Meet Zak.

A son of the district, Zak Malamed was born and raised in Great Neck and is running to give back to the community that has given so much to him. NY-3 is where Zak has experienced the most important milestones in his life – from celebrating bnei mitzvot and graduations to getting his first internship and working on his first campaign. To Zak, taking care of New Yorkers means listening to, standing with, and advocating for their specific needs and being a consummate problem solver.

Zak attended Great Neck Public Schools from kindergarten through high school graduation, as great public schools were the very reason Zak’s family – like so many others – came to the district. His grandmother immigrated to the United States from Israel. She moved to Great Neck to raise Zak’s mother and realize the promise of public education that the district boasted – and that same mother then went on to be a kindergarten teacher.

From an early age, Zak’s family instilled the principles of service, struggle, and sacrifice in him. His grandparents shared with Zak stories of survival, war, and making it in a new country. From his father, who had to start over when his job in the garment industry went away as the local industry collapsed. And from his mother, who was a caregiver to close friends dealing with cancer, all while treating her own chronic health issues.

Whether it's the strength of our democracy, the quality of our public schools, or the safety of our community, knowing problems and then setting out to solve them is what Zak has been doing his entire life.

Zak is the co-founder of The Next 50, an advocacy group dedicated to creating a more representative democracy by investing in the next generation of political leadership. Through its events and educational programming, The Next 50 has uplifted countless next-generation political leaders like Wes Moore, Yadira Caraveo, Jeff Jackson, Elissa Slotkin, Gabe Vasquez, Cisco Aguilar, Jocelyn Benson, Aaron Ford, Jena Griswold, Josh Kaul, Mallory McMarrow, among others.

While at the University of Maryland, Zak created and spearheaded an advocacy group called Student Voice to promote equity in education and ensure that students' voices are heard. Zak grew Student Voice from a weekly #StuVoice Twitter chat into a national student-led call to action for more equitable schools. Student Voice now works in all 50 states to position and equip students as storytellers, organizers, and partners who advocate for student-driven solutions to educational inequity.

Alongside his education activism, gun violence prevention became a central fight for Zak, and he has seen firsthand the harsh reality that all American families feel that, at any moment, they might be confronted by gun violence. While working for then-Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel, Zak spoke out at the New Yorkers Against Gun Violence rally in Albany and the issue became all too personal for him when a friend of his fell victim to gunfire in 2020.

Zak also worked at the XQ Institute, where he was focused on projects to reimagine and revamp American public high schools, finding common ground with American people across the country and ideological spectrum on the issue of improving public education. He has also worked with major tech companies, helping them launch youth leadership and civic education programs.

Zak will be a bridge builder in Congress and a dedicated leader to the people of the district. He understands both the struggle of rising costs in the district and the endless potential of Queens and Long Island. Zak hopes to restore the promise that the district afforded his parents and grandparents and work on the issues that he has felt personally as a son of the district. For Zak, this is not about the job — it’s about the opportunity to serve and rekindle the strength of the place that he calls home.