Mandell Berman


Mandell "Bill" Berman was the businessman and philanthropist behind the Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation, which supports Jewish education, and research and study of the contemporary American Jewish community. His philanthropic focus was on the storage, dissemination, and preservation of Jewish data, as well as Jewish education and special education.

Biography

Berman was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, one of four siblings. His mother was from Toledo, OH, descended of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. His father immigrated from Poland at a young age, and with a grade school education, served in the American Army as an officer and worked as a successful businessman. Berman was raised in a religiously traditional home but was allowed to spend money and travel on shabbat to get to Hebrew school and religious services. He married Madge, née Madeleine Brodie, in 1950. They have two children and three grandchildren.

Education

Berman attended Detroit Central High School and Shaarey Tzedek High School. He briefly attended the University of Michigan, but then completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard College in 1940 graduating Magna Cum Laude, and graduated Harvard Business School in 1942. In 2011, he received an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.

Career

Past:
  • President: Bert L. Smokler & Company, Dreyfus Development Corporation, South Eastern Michigan Builders Association
  • Partner: Bert L. Smokler & Company
  • Chairman of the Skillman Foundation
  • Chairman: Board of Trustees of the Michigan State Housing Finance Authority, Supervisory Board of Euroad
  • Board member: Dreyfus Corporation, Guardian Industries, Lennar Corporation
Berman also served 4 years in the United States Navy, including a posting in Okinawa.

Philanthropic work

Selected supported projects