 19 2012 12:00 |
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 When most people hit “retirement age,” they retire. Eileen Garry didn’t take that route. Instead she began working for what was then known as the Museum Without Walls. Almost exactly 20 years later, Garry quietly retired as executive director of The Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art late last year.
Now 86, Garry has assumed the title of executive director emeritus. She was supposed to retire early this year, but stepped back sooner than expected when she needed to undergo a hip replacement. She has recovered from the surgery, and plans to stay active with the gallery.
“If somebody needs me for something, I will be happy to pitch in,” she said during a recent interview at her home. “This is like my baby. I brought it from nowhere to this, and I think we’ve done a good job with it.”
She has absolutely loved working with the organization and said “it was probably the best period of time in my life, period.”
“I loved working with the people,” she continued. “I would have continued on, but I’m too old. I’m sorry it’s over, but they needed somebody young and adorable to come in and do what I did. I’ve done good stuff.”
Marcus Cain has taken over for Garry as KCJMCA’s executive director. He served as curator during Garry’s tenure, and is excited to continue working with her in a new capacity.
“Working with Eileen has been a true gift. Her contributions to the development and vitality of KCJMCA and her advocacy for artists and their work for the past 20 years in this organization is an incredible legacy that will live on for generations,” Cain said.
“She continues to be a source of inspiration and support for me personally as well as for everyone at KCJMCA. I am looking forward to this new chapter in our friendship. Knowing Eileen, she will continue to do amazing work in this community, and I look forward to following her progress.”
It’s undergone a variety of name changes over the year, but its mission has remained constant. KCJMCA’s purpose is to provide innovative art exhibitions and related programming that engage seniors and diverse audiences from all segments of our community to enrich lives and celebrate our common humanity through art. KCJMCA realizes this goal through its celebrated Epsten Gallery venue at Village Shalom and through its Museum Without Walls exhibition partnership program.
Garry is proud of KCJMCA’s successes and always shares the credit with those she’s worked with over the years.
“We’ve had some wonderful people who have been on staff … and they set the tone for our exhibits,” she said.
Regina Kort, who recently finished her term as president of KCJMCA’s board, said Garry has been the organization’s heart and soul from the very beginning.
“Because of her dedication, enthusiasm and hard work our organization has evolved into one of the premier spaces in the Kansas City area that features up-and-coming regional and national artists. We have been fortunate to have an executive director of Eileen’s caliber,” Kort said.
A devoted volunteer
Garry moved to Kansas City from New York in 1946 as the wife of Marshall Garry. She served as a “professional volunteer” for several years, while raising three children, Joshua, Paul and Stephanie (today all are married with children, and Garry now has three great grandchildren).
Over the years she accepted leadership roles in a variety of organizations including (but not limited to) her children’s school, Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Jewish Family & Children Services, the Central Agency for Jewish Education and the National Conference for Community and Justice. As a founding member of Congregation Beth Torah and its third president, she still speaks passionately about the congregation and the Reform movement in general. Earlier, she was an active member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. During that time she served as an officer and board member, president of its sisterhood and spent six years representing the congregation on the national board of what is now known as Women of Reform Judaism.
Becoming an art aficionado
 Garry’s involvement with the Museum Without Walls came at the invitation of Sybil Kahn in 1992. Kahn and her late husband, Norman, founded the organization.
“I was a volunteer and I loved it and then I went to work with her,” Garry reminisced. “We had a really good relationship.”
KCJMCA Past President Michael Klein noted that the board worked closely with Garry over the years to stabilize the organization through the creation of an endowment, two additional staff positions, the successful completion of a five-year strategic plan and a solid foundation of private, individual donor support. He said over the past 20 years Garry has remained a constant presence at KCJMCA, originally working under Kahn, the former executive director, five KCJMCA presidents, three assistant directors, two curators and one administrative assistant.
Garry pointed out that it was Klein who suggested the Museum Without Walls move into Village Shalom before it opened to run the Epsten Gallery. The gallery space was donated by Bobby and Jackee Epsten. KCJMCA has run the gallery since its inception, but is only housed at Village Shalom. KCJMCA is a completely separate non-profit organization.
“We are not part of Village Shalom. We have to raise our own money to bring our exhibits in and those exhibits can cost anywhere between $6,000 and $10,000 each,” she said.
While she has always liked art, she didn’t consider herself an expert when she started this journey. Now she does.
“I adored art in my own way. I was not an aficionado. I was not a real art person. But Sybil taught me a lot about how to appreciate art and I’ve loved every minute of it,” she explained.
Garry can point to many highlights during her time as KCJMCA executive director. She is most proud of the reputation it has earned.
“The Epsten Gallery and the Kansas City Jewish Museum has become a real entity in Kansas City. There is no definitive Jewish art gallery in Kansas City. This is the closest that it comes,” Garry said.
She has enjoyed meeting many wonderful artists including Victor Babu, who taught ceramics at the Kansas City Art Institute for more than three decades, and ceramicist Irma Starr.
Then there was the exhibit of Herb Adler’s cut glass some years ago.
“It’s the most magnificent collection of cut glass, I think, in this part of the country. As a result it was shown at the Nelson. That is one of our highlights,” she said.
“I’ve adored meeting the artists,” she continued. “Some artists who came out of New York were discovered here and were picked up by the Nerman. Others were picked up by the Nelson.”
Then there are the successful fundraising campaigns she organized over the years, including UrbanSuburban, KCJMCA’s annual fundraiser that most recently raised almost $200,000 for the organization.
While she is no longer working every day, she hopes KCJMCA continues to be a vital part of the community.
“There’s nothing like us, that I know of, in Kansas City,” she said. “We have definitely made a name for ourselves.” |
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