[1] He graduated from Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
He was installed as the president on June 8, 2014 and led the organization that has 4,000 active alumni who served the estimated 1.5 million adherents of Reform Judaism in some 900 congregations.
[5] Panken was a rabbi, scholar, teacher and Reform Jewish leader for almost three decades.
Panken was killed in a plane crash on Saturday, May 5, 2018, at Randall Airport, in Middletown, New York,[6] during a routine flight check with an instructor.
[7] Upon hearing of his death, many tributes appeared from around the world including from Israel's consul general in New York, Dani Dayan, Rabbi Jonah Pesner and many others.