William Daroff

William Daroff
Born	1968 Miami Beach, Florida, US
Occupation(s)	Chief Executive Officer, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Known for	American Jewish Communal Leader

Swearing in of William Daroff to US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad by Chairman Warren Miller

Daroff in Jerusalem, February 2019

William C. Daroff (born 1968) is the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.^[1]

Childhood

Daroff was born in Miami Beach, Florida, where his father, neuro-ophthalmology pioneer^[2] Robert B. Daroff, M.D., was a professor at the University of Miami.^[3] He moved with his family to suburban Cleveland, Ohio in 1980, when his father became the chairman of the Department of Neurology at Case Western Reserve University.^[3]

Education

Daroff graduated from Hawken School in suburban Gates Mills, Ohio in 1986.^[4] He received his bachelor's degree (summa cum laude) in political science and history, his master's degree in political science, and his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He also studied at Kraków, Poland's Jagiellonian University, where he received a certificate in the history of Eastern European Jewry and The Holocaust.^[5][6]

Politics and government (through 2005)

William Daroff worked on three presidential campaign staffs: Rep. Jack Kemp in 1986–88, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush in 1988, and Sen. Bob Dole in 1996.^[5] He also managed campaigns for the United States House of Representatives and for the State Treasurer of Ohio. He served as a political appointee in the U.S. Department of Energy in the Administration of President George H. W. Bush, as Special Assistant to Ohio Governor George Voinovich, and as Deputy Director of the Ohio Department of Liquor Control.^[5]

Jack Kemp at a rally in Union, South Carolina, during his 1988 Republican presidential campaign on October 3, 1987. William Daroff is standing directly behind Kemp's left shoulder.

In Cleveland, Ohio, he served on the executive committee of the American Jewish Committee, on the board of Bellefaire Jewish Children's Bureau, on the leadership cabinet for Israel Bonds, and on the board of Ohio Jewish Communities. He was also involved in the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Cleveland, serving on the board of its Young Leadership Division, the community relations committee, the advocacy task force, the Young Adult Initiative board, and the public education initiative.^[7]

Upon moving to Washington, D.C., in 2000, Daroff served as director of congressional affairs (2000–2001) and then deputy executive director (2001–2005) of the Republican Jewish Coalition.^[5][8]

Previous position (2005–2019)

In October 2005, Daroff became the vice president for public policy and director of the Washington Office of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) formerly known as United Jewish Communities,^[5] where he advocates for the American Jewish community's agenda with the United States government. As the chief lobbyist and principal spokesperson on public policy and international affairs for the 156 Jewish federations and 300 independent communities represented by JFNA, Daroff promotes the interests of Jewish federations on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch of the United States.^[5] He became senior vice president in 2013.

Daroff has testified before committees in both the United States House of Representatives^[9] and the United States Senate.^[10]

President George W. Bush appointed Daroff to serve on the honorary delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.^[11][12] In September 2007, Daroff was appointed^[13] by President George W. Bush to be a member of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, which is charged with the oversight of the protection of properties in Europe associated with the heritage of U.S. citizens, including Jewish cemeteries, synagogues, and memorials. He served during the Obama Administration as well, leaving the Commission in 2011.^[14]

Daroff was named one of the 50 most influential Jews in America by The Jewish Daily Forward newspaper.^[15] Slate Magazine stated, "Daroff is also one of the country's better-connected Jewish operatives."^[16] He is widely quoted in newspapers, magazines, on the radio, and television across the world.^{[17][better source needed]}

He was a member of the Board^[18] of the World Council of Jewish Communal Service as well as Vice President of the Board^[19] of the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America.^[20] He has also served in leadership positions with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

In May 2009, Daroff was named by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) as being among the most influential Jewish Twitterers in the world for his tweeting from @Daroff.^[21] He was also called "the fastest tweet in the Jewish organizational world" in a 2010 Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) profile.^[22] He often speaks publicly on social media, including in high-profile settings such as South By Southwest in 2012.^[23]

He has also been widely quoted in leading news outlets, including The New York Times,^[24] The Washington Post,^[25] USA Today,^[26] The Los Angeles Times,^[27] Newsweek,^[28] The International Herald-Tribune, Slate,^[16] The Jerusalem Post,^[29] Ha’aretz, The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), The Jewish Daily Forward,^[30] and newspapers around the world. He has also made frequent radio and television appearances.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Daroff's office web site
• Daroff's official biography

References

1. "Conference of Presidents taps William Daroff as new CEO". JNS.org. 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
2. Trobe, Jonathan D. (1 December 2009). "Robert B. Daroff, MD Pioneer of Ocular Motor Research". Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology. 29 (4): 342–353. doi:10.1097/WNO.0b013e3181b14889. PMID 19952910.
3. "School of Medicine - Error". casemed.case.edu. May 2012. Archived from the original (docx) on 2018-02-03. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
4. "Linkedin".
5. "Republican Activist Chosen To Be Chief UJC Lobbyist". forward.com. 14 October 2005.
6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
7. "Temporarily Disabled" (PDF). washingtondcjcc.org. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
8. "Republican Jewish Coalition". Republican Jewish Coalition.
9. "Techouse". Archived from the original on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
10. "Welcome - U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions". Archived from the original on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
11. "Bush Visit May Boost Olmert". www.nysun.com.
12. "Statement by the Press Secretary". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov.
13. "Personnel Announcement". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov.
14. "Heritage Abroad > Members". www.heritageabroad.gov.
15. "Forward 50, 2008". forward.com.
16. Rosner, Shmuel (7 May 2008). "What Does It Mean To Be "Pro-Israel"?". Slate.
17. "Google News". Google News. 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
18. "Business Tips & Advice - World Council of Jewish Communal Service". Business Tips & Advice.
19. "Jcsana.org". www.jcsana.org.
20. "Home". jcsana.org.
21. "Pantheon | No Site Detected". blogs.jta.org. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
22. "Meet the fastest tweet in the Jewish organizational world: William Daroff". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
23. "Building a Jewish Presence Through Social Media". SXSW Schedule 2012.
24. "NYTimes.com Search". query.nytimes.com.
25. Milbank, Dana (18 March 2008). "Dana Milbank - The Audacity of Chutzpah" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
26. "USA TODAY". USA TODAY.
27. Barabak, Mark Z. (17 April 2004). "Bush Move on Mideast May Sway Jewish Vote" – via LA Times.
28. "Obama Chief of Staff Emanuel Rahm: Israel, Iran". newsweek.com. 22 May 2009.
29. "Archived copy". pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
30. "Search". The Forward.