Gideon Aronoff

   President & CEO

Gideon Aronoff was elected President and CEO of HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, in February 2006. Prior to that, he served as Vice President for Government Relations and Public Policy/Director of the HIAS Washington office (2004-2006) and Washington Representative/Director of the HIAS Washington office (2000-2003). Before joining HIAS, he worked for nearly a dozen years in Boston and Washington in policy, advocacy, and leadership positions in the Soviet Jewry movement.

For nearly 18 years, Mr. Aronoff has worked in Jewish communal agencies on non-profit administration, fundraising, coalition-building, public affairs, public policy, media relations, writing, and public speaking. He has been an integral force behind a number of key legislative successes with Congress and the White House and has focused on coalition-building in the Jewish community.

In March 2009, he was elected chair of the National Immigration Forum, the leading immigrant advocacy organization in the United States. Aronoff also is active in the leadership of the Refugee Council USA, the principle U.S. coalition of non-governmental organizations focused on refugee protection, resettlement, asylum seekers, displaced persons, victims of trafficking, and victims of torture in the United States and across the world. In his home community, he serves as a member of the Community Relations Committee of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest, NJ.

Aronoff earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School and a B.A. in history from Brandeis University. He and his wife, Victoria, have a daughter, Dalia, and a son, Solomon.