Andrew Cushnir (he/him) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore having started in the role in May 2024. He is only the eighth person to serve in this role since The Associated’s founding. In this role, Andrew oversees all operating, financial and community relations of the organization which boasts a $50 million annual budget and robust endowment program with nearly $1 billion in assets.
Prior to joining The Associated, Andrew served as Executive Vice President/Chief Development Officer at the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. There he served on the Federation’s executive team to guide the Federation in addressing complex community and organizational issues. He led all of the Federation’s fundraising efforts, including Annual Campaign, Strategic Philanthropy, and capital and planned giving.
Andrew was previously the Federation’s Chief Planning and Program Officer, supervising all activities in Los Angeles, Israel, and around the world. In this role, he led a collaborative process to redesign the Federation’s lay and professional planning and allocations structures, resulting in a more targeted focus on community needs and greater impact. He also fostered the creation of several multi-agency community partnerships, led the Community Relations and Caring for Jews in Need departments, and served as the lead professional for the Federation’s Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund. Andrew is a graduate of the Mandel Foundation Executive Leadership Program.
Before becoming a Jewish communal professional, Andrew practiced financial services law at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and was Associate Corporate Counsel and Director of Public Affairs at SunAmerica, Inc. Prior to law school, Andrew worked as Assistant Director in the Los Angeles office of the Anti-Defamation League and was a participant in both the Coro Public Affairs and California State Assembly fellowship programs.
As a lay leader, Andrew was a member of the Jewish Federations of North America National Young Leadership Cabinet, President of Adat Shalom congregation, and a participant in the Wexner Foundation Heritage Program. A long-time vegetarian and backyard gardener, Andrew served for many years on the board of the Los Angeles environmental organization TreePeople.
Andrew graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He is an avid Lakers, Dodgers, and UCLA Bruins fan. Andrew and his wife Sharon Spira-Cushnir, a seasoned nonprofit human services executive, are the proud parents of two children in their early 20s.