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Lay Leadership

David Kekst

David Kekst

David Kekst grew up in the New York and Connecticut suburbs of New York City, where he attended a Jewish day school through 8th grade. He moved into Manhattan for high school and went on to earn a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990 and a law degree from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1994. After practicing white collar criminal defense and complex business litigation with a boutique Manhattan law firm, David and his wife moved to Los Angeles in 1997. They became members of Sinai Temple almost immediately thereafter and sent all three of their children to Mommy & Me, the SAA Pre-School, and Sinai Akiba Academy through 8th grade. David joined the Sinai Temple Board of Directors in 2000 and served more or less continuously until 2017. During that time, he served on the Executive Committee and numerous other committees of the board. He currently serves on the Contracts, Insurance, and Cemetery Management Committees and on the Budget Committee of Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries. He has also chaired several committees, including Ritual, Membership, and Catering. Professionally, David has served in senior business and legal capacities with major entertainment and technology/consumer products companies including the William Morris Agency, where for many years he helped manage the company’s worldwide operations as Senior Vice President & General Counsel, and Yamaha Guitar Group, where he served as General Counsel. David has also served in leadership and board positions for a broad array of community, educational, and political organizations over the years, such as the Anti-Defamation League, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, and the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging. David currently is a member the board of Israel’s Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies and is a member of AIPAC’s National Leadership Network.