This May, AJC is proud to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month and the countless contributions that Jewish Americans have made as patriotic citizens, creative artists, brilliant scientists, and star athletes. To kick things off, we’re joined by AJC CEO Ted Deutch to hear his reflections on his first several months at AJC, what he’s looking forward to at AJC Global Forum 2023 in Tel Aviv, and how he’s marking Jewish American Heritage Month.  *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC.  ___ Episode Lineup:  (0:40) Ted Deutch ___ Show Notes: Learn more at: AJC.org/JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Join us in Tel Aviv at AJC Global Forum 2023: AJC.org/GlobalForum Sign up for AJC CEO Ted Deutch's Video Newsletter: Receive "Ten from Ted," the biweekly video newsletter from AJC CEO Ted Deutch where he'll share ten major highlights in the work he and American Jewish Committee (AJC) are doing to make this world safer for the Jewish people and Israel.  Take our quiz: Jewish American Heritage Month Quiz: Test your knowledge of the rich culture and heritage of the Jewish people and their many contributions to our nation! Start now. Listen: Israel at 75: 7 Things You Should Know About Israel: Listen to these seven episodes of AJC’s People of the Pod featuring leading Israeli and American scholars, experts, and influencers that will help you learn more about the complexities, triumphs, and challenges facing Israel today. How Playing Baseball With Team Israel Transformed Ryan Lavarnway’s Life: In celebration of Israel’s 75th birthday, guest host Dov Wilker, AJC’s Atlanta director, sits down with retired Major League Baseball catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who played for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic and the Olympics. Lavarnway reflected on the Jewish pride he felt representing Israel on the international stage, how he has dealt with the antisemitism in his career, and the importance of building connections between the Jewish state and the Diaspora. Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, tag us on social media with #PeopleofthePod, and hop onto Apple Podcasts to rate us and write a review, to help more listeners find us. __ Transcript of Interview with Ted Deutch: Manya Brachear Pashman: This May, AJC is proud to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month and the countless contributions that Jewish Americans have made as patriotic citizens, creative artists, brilliant scientists, lightning fast athletes, one of whom we heard from last week. Returning to the studio to help us kick off the celebration is AJC's CEO, Ted Deutch. Ted, welcome back to People of the Pod.    Ted Deutch: It's great to be back. Thanks, Manya.   Manya Brachear Pashman: So I want to start with a progress report. You have been CEO now for I'm going to count on my fingers here October, November, December -seven months, now?    Ted Deutch: Now, you've got to get onto your second hand.   Manya Brachear Pashman: Which means this time last year, you were still a congressman. So what's remarkably different about your life now, your mission and your day to day approach to that mission?   Ted Deutch: Well, the day to day work is very different. And I'd start with the most obvious: I came from a place that was, by definition, political, everything about it was driven by politics. I worked really hard to focus on the issues that mattered to me and my community. But there were always political considerations. Now, as the CEO of American Jewish Committee, I have the incredible honor of spending everyday working with a supremely talented team here at AJC, remarkable volunteers and lay leaders with one mission, and that's to think about how we can do more to enhance the well being of the Jewish people and Israel and advance democratic values.