Dr. Ben Jacobs

Dr. Ben Jacobs, faculty affiliate of the Forum on Democracy & Education, directs the graduate programs in Israel Education and Experiential Jewish Education at the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development. He also serves as Special Assistant to the Dean for Jewish Studies Programs. 

Dr. Jacobs has spent most of his professional career preparing social studies teachers and Jewish educators for school and non-school settings, and consulting with various Jewish education agencies (including The iCenter for Israel Education, Taglit-Birthright Israel, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and M2: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education) on curriculum, teaching, and research.

He earned his Ph.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University, as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. Prior to arriving at GW in 2015, he served on the social studies faculty at the University of Minnesota and at New York University, where he was co-founder and assistant director of the graduate programs in Education and Jewish Studies. Earlier in his career, Jacobs taught history at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD.