David Schizer ’93 Named CEO of JDC

New York, May 12, 2016 – The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is delighted to name David Schizer as its next CEO. Schizer—the Dean Emeritus of Columbia Law School and a noted Jewish community leader—will take the helm of the global Jewish humanitarian organization on January 1, 2017.

Succeeding Alan H. Gill as CEO, Schizer was unanimously nominated by a Selection Committee of JDC’s Board of Directors and confirmed by the Board’s Executive Committee after an extensive global search conducted by executive search firm Spencer Stuart.

“We are extremely proud of David Schizer’s appointment as JDC’s next CEO, confident that his vast professional accomplishments and boundless passion for the Jewish people and Israel will be critical components of his leadership of an organization at the vanguard of Jewish life for more than a century,” said JDC President Stanley Rabin. “In a world facing many challenges, JDC remains steadfast in its protection of the most vulnerable Jews and its efforts to foster strong, resilient Jewish communities and leaders. David will surely take up that historic mantle and deploy his wide-ranging talents and innovative vantage to bring a new energy and vision to JDC’s timeless mission and to building the Jewish future.”

Brooklyn-born Schizer was the youngest dean in the history of Columbia Law School, where he presided over a $150 million annual budget and 400 employees. During his ten years of service as dean, he launched and successfully completed a $353 million capital campaign, doubling the school’s traditional fundraising. Schizer also expanded the faculty and forged a new partnership with Columbia Business School. A seasoned leader in the Jewish community, Schizer is a member of the Board of Directors of the 92nd Street Y and Ramaz School, is President of America’s Voices in Israel, and Co-director of Columbia’s Center for Israeli Legal Studies. He also served previously on the boards of Natan and Columbia-Barnard Hillel, and as a senior advisor to the Tikvah Fund.

“Although I am part of an incredibly fortunate generation of American Jews, I am named for a grandfather who fled pogroms and political upheaval in Ukraine. Every Jewish family has a history of poverty, religious persecution, or violence—the only difference is how long ago it was. So for me personally, it is profoundly meaningful to be appointed CEO of an extraordinary organization that has been a lifeline to Jews in their hour of need, and that renews Jewish life throughout the world, including in places where my own family once lived,” said Schizer. “In these difficult times, JDC’s work has never been more important, and I am proud to be a part of it.”

Schizer holds undergraduate, graduate, and law degrees from Yale University. He clerked for Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

“We are very excited about David Schizer’s appointment as the next CEO of JDC. He represents the enormous accomplishment and talent among rising Jewish leadership in action today—bright, passionate, and committed to innovating and strengthening the Jewish world and Israel. Those values are at the heart of JDC and I look forward to welcoming David to ‘the Joint’ and working with him to ensure a successful transition,” said current JDC CEO Alan H. Gill, who will retire from the position at the end of this year after twenty-four years of service with the organization.

Schizer and his wife, Meredith, reside in New York together with their three children.