William Daroff

William C. Daroff (born 1968) is the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Previously he was the Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Director of the Washington Office of The Jewish Federations of North America.

Early Life and Education

Daroff was born in Miami Beach, Florida, where his father, neuro-ophthalmology pioneer Robert B. Daroff, M.D., was a professor at the University of Miami. 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. 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.

Career

Presidential Campaigns 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. Daroff was interested in politics at an early age and his political involvement began when he was just seven years old. He worked on three presidential campaign staffs: Rep. Jack Kemp in 1986–88 where he was lead advanceman. This was followed by working on the campaigns of then-Vice President George H. W. Bush in 1988, and Sen. Bob Dole in 1996.

Republican Jewish Coalition 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.

JFNA 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,

Daroff’s portfolio included addressing Jewish poverty, providing services for Holocaust survivors, and overseeing nonprofit security. He also led disaster response campaigns to send aid to humanitarian crises such as the Nepal Earthquake and Ukraine war. Daroff has testified before committees in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. as well as the Knesset and the European Parliament.

Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations In August 2019, it was announced that Daroff would succeed Malcolm Hoenlein as CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. He assumed the position in February 2020. Under Daroff’s leadership, the Conference has advocated for broader adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism. He also supported legislation elevating the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism to the rank of ambassador.

In February 2020, he met senior officials in the Saudi government and also advocated for Eastern European Jewry.

In the wake of the October 7 attacks, Daroff was the main -co-organizer of the November 2023 March for Israel event in Washington attended by close to 300,000 people.

In December 2023, Daroff was selected as the inaugural chair of the J7, the Large Jewish Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism, representing seven major Diaspora Jewish communities.

In June 2026, Daroff met the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Boards and Committees He was a member of the Board of the World Council of Jewish Communal Service as well as Vice President of the Board of the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America. He has also served in leadership positions with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In September 2007, Daroff was appointed 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.

Daroff is also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University’s School of Political Management in Washington.

He is a judge of the National Jewish Book Awards and an officer of the Jewish Book Council. He is also on the Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Bonei Zion award selection committee. Slate Magazine stated, "Daroff is also one of the country's better-connected Jewish operatives." He is widely quoted in newspapers, magazines, on the radio, and television across the world.

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.

He has also been widely quoted in leading news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and Newsweek,

He is a regular columnist for the Jerusalem Post.

In 1992 he was commissioned by Governor Brereton C. Jones as a Kentucky Colonel.

In July 2026 he was inducted into the Association of Ohio Commodores.

Personal He is married to Heidi Krizer Daroff and has two children. They met in Kraków in 1995 while studying at Jagiellonian University.