Under Anya Abramzon’s guidance, Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County has gone from a small program run out of a Jewish community center to a full-service social agency doing work ranging from aiding victims of Hurricane Katrina to helping refugees from the former Soviet Socialist Republic get settled in Michigan.

But don’t give the executive director of JFS all the credit, because she’ll tell you, “For most executive directors, you are only as good as your staff is. You can be a brilliant, amazing director, but (you must also) have an incredible team behind you, each one with a vision.”

Abramzon said she has a strong vision, but she also wants to support the staff and volunteers at JFS in realizing their own visions as well.

“Their dreams are what make JFS great,” she said. “If you allow people to bring their own vision or their take on your vision, you can let go of control at the same time as you’re providing support. You might not be ‘in control’, but you can still be on top of things. Never be afraid of your staff being better at anything than you are. I love to know we have staff that has expertise that I don’t have. I don’t need to have that expertise, because we have them.”

While Abramzon’s approach may sound hands-off, she said she does believe in structure and rules.

“I’m a strong believer in in structure and policies and having very high standards and accountability,” she said. “Without that, we become a bunch of do-gooders running around but know knowing if you’re doing it well.”

Abramzon came to the United States 20 years ago after having received a degree in history and law from a university in St. Petersburg, Russia. She said that once in the U.S., she wanted to help people who were going through similar experiences of fitting into a new culture.

Toward that end, she obtained a master’s in social work from the University of Michigan and became certified in Jewish community service work. She first became involved with JFS before she graduated from U-M, gaining field experience at the fledgling organization that had not been in operation very long.

“At that point, the agency was just a little over a year old, had a budget of around $11,000 and had one half-time staff person,” Abramzon said. That one half-time staff person was the former executive director, Susan Sefansky, who remains active with the JFS as a board member today.

“Now she's on the board and is providing clinical supervision for staff,” Abramzon said. “So 14 years later, we’re still working together.”

Abramzon took over as executive director after graduating with her master’s degree.

“I took a pay cut and left a job in Detroit that I had at that point and wasn’t really enjoying,” she said.

When she first came on board, she was the sole paid staff member, though the agency also had many volunteers.

Today, the organization’s budget has grown to just over $ 1.1 million, and JFS currently has a paid staff of around 34, supplemented by hundreds of volunteers. The agency outgrew the one room in the community center quickly, and now JFS rents much bigger office spaces on State Street.

The agency’s mission has also expanded; JFS originally focused on helping the Jewish community, particularly the elderly. But today, JFS serves anyone who asks for help.

“We’re built on Jewish principals, but we serve the entire community,” Abramzon said.

Some of the key services JFS provides include crisis management, older adult services, employment and resettlement services and English as a Second Language.

The agency’s services are supported by state and federal grants, donations from the local Jewish community and fundraisers. The next fundraiser, which is also an awards ceremony, is set for Sunday, Jan. 23. JFS will present the Claire and Isadore Bernstein Leadership Award to Dr. Barry Nemon and Barbara Stark-Nemon during an event called "Celebrating Harmony."

The award is named after a local Ann Arbor couple who were active in the Jewish Federation and with resettling immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s.

The award, Abramzon said, is “our way to remember where we came from as an agency and also to commemorate the things done by wonderful people for years without any recognition of any kind, just because they felt it was the right thing to do.”

Abramzon said the idea of harmony and balance are important elements in her leadership style and compared it to gourmet cooking.

“You know when you’ve created something amazing when there’s a balance of flavors and spices and nothing is sticking out, nothing is too overpowering or too ‘blah.’ That applies to the way I see the balance in this organization. Everything has to be beautifully harmonious, and the theme of our upcoming event is the celebration of harmony. That applies to the services we provide to the community as well — it’s about harmony in terms of people working together.”

Background

Age: 40.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in history and law, MSW from the University of Michigan.

Family: Husband, three kids.

Residence: Pittsfield Township.

Business Insights

Best business decision: Taking a pay cut and accepting my current position at JFS 14 years ago.

Worst business decision: Situations when I do not listen to my gut feeling, do not take a risk and spend too much time “over-thinking”

Best way to keep a competitive edge: Staying true to yourself, focusing on what you do best while constantly learning new things, and having really high standards.

Personal hero: Amazing individuals who overcome horrible adversities and continue to love life and people around them.

How do you motivate people? Encouraging them to have a big vision and support their independence and growth.

What advice would you give to yourself in college? Don’t ever settle for anything other than the best .

Word that best describes you: Dreamer.

First Web site you check in the morning: My email.

Confessions

What keeps you up at night? My kids, JFS, good books and old reruns.

Pet peeve: People who can only hear themselves.

Guilty pleasure: People magazine and good bread.

First job: Camp counselor.

First choice for a new career: It’s a toss between adoption law and boutique hotel/restaurant business/event planning business.

Treasures

Favorite cause: Adoption.

Favorite book: There are so many. The ones that really shaped me into the person that I am today were “Spanish Ballad” by Feihtwanger, “Scarlet Sails” by Alexander Greene and “The Other Banks” by Vladimir Nabokov.

Favorite movie: Too many to list, but at the end of a long day, old movies and witty romantic comedies make me happy.

Favorite hobby: Eclectic/international gourmet cooking and party planning.

Favorite restaurant: Too many to list. Most of the time, my loyalty is not with a particular restaurant but with a specific dish that I fall in love with. I tend to find one or two things on a menu that I really like and stick with it for years.

LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? LinkedIn and Facebook, but I am really horrible at both.

Typical Saturday: Late breakfast, farmers market, family and friends.

What team do you root for? Team JFS.

Wheels: Honda Pilot.

Who would play you in a movie? Mother Hen, if it is an animated feature film.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at sarahrigg@yahoo.com.