April 5 – Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC (JCRC/AJC) will honor Howard Brown with its 2019 Activist Award on Monday, May 20 at Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, Mich. A strolling dinner will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the award presentation and a conversation, titled “Surviving Social Media: Interfaith Engagement in the Digital Age,” with the evening’s featured speakers, Yair Rosenberg, senior writer at Tablet Magazine, and Attorney, Author and Podcast Host Rabia Chaudry, at 7 p.m. The evening will culminate with a dessert reception.
A JCRC/AJC board member since 2006, who has long worked under the radar, applying quiet diplomacy, Brown is being honored for his bridge building efforts among different interfaith groups. This has included helping to strengthen the relationship between the southeast Michigan Jewish and Muslim communities.
Professionally, the Franklin, Mich. resident has worked as a chief executive with experience in technology, fundraising, sales and marketing of online software and digital communications solutions. During his career, he has launched two online software start-ups, CircleBuilder Software LLC and PlanitJewish.com, both of which serve faith and religious communities.
Active in the community, the Wexner Heritage Foundation Fellowship alumnus has served as Regional Board President for AJC Detroit, as well as on the global organization’s National Board of Governors and as a Comay Fellow. He also was on the board of Hebrew Free Loan, JCC of Metropolitan Detroit and Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Brown, who is a public speaker and board trainer, received his bachelor’s degree from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where he is the immediate past college trustee and president of the school’s Worldwide Alumni Association. He was awarded their Cruickshank Award for Volunteer Leadership in September 2018.
Sponsorship and tribute levels begin at $180 and include the strolling dinner and dessert reception. To attend only the program, which is open to the community, it is a $36 contribution, per person, and includes the dessert reception. To register visit https://jcrcajc.org/activist-award/. For additional information, contact Corey Young at young@jfmd.org or call 248-642-5393.