Georgette Bennett

Georgette F. Bennett (born November 12, 1946) is a Hungarian-born sociologist, author, speaker, philanthropist, and humanitarian specializing in conflict resolution and building bridges between communities. The former broadcast journalist is the founder of Multifaith Alliance, Inc. and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding as well as a co-founder of the Global Covenant of Religions/Global Covenant Partners.

Early life and education

Bennett was born in a bombed-out apartment building in Budapest, Hungary, one year after the end of World War II. The child of the Holocaust survivors, Bennett and her parents arrived in New York as stateless refugees in 1952. Her father died one year later, leaving his wife, a 36-year-old widow, in a new country.

Bennett holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from New York University, a B.A. from Vassar College, and an executive degree in Banking from the American Bankers Association/University of Delaware Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

Career

Sociologist and advisor

Bennett has spent more than three decades advancing interreligious relations. A sociologist, author, and advisor on philanthropic and public affairs matters, she works globally with interfaith leaders to delegitimize the misuse of religion to justify violence.

Bennett has served on task forces and committees to promote conflict resolution, including the U.S. State Department of Religion and Foreign Policy's working group on conflict mitigation for countering religion-based violence. She has also served as Deputy Assistant Director for the Administration of Justice, head of the Criminal Justice Task Force for the New York City Office of Management and Budget, and Coordinator for Training and Evaluation, and Personal Consultant to the Police Commissioner for the New York City Police Department.

While at NYPD, Bennett contributed to the early work on Community Policing and helped train the first female police officers to take on patrol duties. Also in her early career as a criminologist, the first federally funded crime victim service center was established by Robert Reiff based on an idea that she developed.

In 2013, after reading a report on the Syrian crisis, Bennett founded the humanitarian organization the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees, now Multifaith Alliance (MFA). The Multifaith Alliance provides basic necessities that victims of conflict need to survive: food, shelter, medicine, medical care, clean water, and warm clothing. The organization has since worked to raise awareness and mobilize more than $400 million of humanitarian aid benefitting three and a half million Syrian war victims. Bennett brought together historical enemies to build an aid pipeline from Israel to Syria.

In 1992, Bennett founded the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, whose mission is to combat religious prejudice. There, she developed their core signature programs: Education, Religious Diversity in the Workplace, the Religious Dimension of Patient-Centered Care, and Peacemakers in Action. Bennett is a co-founder of the Global Covenant of Religions/Global Covenant Partners, which focuses on delegitimizing the use of religion to justify violence and extremism.

Philanthropist

Bennett is an active philanthropist, focusing her personal charitable activities on conflict resolution and interreligious relations. She serves on the boards of Third Way and the Jewish Funders Network, where she is the Immediate Past Chair, and was formerly Vice Chair, Chair of the Membership Committee, and co-chaired the 2015 Annual Conference. She is on the National Board of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council and Inter-Jewish Muslim Alliance. She also serves on the Boards of the Center for Peace Communications and Bridging Insights. She is an advisory board member for the International Rescue Committee and the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at the Jewish Theological Seminary and an Honorary President of Religions for Peace. In the U.K., she formerly served on the advisory board of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East.

Author

Bennett has authored or co-authored five books, several manuals, and over 80 articles. Her books are: • Religicide: Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence • Thou Shalt Not Stand Idly By: How One Woman Confronted the Greatest Humanitarian Crisis of Our Time • Crimewarps: The Future of Crime in America, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1987 • Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice: An Introduction • Safe Place to Live: A Management Manual to Help Communities Plan Crime Prevention Programs She is a contributing writer on several platforms, including New Thinking, U.S. News & World Report, Huffington Post, Muck Rack, The National Interest, Wall Street Journal, Times of Israel, Religion News Service, The Hill, and The New York Times.

Speaker

In 2022, Bennett presented a mainstage TED Talk, 3 Steps to build peace and create meaningful change.

In March 2022, on International Women's Day, she was interviewed by Mika Brzezinski at the Forbes 3050 Summit to discuss what people can do to help displaced persons.

Bennett was interviewed by Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Chair and Co-Founder of the Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship at the London School of Economics Faith Centre.

In February 2015, Bennett was invited to give the inaugural lecture to help launch the Faith Centre at the London School of Economics (LSE). Later that month, she spoke at New York University. She delivered the keynote address at the 2015 NGO Conference at the United Nations, calling on NGOs and the UN to respond to the Syrian refugee disaster and a growing global migration crisis.

Bennett is a speaker with Investment Institute and was featured on Hadassah Presents: Women of Vision. She has spoken and given presentations and lectures at venues such as Oxford Literary Festival, Cambridge University, Chautauqua Institute, and Chatham House.

Journalist

Bennett spent a decade as a broadcast journalist. As a television and radio commentator, she was a network correspondent for NBC News and host of Walter Cronkite's PBS current affairs series, Why in the World? She created three syndicated radio programs and was a regular commentator for Metromedia's 10 O'Clock News. Additionally, she created stories for 20/20, 60 Minutes, and MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.

Working with Nick Pileggi as her editor, she was also a contributor to New York Magazine.

Bennett was previously affiliated with the Center for Policy Research in New York and the Center for Investigative Reporting in San Francisco.

Academic

Bennett is a former faculty member of the City University of New York, where she taught sociology, education, research methods, law enforcement, and criminology, and also taught at New York University.

Private sector

In the private sector, Bennett serves as Managing Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs for Emigrant Bank, the nation's oldest and largest family-owned and operated private bank. She works closely with Emigrant's Chair, Howard Milstein, and the Milstein family on public affairs, civic, and philanthropic matters.

Earlier in her career, she served as a consultant to Chemical Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) and was Chief Marketing Officer and head of Private Banking for the First Women's Bank.

Bennett's international consulting practice focused on financial services and media, including corporate communications, planning and development, media production, and conference/workshop design and presentation for clients such as the Manhattan Institute for Policy Studies, ABC-TV, and 20th Century Fox.

Awards and recognition

Bennett has been recognized by the Syrian American Medical Society for her work on behalf of Syrian war victims. She has been awarded the prestigious AARP Purpose Prize. In 2021, she was named as one of Forbes 50 Over 50 Women for Impact and was specifically cited, along with Condoleezza Rice, Dr. Najat Arafat Khelil, and Susan Rice, as one who shaped the course of modern American foreign policy and human rights.

Bennett also has been listed as a noteworthy religious organization executive by Marquis Who's Who.

In 2015, Bennett received the Activist Award from Project Kesher, and the Lives of Commitment Award from Auburn Theological Seminary.

In 1975 and 1976, Bennett won two national awards from the American Society for Public Administration for her organizational development work in the criminal justice field, where she helped spearhead programs—such as crime victim services, community policing, and rape response units—that helped to launch national and international movements.

Personal life

Bennett is the widow of Rabbi Marc H. Tanenbaum, who died in 1992, seven weeks before their son and only child, Joshua-Marc Bennett Tanenbaum, was born. She has been married since 2001 to Leonard Polonsky CBE.