David Elcott, Ph.D.
David Elcott has spent the last thirty years at the intersection of community building, the search for a theory of cross-boundary engagement, and interfaith and ethnic activism. Trained in political psychology and Middle East affairs at Columbia University, Management and Evaluation at UCLA, and Judaic studies at the American Jewish University, Dr. Elcott is the Taub Professor of Practice in Public Service and Leadership at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and faculty director of the Advocacy and Political Action specialization. Over the past twelve years, he has built a robust training program of community organizing and advocacy campaigns to address pressing domestic and international issues. His goal is to offer year-round opportunities for NYU students to learn the skills, tools and theories of social justice transformation and public service. As a professor, he has taught a generation of professionals to be more effective leaders and managers of public service. He also co-directs the Dual Degree Program of the Skirball Center for Hebrew and Judaic Studies and Wagner. In 2013, Dr. Elcott received NYU’s Martin Luther King Faculty Award.
These interests combined in the founding of B3/The Jewish Boomer Platform, a research and advocacy project to ensure the (re)engagement of Jews in all age cohorts, especially those exploring engaging the world meaningfully later in life. His groundbreaking research on aging launched the focus on vital aging for Jewish organizations. With grants from the Meyerhoff, Natan and Taub Foundations, and the Sephardic Foundation on Aging, B3 is mobilizing Boomers for enhanced civic engagement and encore careers in public service. He has spoken, consulted and advised leaders and agencies at multiple GAs, JCRC, JCCA and NJHSA arenas.
Dr. Elcott was formerly the Vice-President of the National Center for Learning and Leadership, a think-tank that trains community leaders about contemporary community and civic obligation while building a vibrant Jewish community capable of addressing complex problems. In this capacity, he has taught leadership and institutional change in over 50 communities across North America. As Interreligious Affairs Director of the American Jewish Committee and as Executive Director of the Israel Policy Forum, David addressed a wide array of public policy issues, building interfaith and interethnic coalitions.
He has written Faith, Nationalism and the Future of Liberal Democracy (Notre Dame Press, 2021) and A Sacred Journey: The Jewish Quest for a Perfect World (Rowman and Littlefield). His research, monographs and studies have emphasized ways to reimagine contemporary Jewish organizational life. He has represented the Jewish community in interfaith settings in Europe, South America and Asia.