Leah Pisar
Photo: © Marco Borggreve

pH7 convenes diverse voices to nurture understanding across cultures, issue-areas, and ideologies.

We believe that, when thoughtfully conducted, conversation can be a tool for peace, creativity, and progress; that empathy and imagination can coexist with strategic thinking, and that responsible leadership begins with the courage and respect to listen to those with whom we do not necessarily see eye to eye.

pH7 works with corporations, individuals, NGOs, and academic and cultural institutions.  Through programs, convenings and partnerships, we seek to inspire greater human connection and civic engagement in an increasingly complex world.

Why “pH7”? In chemistry, a pH of 7 designates a neutral solution. These happen to be our three essential ingredients: Neutrality of outlook to seek solutions via human chemistry.

Leah Pisar

Leah Pisar works at the intersection of diplomacy, culture, and education.

An expert on transatlantic relations and engagement with the Middle East, she is a frequent speaker, moderator, and media commentator and is currently a Non-resident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council.

Her professional path has been shaped by her family history.  Her father, who survived nazi death camps as a teenager, instilled in her the conviction that “there is no such thing as hereditary enemies.” Since his passing in 2015, she has carried forth his message through her work and public engagement.

The arts, and music in particular, play an essential role in this endeavor: She regularly narrates the libretto her father wrote for Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, “Kaddish” with major orchestras worldwide— including a landmark performance at Carnegie Hall in January 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

She has chaired Project Aladdin, which works with governments, civil society leaders and educators throughout the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia to foster understanding among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, even in challenging times.

She began her career in public service in the Clinton Administration—at the National Security Council, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Paris. She later directed programs at the French-American Foundation and completed a doctoral dissertation, later published as a book, on Euro-American tensions over the Iraq war. She has been a scholar at the Center for American Progress and the Institut Français des Relations Internationales, and has taught a graduate seminar at Sciences Po Paris.

Dr Pisar sits on the advisory councils of i.e.NYC and ALIPH, and is a trustee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and of the Albertine Foundation. She has also served on the Jury of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, under the patronage of the Pope and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar.

She holds a B.A. from Harvard College, a Master’s from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), and a Ph.D. from the University of Paris (Panthéon-Assas). A U.S. citizen, she was born and raised in France.