Annual Seixas Dinner

In 2026 we honored four inspiring leaders:

• Gershom Mendes Seixas Award Honorees The Co-Chairs of the Task Force on Antisemitism at Columbia University Ester Fuchs, Nicholas Lemann, and David Schizer

Ester R. Fuchs is Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she directs the Urban and Social Policy Program. She served as Special Advisor to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg for Governance and Strategic Planning from 2001 to 2005 and has held senior leadership roles at Barnard College and Columbia University.

Nicholas Lemann is the Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor of Journalism and Dean Emeritus of Columbia Journalism School. From 2003 to 2013 he was dean of Columbia Journalism School, leading a period of significant growth and change for the school, and since then he has been a professor there. At Columbia he has also helped launch Columbia Global Reports, a publishing venture that he continues to lead, Columbia World Projects, and the Knight Columbia First Amendment Institute.

David Schizer is Dean Emeritus and Harvey R. Miller Professor of Law & Economics at Columbia Law School. He served as Dean from 2004 to 2014, and as CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a global Jewish humanitarian organization, from 2017 to 2019. He is Second Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association, a co-founder and co-chair of the Richman Center for Law, Business, and Public Policy at Columbia University, and a co-founder and co-chair of the Center for Israeli Legal Studies at Columbia Law School.

• Young Leadership Award Honoree David Fine, CC’13

David Fine is a co-founder of Understory, a tech startup in NYC. Previously, he worked as a product manager at Dynamic Yield, both during its time as a startup and then after its successive acquisitions by McDonald’s and then Mastercard. David graduated from Columbia College in 2013 with a double major in History and American Studies. While on campus he was active in Hillel, was chair of the Student Governing Board, and edited The Current.

Check out some of the highlights from the evening: