David Rittberg is the Senior Director of the U.S. Jewish Grantmaking team at the Schusterman Family Philanthropies, where he oversees Jewish and Israel-related giving alongside foundation leaders and the Schusterman family. After 13 years at Schusterman, he still traces the origins of his career in Jewish philanthropy back to his Birthright Israel trip.
David grew up in a family deeply committed to Judaism, Israel, and Klal Yisrael. His grandparents were Jewish resistance fighters who fought in the forests during the Holocaust—his grandfather even helped sabotage Nazi railways. His mother, born in a displaced persons camp, later became a Yiddish professor, teaching language and culture to college students who often joined their family Shabbat dinners. From an early age, he absorbed a legacy of courage, resistance, and devotion to Jewish life.While studying at Penn State, David’s main focus was the music business. He interned in music promotion and dreamed of a career in the industry. But when he joined one of the earliest Birthright Israel trips, everything changed. Standing at JFK with a paper ticket to Israel, he was struck by the generosity behind the program. He began thinking seriously about philanthropy.
The trip itself was transformative for him. Traveling with students from Big Ten schools, David explored Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and spent New Year’s Eve on a kibbutz. One key encounter came when he met Rob Goldberg of Hillel International, who later became a mentor and guided him toward a different path — Jewish professional life.
David deferred his music industry job offer and joined the Jewish Campus Service Corps, launching his career at the University of Arizona Hillel. He went on to serve at Stanford Hillel, the JCC in Marin, and eventually led the Bronfman Center at NYU. Throughout those years, he continued staffing Birthright Israel trips and witnessing the profound effect the experience had on students.
That early spark of curiosity about philanthropy eventually brought him to Schusterman Family Philanthropies — the very organization that had helped shape so many of his formative Jewish experiences. Even before meeting Lynn Schusterman, her vision had already touched his life through Birthright Israel, Hillel, and other organizations she and her family had strengthened.
When David finally met Lynn, he was struck by her warmth, wisdom, and boldness. He describes her as a visionary whose courage and compassion have reshaped Jewish life. Her influence is visible everywhere — from BBYO to Moishe House to Hillel and Birthright Israel — and David feels privileged to help steward that legacy today.
For him, the work is both personal and generational. His grandparents fought to preserve the Jewish future; now he helps build it. Every day, he sees the impact in the faces of young leaders returning from Israel inspired to engage, lead, and give back.
“If someone’s unsure about supporting Birthright Israel,” he says, “just look at the scale and the data. Over 900,000 young people have experienced Israel through this program. Imagine the Jewish world without it — that’s not a world we’d want to live in.”
Birthright Israel opened a path for David that has become his life’s work. From a student dreaming of the music industry to a leader in Jewish philanthropy, his journey reflects exactly what the program was designed to achieve — a generation deeply connected to their heritage, Israel, and the future of the Jewish people.