When Michael G. Masters was featured in 36 Under 36 in 2012, he was a public employee, having served as the Executive Director of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Cook County, Chief of Staff for the Chicago Police Department, and as an assistant to former Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Over the past decade, a few facts have changed. Masters is no longer a thirtysomething. He is 42. He no longer works in the public sphere. Since 2017, he has been the National Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Secure Community Network, a nonprofit established in 2004 by North American Jewish federations and other Jewish groups to serve, in SCN’s words, as “the official safety and security organization of the Jewish community.” He is no longer the dad to an only child. He now has two daughters, “a 12-year-old going on 40 and a 5-year-old going on 20,” he said. And he is no longer an officer in the United States Marine Corps, where he retired with the rank of Captain.

But the Masters profiled nine years ago is essentially the Masters of today. He remains “dedicated,” “passionate,” and “committed”–words he used to describe himself in 2012–particularly vis-à-vis the Jewish community, which, he said, is experiencing the most “complex and dynamic threat environment” from antisemitic forces around this country. As head of the SCN, he frequently liaises with officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FBI to curb and counteract acts of hate against Jews and other minorities.

When not on the job, Masters–who also was a Senior Vice President of The Soufan Group, a strategic advisory firm that counsels clients on emergent threats–continues to give back to the Jewish community. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, his alma mater.

“Service to the community” is Master’s mantra; it always has been, and always will be.

Masters grew up in a family which instilled in him the values of educational achievement and public service. His mother was a Chicago public school teacher. His father, Allan Masters, an attorney, worked as a special agent in the FBI before becoming a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County’s domestic relations division.

Masters took his family’s values to heart. While an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, he served on the advance team for Al Gore’s 2000 presidential run. Following graduation, he quickly followed up with a master’s degree in international relations at the University of Cambridge and a law degree at Harvard University, where he was managing editor of the Harvard International Law Journal .

While much of his work is focused on the Jewish community, Masters has devoted considerable energy to other causes that advance his values. They include issues facing Native Americans, with whom he feels a special connection, since both Jews and tribal nations in North America were both subjected to “forced exodus,” he said.

“It troubles me to go to places in this country where conditions are undeveloped,” Masters added, and has been particularly troubled by “the impact of COVID-19 on the indigenous people.”

Another cause close to Masters’ heart is the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, on whose council he sits. A recipient of a prestigious Truman fellowship–bestowed upon those college students with a demonstrable commitment to public service–Masters feels strongly about inspiring young people to become their generations’ next leaders. They couldn’t do better than by looking at President Truman as an example to follow, he suggested.

“Truman was a humble leader dedicated to the country,” observed Masters. “He was more interested in solving problems and fixing issues than getting credit.”

Robert Nagler Miller is a journalist and editor who writes frequently about arts- and Jewish-related topics from his home in Chicago.