Jim Gerstein

Jim Gerstein is the Executive Director of Democracy Corps, a non-profit organization that conducts public opinion research and provides strategic advice to Democrats and progressive organizations. Democracy Corps was founded in 1999 by James Carville, Stan Greenberg, and Bob Shrum, and Mr. Gerstein joined the organization in June 2001.

Before he began working at Democracy Corps, Mr. Gerstein spent four years with the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the Middle East peace process. Since Mr. Gerstein became the Center's Executive Director in 1997, the organization actively increased its role in the peace process through public education campaigns, congressional visits to the Middle East, and convening Middle East diplomats in the United States for meetings with political and business leaders. In his role at the Center, he was a frequent public speaker and appeared on television for commentary on the Middle East peace process.

Mr. Gerstein spent the year 2000 living in Israel where he established a counterpart for the Center, called the Institute for Peace and Security. The Institute provided financial, organizational, and strategic support for various Arab-Israeli projects, including meetings between retired generals from Israel and the Arab world, peace initiatives with Arab and Israeli business leaders, and dialogues between Jewish and Arab municipal leaders in Israel.

During the 1999 Israeli Prime Ministerial campaign, Mr. Gerstein took a leave of absence from the Center in order to join Ehud Barak's American consulting team. He spent over 4 months in Israel where he served as the team's person on the ground and oversaw the polling, paid media, and message development for Prime Minister Barak's come-from-behind landslide victory over incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In addition to the Barak campaign, Mr. Gerstein has worked on American campaigns and held different positions in the Democratic Party. His first job in politics came in 1992 when he served as the Assistant to the Field Director for Carol Moseley Braun's successful run for the U.S. Senate in Illinois. He later moved to Washington, DC where he became the Deputy Director for Jewish Affairs at the Democratic National Committee. In this position, he was responsible for outreach and communications between the Clinton Administration and the American Jewish community. In 1996, Mr. Gerstein worked in the press office for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and then directed the Clinton/Gore field campaign for the north side of Chicago and northern Illinois.

Mr. Gerstein received an M.A. in Middle East History at Tel Aviv University and a B.A. in philosophy at Colgate University. He grew up in the Chicago area and today resides in Washington, DC.

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