David Elcott, the author of Faith, Nationalism and the Future of Liberal Democracy (Notre Dame Press, 2021) and A Sacred Journey (Roman and Littlefield, 1995), has spent the last thirty years at the intersection of interfaith and ethnic community building. He was the Taub Professor of Practice in Public Service and Leadership at NYU heading social justice programs. He also co-directed the Dual Degree Program of the Skirball Center for Hebrew and Judaic Studies. In 2013, Dr. Elcott received NYU’s Martin Luther King Faculty Award. Upon retirement from NYU, he teaches as part of a SUNY college degree program in Green Haven, maximum security prison.
As Vice-President of the National Center for Learning and Leadership, Dr. Elcott 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 while continuing to build interfaith and interethnic coalitions.
His research, monographs and training programs have emphasized ways to energize civic engagement and democracy around the world. He has represented the Jewish community in interfaith settings in Europe, South America and Asia.