It is an inter-disciplinary and inter-denominational movement, in which rabbis from all major Jewish denominations in North America participate.
[1] Rabbi Brad Hirschfield presently serves as the president of CLAL.
CLAL is an acronym formed from the organization's English language name (Center for Leadership and Learning).
It is also a transliteration of a Hebrew word that can mean community, as in the expression "Klal Yisrael" which refers to the Jewish people as a whole.
It is intended to suggest the organization's stated mission to serve as a center of interdenominational cooperation in American Judaism.