Bob Fishman
JTConnect Educator
Bob Fishman served as the founding Executive Director of JFACT (Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut) for 23 years retiring in 2016. Prior to JFACT, Bob enjoyed a 21-year career in the Hartford Jewish community starting out as Teen director and assistant Older Adult director at the JCC in 1974. He served as Hartford Jewish Federation Director for Jewish Community Relations for 20 years.
Bob’s experience is in lobbying for Israel and the Jewish community, advocacy for all immigrants and refugees, interfaith and interethnic coalition building, fundraising, government relations and serving as the spokesperson on Jewish issues in the state of Connecticut. He is a recipient of the Government Affairs Jewish communal professional of the year award from the Jewish Federation national system. He is a proud long-time activist for Soviet Jewry, Israel and Human Rights. Bob started the successful Voices of Hope program in Connecticut for children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.
A graduate of the University of Maryland, Bob holds a BA and MSW in graduate program of the Maryland School of Social Work. He also earned an MA in Modern Jewish History from the Baltimore Hebrew University. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies.
Bob is married to local artist Susan Hoffman Fishman and they will be celebrating 45 years together in June. Bob and Susan are members of the Emanuel Synagogue. They have two sons and an adorable granddaughter who is 20 months old.
Bob is currently serving part-time as the Executive Director of CIRC (Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition) and as a consultant and a member of the development team for ISGAP (Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy).
In July 2019, Bob participated in a two-week Summer Institute on Curriculum Development in Critical Antisemetism Studies at Oxford University in England, sponsored by ISGAP. He looks forward to sharing the insights of what he learned about understanding and recognizing Antisemetism and how to combat its growth, particularly on college campuses.