Steven Rakitt, the president and CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, has been named to head the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
Rakitt was approved unanimously as the new executive vice president and CEO of the Washington federation, it was announced in a statement issued Tuesday. He will begin in his new position in February.
He replaces Misha Galperin, who left the Washington federation in late spring to head the North American operations of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
Before serving in Atlanta, Rakitt spent 17 years as a senior professional at The Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, including seven years as executive vice president. He came to Rhode Island after serving as an associate and then as director of planning and young leadership at the Jewish Community Federation of Rochester, N.Y.
Rakitt has served as chair of The Jewish Federations of North America’s Large City Executives Forum and as a member of the Executive Committees of the Jewish Agency for Israel and The Jewish Federations of North America.
He launched his Jewish communal career in 1978 as an intern at the Associated Jewish Charities in Baltimore.
