Key Facts
Career & Education
About
Andrew Tarsy (also known as Andy Tarsy) is an American civil rights attorney, nonprofit executive, executive search consultant, and academic lecturer based in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. He is the grandson of Dov Tarsy, a Lithuanian immigrant and international student in the U.S., and is active in Boston's Jewish community, including as Chair of the Racial Justice Committee at Temple Israel of Boston (2016-2021). As of 2018, he resided in Cambridge, MA, with his wife and two children.
Early Career:
- Trial Attorney, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice.
- Civil rights litigator in private practice.
ADL Leadership and Controversy (2007): Longtime leader at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), where he served as Director of Civil Rights and later as Regional Director of ADL New England. In August 2007, Tarsy was fired from his role as New England Regional Director for publicly stating that the Armenian Genocide was genocide, opposing the national ADL's position. He was rehired after 10 days following widespread criticism from Jewish and Armenian communities, board resignations, and talks with national director Abraham Foxman.
Later Nonprofit Leadership:
- President, Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
- Senior Fellow, John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston.
- Visiting Professional, International Criminal Court, The Hague.
- Co-founder and leader, Alliance for Business Leadership.
- Co-creator of boutique consultancies focused on social impact strategy.
Current Professional Roles:
- Managing Director, DSG | Koya (executive search and consulting for mission-driven organizations in social impact, civil rights, healthcare, etc.).
- Adjunct faculty teaching Ethics and Leadership at Boston University Questrom School of Business and Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (POL 3152) and Business, Ethics and the Creation of Value (SM 131) at Merrimack College.
Board and Volunteer Roles:
- Trustee and Past Chair of Governance & Strategy Committee, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (since 2018).
- Long-time Docent/Guide, New England Holocaust Memorial (since 2010).
- Mentor, Our Generation Speaks (Middle East peace-building, since 2025).
- Past Trustee, William James College (2011-2014).
- Leadership Advisory Board, Project Alianza (since 2023).
- Appointed by Massachusetts Governors: Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes (2000-2005, Gov. Jane Swift), Governor's Task Force on Public Integrity (2008-2009, Gov. Deval Patrick), Unemployment Assistance Advisory Commission (2011-2015, Gov. Deval Patrick).
Awards and Recognition:
- Massachusetts Lawyer of the Year, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2007).
- NAACP Kivie Kaplan Humanitarian Award, NAACP Boston Branch (2008).
- Max Michelson Humanitarian Award, Jewish Family Service of Metrowest (2018).
- J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Award for Public Service, George Washington University Law School (1996).