Brett McGurk served at the highest levels of American national security across four presidential administrations. Most recently, he was Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs to President Biden, where he coordinated policy for the Middle East and North Africa. He earlier served as Special Presidential Envoy to Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, where he led the global coalition against ISIS. Under President Obama, he also led secret talks with Iran to free several American hostages held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, later receiving the James Foley Freedom Award for hostage diplomacy. He is currently a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN and a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center and the Atlantic Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Connecticut and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, after which he clerked for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

Rabbi Neil Zuckerman serves on the clergy team at Park Avenue Synagogue. He began his career at PAS as the director of congregational education before joining the clergy team. As director of congregational education, Rabbi Zuckerman initiated and oversaw numerous programs and classes for learners of all ages. Previously, he served as rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains and as senior rabbi of Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, Maryland. In addition, he was president of the Westchester County Board of Rabbis and has chaired the Israel Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly. A lifelong learner, he has been a rabbinic fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He was raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and began his Jewish education at Beth El, the Conservative synagogue there. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in Jewish studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was ordained in 1999.