Staff

Chief Executive Officer

Halie Soifer

Since 2018, Halie has led the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) as its first employee and Executive Director, and has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since 2020. Prior to joining JDCA, Halie served for nearly two decades as a national security advisor to four members of Congress, as a senior policy advisor in the Obama administration, and as a foreign policy expert and civil servant. Most recently, Halie was National Security Advisor to then-Senator Kamala Harris (CA), and – prior to that – foreign policy advisor for Sens. Chris Coons and Ted Kaufman (both DE), and Rep. Robert Wexler (FL). Halie also served for more than two years in the Obama administration as Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power. Additionally, she served in the Bush Administration as a civil servant in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. During President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, Halie was the campaign’s Florida Jewish Vote Director. Halie received her master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Middle East Studies, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan Honors College. She now lives in Maryland and is a native of East Lansing, Michigan.

Senior Staff

Samuel J. Crystal, Chief of Staff and Communications Director

Samuel’s career has focused on political advocacy and communications in the global-Jewish community. He received his Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Maryland with a specialization in Leadership and Management and was named a 'High Achieving Millennial' by the SparkVision Millennial Research Project. Samuel joined the JDCA team shortly after the organization was founded in 2017 and he has served in multiple roles. As JDCA's Communications and Spokesperson, he develops, executes and oversees JDCA's external messaging across all digital platforms, and expands JDCA's public profile. From 2015-2017, Samuel was the Director of Political Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel to New England, where he helped develop and implement diplomatic strategy between Israel and local and state governments in New England.

From 2015-2016, Samuel lived in Jerusalem working as an Israel Government Fellow, where he attended over 100 seminars, lectures, and field missions studying Israeli politics, security, and paths toward peace with the Palestinians. As the Congressional Affairs Fellow at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he provided briefings for Israeli diplomats and Foreign Ministry officials. Samuel received his B.A. from the University of Mary Washington in 2014, and his Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Maryland in 2019. He previously served on the Advisory Council for Repair the World: Baltimore, and is passionate about criminal justice reform, combating climate change, and support for Israel and the two-state solution.

Get in touch with Sam and our Communications team.

Ben Kanter, Deputy Chief of Staff

Ben is a Maryland native with a degree in Political Science from the Honors College at the College of Charleston and is also a member of the political science honors society Pi Sigma Alpha and psychology honors society Psi Chi. While in college, Ben interned at both the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office and on Joe Cunningham’s historic 2018 Congressional victory in South Carolina’s 1st district. Since graduating, Ben has focused his career on political research, activism, and advocacy. During the summer of 2019, Ben was selected to attend the Summer Institute for Political Psychology at Stanford University, a month-long interdisciplinary training and certificate program with leading political psychology professors and experts from across the country. Prior to joining JDCA, Ben worked as an organizer for Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s presidential primary run in Iowa and Nevada. Since joining JDCA, Ben has worked in a variety of different roles including directing JDCA’s Outreach department and electoral efforts in 2022. Ben now serves as JDCA’s Deputy Chief of Staff, helping oversee staff wide projects and the implementation of JDCA’s national strategic goals and initiatives.

Get in touch with Ben and our Outreach team.

Michael Berkowitz, Senior Political and Policy Director and Director of JDCA PAC

Michael is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a BA in political science. At Washington University Michael was heavily involved in Jewish life and progressive politics, leading WashU's J Street U chapter, volunteering for local electoral campaigns, and running the Orthodox minyan at WashU's Chabad. The summer before his senior year, Michael interned at Bluelight Strategies, a political consulting firm specializing in Jewish and Democratic politics. In his last year at WashU he served as the Midwest Vice President on the J Street U National Board, helping to lead the pro-Israel anti-Occupation student movement. Prior to joining JDCA, Michael worked as a field organizer for the Iowa Democratic Party in the 2020 general election.

Mil Dranoff, Development Director

Mil Dranoff is the Development Director for the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA). Prior to joining the organization, she was Director of Development for the National Council of Jewish Women's New York Section, and before that she was on Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice’s development team for 6 years. As an alumna of Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, Mil is deeply passionate about creating systemic social change. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration, and a Bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis in Political Science and Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. She lives in northern New Jersey with her husband Mark and dog Jersey. Get in touch with Mil and our Development team.

Robert J. (Bobby) Saferstein, Senior Director of Programming and Public Engagement

Bobby is an interdisciplinary creative and entrepreneur. He harnesses media, design, and ritual, to craft experiences that impact and strengthen community, and develop multi-platform solutions that drive social good. Bobby currently serves as Director of Programming and Strategy at the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), after first joining as a member of JDCA’s Next Generation Leadership Council and Ohio Chapter Lead. Beginning with the 2020 general election to the Georgia runoffs to now, Bobby has developed and produced over 400 virtual and in-person programs to meet the strategic, political, policy, development, outreach, and volunteer engagement objectives of JDCA. Bobby previously led efforts as Market Development Director of Sh’ma Journal — a platform to engage with matters critical to contemporary Judaism — to augment its content and digital presence, reimagine its visual identity, and cultivate partnerships to deepen the journal’s impact and broaden its reach. The culmination of these efforts saw the journal’s strategic transformation into Sh’ma Now hosted by the Forward. Named to The New York Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36,” Bobby is a multiple Natan Grant recipient for his series of experiential Shabbat dinners for Jewish LGBTIQ+ professionals, Friday Night Lights Events. In 2015, Bobby founded Eighteen:22 — a global network of Jewish LGBTIQ+ and ally changemakers — as a Schusterman Connection Point in Salzburg, Austria, and partnered with JDC Entwine in 2017 to develop and launch their first in a series of international experiences designed for LGBTIQ+ participants. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, an ROI Community member, and an Hadar Institute Jewish Wisdom Fellow, Bobby is also an accomplished artist in the worlds of photography, film, music, and theatre. Get in touch with Bobby and our Programming team.

Staff

Matthew Craig, Director of Operations and Scheduling

Matthew is a proud Kentucky native with a degree in Early Childhood Education from Boston University. Since graduating from college, Matthew has worked extensively across the country for Democratic Campaigns. Matthew is most proud of working on Tom Perriello's campaign for Governor, Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, and the successful 2018 ballot measure Prop 3, Promote the Vote in Michigan. His most recent work was with the Amy McGrath campaign where he managed field operations for the largest campaign in Kentucky's history. Matthew is incredibly grateful to have grown up as one of the only three Jewish people from his public high school (the other two being his siblings). He credits his parents with helping him form his strong Jewish values. Previously, Matthew served as JDCA's Operations Manager and Executive Assistant. Matthew loves spending his free time with his family but mainly with his Grandma Minnie and her twin sister Aunt Jackie! Get in touch with Matthew and our Operations team.

Beverly Schreiber, Director of Outreach and Partnerships

Beverly has spent almost 15 years working in the political sphere, primarily as an issue and electoral organizer, where she has focused her efforts on getting young people engaged in the political process. She started her career as a campus organizer for Fandom Forward (previously The Harry Potter Alliance), a nonprofit that uses the power of pop culture and fandom to engage young people in social justice issues. During her time there, Beverly created the Granger Leadership Academy, an annual conference focused on training chapter members in advocacy tactics and leadership development through a fan activism lens, to help build positive social change in local communities. For the last six years, Beverly worked in her home state of Nevada, holding positions such as the Nevada State Youth Director for NextGen America, the largest youth vote organization in the country, and the Field Director for the Nevada Assembly Democratic Caucus, where in 2020, she helped elect nine candidates to the Nevada State Assembly. Beverly holds a B.A. in Multidisciplinary Studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and an MPA in Public and Nonprofit Management & Policy, with a focus on International Policy and Management from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She currently resides in Las Vegas and in her spare time serves as an advisor for the same BBYO chapter she was part of in high school (shout-out to Helene Gorbena #1938, Mountain Region #47) and tries to get cuddles from her super fat, super cuddly orange tabby cat Muffin.

Get in touch with Beverly.

Brett Bauer, Development Manager

Brett is an Illinois native with a BA in Political Science from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was deeply involved with the local Chabad chapter. He has previously worked with Democratic fundraising and campaigns and has additional political experience through a Capitol Hill internship with a Democratic member of Congress. He is an Honorary Board Member for the Lauri S. Bauer Foundation for Sudden Loss. He studied abroad in Florence, Italy, and served as Rush Chairman and Scribe of Boulder's chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi. Brett now lives in DC with his partner and Service Dog, Harlow. Get in touch with Brett and our Development team.

Naomi Jaffe, Deputy Political and Policy Director and Deputy Director of JDCA PAC

Naomi grew up in McLean, Virginia and graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Government. Naomi has been with the Political and Policy team at JDCA as an intern, associate, manager, and now deputy director. Prior to joining JDCA, Naomi interned at Brady, a gun violence prevention nonprofit organization, and worked as a research assistant for the Cornell Legal Information Institute. At Cornell, Naomi was a 3-year captain of the Varsity Division 1 Women’s Soccer team, a member of an all-female acapella singing group named “The Callbaxx”, and involved in community service with a local elementary school as a member of the Red Key Athlete Honor Society. In the summer of 2017, Naomi captained the Junior Women’s Soccer team for Maccabi USA at the Maccabiah Games in Israel and won a gold medal. Naomi was also a long-time camper and counselor at 6 Points Sports Academy, a URJ summer camp.

Jacob Spiegel, Communications Manager

Jacob is a proud Ohio native who has spent the last few years managing local and statewide races in his home state. Most recently, in the 2022 cycle, Jacob served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for Jeff Crossman’s campaign for Ohio Attorney General where he oversaw the political operations, earned and paid communications strategies, and day-to-day functions of the campaign. Prior to that role, Jacob served as the Campaign Manager for a successful Cincinnati City Council campaign, where he won as a first time campaign manager with a first time candidate in a crowded field. Jacob graduated from The John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Public Management, Leadership, and Policy, a degree in Strategic Communications, and a minor in Campaign Media & Communications. Jacob first became involved in political action and advocacy in 2016, when he was inspired by his late grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, who warned him that the rhetoric she was hearing in American politics surrounding immigrants and Muslims was eerily similar to the rhetoric she heard about the Jewish people when growing up in Nuremberg. Jacob then joined Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign as a fellow, and has been involved with a campaign every year since 2016, from City Council and State Representatives, to Presidential primaries. Jacob now lives in Washington D.C., where he enjoys rock climbing, traveling, and getting bit by his and his girlfriend’s cat, Georgia. Get in touch with Jacob.

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