Bio of Ira N. Forman, Executive Director

Ira N. Forman, a veteran of nearly 40 years of political activity at the state, local and national levels, has served since January 1996 as the Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council - "the national voice of Jewish Democrats." Through voter education guides, special reports and other programs, NJDC strives to educate American Jews across the country about the differences between their political candidates on issues of concern to them - focusing on protecting reproductive rights, the separation of church and state and a strong US-Israel relationship. In his capacity as Executive Director, Forman has appeared on various news programs - including programs on CNN and the Fox News network - and he has been quoted in a wide range of print media articles appearing in The NewYork Times, The Washington Post, the Jerusalem Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and Reuters, among others.

Forman also serves as the Research Director of The Solomon Project. In 2001 the Solomon Project released a groundbreaking book - "Jews in American Politics" and he is a co-editor and a chapter author of this volume.
Prior to joining NJDC, Forman served as Director of Congressional Relations for the Clinton Administration's Office of Personnel Management. From 1990 to 1993, he served as a fellow at the Center for National Policy (NP) where he worked on the volume "Democrats and The American Idea: A Bicentennial Appraisal".

Forman graduated magna cum laude in Government from Harvard College in 1974. He also received his MBA from Stanford University in 1983.

From 1977 to 1981, Forman worked for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), where he served as legislative liaison and Political Director. From 1983 - 1985 he was the New York Director of the National PAC - at the time the largest pro-Israel PAC in the United States.

Forman and his wife Caryn Pass have three children and currently reside in Washington, DC.