Matthew E. Berger is a leader in developing campaigns and programs to fight antisemitism and respond to hate. He is currently President and CEO of Mashber Strategies, guiding organizations, corporations, and universities as they address antisemitism, hate, and intolerance on college campuses, in corporate spaces, and on social media.

As executive director of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, Matthew led the development and launch of the Cannes Lion Award-winning “Stand Up to Jewish Hate” campaign, a $25 million advertising campaign to educate non-Jews about modern antisemitism and empower them to address hate in their communities. The campaign introduced the Blue Square emoji as the national symbol for addressing antisemitism, encouraging people everywhere to speak out against intolerance. He also led FCAS’ efforts to monitor, analyze and address growing antisemitism through innovative programs, partnerships, and communications products.

Before joining FCAS, Matthew was Hillel International’s Vice President for External Affairs and Campus Preparedness, overseeing programs that addressed antisemitism, anti-Israel activity and security concerns on college campuses around the world. He led teams focused on educating and engaging Jewish students and broader campus communities on Israel and antisemitism and responding to incidents targeting the Jewish and pro-Israel community. He built and led partnerships with key community allies and established Hillel’s Israel Student Leadership Network and Antisemitism Education Curriculum. He also previously served as Hillel’s Vice President of Communications and chief spokesman.

Berger has more than two decades of experience as a journalist and communications professional, with a focus on politics, Middle East policy and the American Jewish community. He previously served as senior director of communications for a Middle East policy think tank, placing scholarly research in the media and managing communication products and social media, and spent five years as vice president of Dezenhall Resources, a Washington-based crisis communications firm. He worked with clients in the corporate world, non-profit sector and in the Jewish community facing negative media exposure due to lawsuits, government investigations or product recalls. He advised clients on a wide range of media strategy, provided litigation support and trained corporate executives and spokespeople for media appearances, including on “60 Minutes.”

Berger was a political reporter for NBC News and National Journal during the 2008 presidential campaign cycle, traveling with several candidates on their planes and buses, shooting video, reporting for blogs and appearing on NBC News and MSNBC. He traveled with vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin throughout her campaign, spent six months with Rudy Giuliani, and broke the news of Giuliani’s planned exit from the race to a national audience. He wrote extensively on the campaigns of Mike Huckabee and Hillary Clinton and blogged from John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express.”

Berger has served as a community leader in various capacities. He is an alumnus of JFNA’s National Young Leadership Cabinet and received its Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman Cabinet Service Award as a role model for other young Jewish leaders. He participated in the Hineni Fellowship for young LGBTQ Jewish leaders and studied with the iCenter Graduate Program in Experiential Israel Education. He is also a former board member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and Hatchet Publications.

Berger holds a master’s degree in national security policy and a bachelor’s degree in political communications, both from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his husband Jeff and their springer spaniel, Charlie.