Rabbi Ryan Hertz (הרב יהודה לייב הערץ) joined SOS as CEO in 2010, assuming the role at Lighthouse in 2019 as the two organizations merged. He and his team have expanded Lighthouse’s scope of services to encompass family and youth emergency shelter; eviction prevention and food distribution; financial assistance and coaching; affordable housing and community development; and a wide array of supportive service solutions that have contributed to thousands of people getting back on their feet and finding a renewed sense of purpose.
Under Ryan’s leadership, Lighthouse’s affordable housing portfolio has grown to include 500+ residential units, with more than $150 million in multifamily rental properties currently under development throughout Metro Detroit, including the iconic Lee Plaza on West Grand Boulevard.
Ryan is an appointee of Governor Gretchen Whitmer to Michigan’s Interagency Council on Homelessness. He is a founding member of the Pontiac Neighborhood Fund Steering Committee; a member of the Capital Advisory Committee of NeighborWorks Capital and the Detroit Advisory Committee of Adamah; and was a founding board member for Chabad of Greater Downtown Detroit and the Alliance for Housing: Oakland County’s Continuum of Care. Ryan received rabbinic ordination through Machon Smicha in 2026. He currently lives in Huntington Woods, Michigan with his wife and four children.
