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David Feinman resides in Washington, DC and is a Senior Legislative Associate for
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). In this capacity, Dave promotes
the interests and concerns of 157 Jewish Federations and more than 400 independent communities to Members of Congress and the Obama Administration
on a wide range of issues, including the rights and social service needs of the disability community, poverty and nutrition, immigration,
anti-Semitism and Holocaust-related issues, the U.S.-Israel relationship and other relevant foreign policy issues of concern to the Jewish community,
working to ensure that the voice of the Jewish Federations is a prominent force in policy decisions in our federal government.
Since joining JFNA, Dave has led advocacy efforts on a number of important issues to the Jewish community, including
raising awareness of the unique social service needs of Holocaust
survivors, promoting solutions to provide for those needs through
the Older Americans Act, ensuring housing programs for people with disabilities remain fully funded, promoting the importance of maintaining funding for
the Emergency Food and Shelter Program to help families on the verge of poverty, and working
with partner agencies and organizations to defeat the assault on Israel's legitimacy.
In addition to his advocacy work, Dave coordinates efforts by professional and lay leaders from Jewish communities across the continent to
develop guidance and direction on policy and advocacy issues that impact the disability community through his role as lead professional staff of
JFNA's Domestic Affairs Disability Workgroup. He works to strengthen the combined efforts of Jewish organizations
advocating on behalf of the disability community through his co-chairmanship of the Jewish Disability Network. Dave also advances interfaith
dialogue on issues of concern to the disability community and helps to mobilize the religious community to become more engaged in disability policy
through his role on the Steering Committee of the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition. Additionally, he represents the federation movement on
a number of coalitions promoting policies of importance to the disability community, including the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities and the
Coalition on Human Needs.
Before joining JFNA, Dave served as Legislative Assistant for Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida. As his Legislative Assistant,
Dave managed all of his constituent correspondence and advised him on a number of legislative issues, including budget and tax policy, the U.S.-Israel
Relationship and the Middle East Peace Process, anti-Semitism and Holocaust-related issues, consumer product safety, and global road safety.
Dave’s legislative accomplishments while on Capitol Hill include working extensively on efforts to open the
International Tracing Service Holocaust Archives in Germany for Holocaust
survivors and their loved ones, and Dave was fortunate to be among the first Congressional staff delegation to view these archives. He was also
instrumental in ensuring Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Holocaust and Human
Rights Education in Boca Raton, Florida, remained fully funded after its survival was threatened by state budget cuts. Continuously working on
Jewish community outreach in South Florida, Dave was fortunate to volunteer for the
Obama Campaign in South Florida, where he was involved in efforts to educate voters in Palm
Beach County on Senator Obama’s support for the Jewish community, for Israel, and his commitment to a sustainable peace in the Middle East.
Dave also worked tirelessly to bring greater attention to two equally important but very different issues: contaminated Chinese drywall and global
road safety. With over 100,000 homeowners facing the silent hurricane of having contaminated drywall in their homes compromising their health and
the value of their homes, Dave helped Congressman Wexler to take a leadership role in addressing this issue through the creation of the Congressional
Contaminated Drywall Caucus and through the introduction of legislation
aimed at protecting consumers from this toxic product.
On the issue of global road safety, Dave helped Congressman Wexler to shed light on the importance of addressing the issue of road safety, both
through his chairmanship of the Global Road Safety
Caucus and through the introduction of legislation supporting efforts
to reduce road crash deaths and injuries and urging the Obama Administration to take a leadership role on this issue. Road crashes, which kill
1.3 million people and injure more than 50 million people around the world each year, threaten to become the cause of more deaths than malaria and
HIV/AIDS by 2020 if the global community does not work to address this issue. Congressman Wexler led America’s efforts in this regard throughout his
time serving in Congress.
Dave worked for Congressman Wexler from January 2007 through January 2010. Prior to this, he served as Staff Assistant for
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley of Nevada from September-December 2006, and was an intern in
Congressman Wexler’s office from June-September 2006.
Dave is an alum of the University of Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Political Science with a focus on International Relations, and the University of Central Florida, where
he earned a Master of Arts in Political Analysis and Public Policy. Dave's Master's thesis was titled: Divided Government and Congressional
Foreign Policy: A Case Study of the Post-World War II Era in American Government.
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