David Manchester

Senior Director of Community Data and Research, Jewish Federations of North America

David Manchester is the Senior Director of Community Data and Research at JFNA where he manages various projects to support local communities use of data to improve their impact.  He is currently leading JFNA’s national survey work program tracking “The Surge” in Jewish life post 10/7 and trends around support for Israel and antisemitism in the US.  This research seeks to help Jewish organizations respond to these changing dynamics and engage community members.    

David’s holds a Ph.D. from Brandies University, is a Berman Fellow in Jewish Socio-Demographic Studies and a Wexner Fellow/Davidson Scholar.  His doctorial dissertation explored the effects that religious engagement can play in reducing feelings of loneliness.  He hopes this will help contribute to an understanding of how religious organizations can help support their teens and community with increasing rates of loneliness. 

Before joining Jewish Federations of North America, Manchester previously was first Impact Assessment and Learning professional at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), Greater Boston’s Jewish Federation. He is passionate about finding ways to democratize access and the use of data in Jewish communal life to advance knowledge-grounded strategies.