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Zack and I meet one bracingly hot summer afternoon at Adams Morgan’s Pitango. Outside, and under constant scrutiny from fearless sparrows, we chat about Zack’s work on political campaigns, the story behind his recent engagement in Cabo, what it takes to transform transactional relationships, and Zack’s new dog Bodie!
Samuel: What brought you to the DMV?
Zack: I’m from New York and went to University of Virginia. After college, I moved to DC. I was working for a nonprofit that did education, environmental stuff, it was all over the place. That job moved me to Philly. I was there for a year and then moved back here. Last year, I was on a campaign in Kansas, moved out there, and then came back. I’m probably going to stay for a while.
Samuel: What keeps you coming back to DC?
Zack: When I was at UVA, I started dating my now-fiancé. He was at GW. We were doing the long distance thing. I moved to DC after college partly for a job and partly to be together, but then his job got all messed up because of Covid so he moved away. I was here, and he wasn’t, then I moved to Philly and he moved back here. So one of us has always been here.
Then, I do political work. That’s a pretty big thing here. I also just like DC!
Samuel: What’s the story with your engagement? How’s the planning process been?
Zack: We have a planner and we’re looking at venues, but we’re looking at early 2027. My job will get really busy with the midterm elections in 2026, so I don’t want to be planning a wedding. We’ll wait until after the intense part.
My fiancé, Matt, works at the Four Seasons in Georgetown, so he gets good deals at other Four Seasons around the world. We were going to Cabo – I thought just for vacation – and then he proposed on the beach on the first day there. It was a surprise. Someone had asked me a couple days before when I thought I’d get engaged – we had been together almost six years – and I was like: Maybe in a year or two? It was a total surprise, but clearly went well!
Samuel: Very brave of Matt – congratulations! What’s your DMV Jewish community like?
Zack: It’s mostly just having a lot of Jewish friends, some from work and some from college. I have friends who host Shabbat dinners and things like that. That’s most of the Jewish stuff that I do – it’s less organized, and more just the community I’ve built of different people.
Samuel: What’s feeling alive Jewishly for you right now?
Zack: Having friends supporting each other. When something Jewish-related happens, I’ll always be reaching out to my friends or people will be reaching out to me. It’s about the community and the people. And planning a Jewish wedding will be part of it, too!
Samuel: You’ve been involved in political campaigns over the past few years as American Jews and Jewish identity have, in a lot of ways, become really central to a lot of mainstream political conversation. What’s that been like?
Zack: I feel like it started in 2023 with October 7th. I was working on a campaign in Virginia, and my campaign manager was also Jewish. The candidate wasn’t – he was an Episcopal priest. But the day after, I remember talking about it a lot, and talking about whether it was something that [the campaign] should talk about. The candidate was running for the Virginia House of Delegates, so it wasn’t necessarily the most relevant. But, I was working on a congressional campaign last year, and it definitely came up.
I mostly do fundraising, and find it very easy to connect with Jewish donors. They definitely bring things up – what they want to hear and how these things are coming into play. For the people I’ve worked with, or for new candidates now launching their campaigns, I’ve seen them getting questions about antisemitism and Gaza. It’s definitely much more a part of everyday politics than it probably was a few years ago, and it’s interesting to see how different people handle it.
Samuel: As you’re working with donors, how do you approach the relationship-building process?
Zack: Whether it’s organizing or fundraising or anything else, it’s easier and more fun and inspiring when you have a community of people doing it. Like, for donors – having fundraisers that are actually fun and getting people together who might personally get along, instead of just thinking of people in a transactional kind of way. Same goes for organizing. Making phone calls and knocking on doors is, sometimes, miserable. But when you know everyone who is doing it and you’re building that group together, it can be a lot more fun.
When I’m working on a campaign, I think of donors as teammates. We both have the same goal: getting someone elected. But you have to give them a call, ask about their lives. I was telling someone the other day that a lot of donors are probably your parents’ age. If they like you, if you remind them of your son, they’ll want to help you! So, as far as fundraising goes, just asking about people’s day or their lives makes so much of a difference. That’s how you start to move beyond the transactional piece.
Samuel: How else do you approach being welcoming and friendly?
Zack: I’m not always a host, but if there’s someone who I want to be friends with and I have other plans happening, I’ll just invite them to come along! That’s a big part of building relationships. Also, doing people favors. It’s nice to help people out, but that’s also how you build actual friendships, not just getting drinks every once in a while and forcing conversation. Those are some of the ways I try to welcome people into my life.
Samuel: What’s something you’re feeling accomplished about right now?
Zack: I just got a dog a little over a month ago! His name is Bodie. He’s probably a border collie. It’s been an adjustment, and he needs a ton of exercise, but it’s been cool seeing him get comfortable with us and become part of the family.
Samuel: What’s something you’re bad at?
Zack: I joined a Volo Softball team. I am not good. I can hit and run but I can’t field, and for some reason I was put at third base. I wasn’t set up for success.
Samuel: You’re hosting Shabbat dinner and can invite any three people. Who are you bringing?
Zack: Bobby Flay, Gordon Ramsay, and Ina Garten…but they’re cooking.
Samuel: Last one. Finish the sentence: When Jews of the DMV gather…
Zack: You never know what’ll happen next!
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