Press Release

12 Rising Jewish Leaders Join JDCA’s New Leadership Council

August 15, 2023

WASHINGTON – Today, the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) announced that it has admitted 12 new members to its New Leadership Council (NLC), the next generation of Jewish leaders committed to JDCA’s mission of advocating for our Jewish and Democratic values and mobilizing Jewish voters to elect our endorsed candidates.

JDCA’s New Leadership Council helps foster organizational growth and advancement by cultivating the energy, enthusiasm, talent, and ideas of our engaged network of lay leaders. The NLC includes thinkers and doers from across the vast spectrum of Jewish Democratic life in America – teachers, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, foreign policy experts, former political candidates, and justice and human rights advocates – who offer critical perspectives and new ideas to JDCA’s national board.

New members of JDCA’s NLC are as follows:

  • Adam Metzendorf: Director of Business Operations for the Phoenix Mercury, former candidate for Congress (Phoenix, AZ)
  • Adam Berg: Counsel, Squire Patton Boggs and Former Chief Counsel U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations (Washington, D.C.)
  • Jonathan Allen: Associate Director of Government Relations at the ADL (Washington, D.C.)
  • Emma Davidson Tibbs: Co-Founder & Director, National Women’s Defense League. Former Director of Political and Legislative Strategy Cypress Creek Renewables and former Regional Director of State Affairs at Everytown for Gun Safety (Germantown, NY)
  • Ora Rosenbaum: Interim Executive Director, The Next 50 (Atlanta, GA)
  • Olivia Hazlett: Mid-Atlantic Community Associate Manager at Moishe House (Washington, D.C.)
  • Daniel Bral: Civil Rights Litigation Management Attorney and Chair of Progressive Zionists of CA (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Julie Zebrak: Director of Digital Strategy & Outreach for Washington Monthly and a seasoned political consultant, organizer, and fundraiser (Bethesda, MD)
  • Darcy Hirsh: Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy Interfaith Alliance. Former Associate Vice President, Public Affairs and Government Relations, JFNA (Washington, D.C.)
  • Nanette Fridman: Founder and President, Fridman Strategies (Boston, MA)
  • Barry Klein: Managing Partner, Kinetic Campaigns (Washington, D.C.)
  • Ariella Simonds: Legal partner in corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, KTBS Law LLP (Los Angeles, CA)

On the new class, NLC Chair Lauren Baer said the following:

“I am thrilled to welcome such an accomplished and diverse class to the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s New Leadership Council. These individuals have already excelled in fields ranging from law, to advocacy, to political strategy, and are now committed to bringing their talents to our work to elect Democrats up and down the ballot who share our values. I am confident that they will help ensure that Democrats hold the White House, expand their Senate majority, reclaim the House of Representatives, and make other electoral gains in 2024 and beyond.”

To read the bios of the entire NLC, click here. To speak with a JDCA spokesperson, please contact [email protected].

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