Board of Trustees

David A. Harris, P '05, H '22

hassElected September 2023

David Harris served as CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) from 1990 to 2022.  AJC was described by The New York Times as “the dean of American Jewish organizations,” and Harris was described by the late Israeli President and Nobel laureate Shimon Peres as “the foreign minister of the Jewish people.”

During his AJC tenure, the group had a close working relationship with Brandeis University, including several distinguished faculty members. Throughout his 50-year career in the nonprofit world, Harris has been deeply involved, both on a domestic and global level, in issues related to foreign policy, national security, interfaith and interethnic relations, social policy, higher education, and the Jewish community.

Educated at the University of Pennsylvania and London School of Economics, he was a Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and both a Junior and Senior Associate at Oxford University’s St. Antony’s College. 

During his career, he served on the committee to select a new president of the University of Pennsylvania; was a trustee of Connecticut College; received four honorary doctorates, including from Brandeis University in 2022; and has spoken at a number of American and overseas universities.
He is married to Giulietta Boukhobza, who was born and raised in Libya. They have three sons, including a Brandeis University alumnus, three daughters-in-law, and seven grandchildren.