Board Members
Prof. Alice Shalvi,
Recipient of the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Education; Board
Member – The New Israel Fund; Shatil, Gilat – Quality Access to Appropriate
Development, the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies
Harvey Newman, Senior Fellow, the Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association (CEI-PEA); Board Member – Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx Lebanon Hospital, Schools That Can, Brooklyn Charter School, Hellenic Classical Charter School, John V. Lindsey Wildcat Charter School
Dr. Yehudit Shalvi, the founder and director of Avney Rosha, The Israel Institute for School Leadership; former deputy director general of the Jerusalem Municipality supervising the Jerusalem Education Administration and the Religious Education Department, the Community Administration and the Culture and Leisure department
Lior Brown, A former senior government policy maker, Lior served in both the Bank of Israel and the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance, where she was responsible for overseeing Israel’s education budget. Lior is currently the Director of Israel-based Strategic Partnerships at Via, a company developing ‘smart’ technological solutions for public transportation across the globe.
Eli Shermeister, Served as the Chief Education Officer of the Israel Defense Forces from 2007-2013, where his responsibilities included the social integration of Ethiopian-Israeli, new immigrant and minority soldiers, instilling of ethics and values, and providing educational opportunities for IDF soldiers, especially for those from low socio-economic backgrounds. He also served as the Executive Director of Madatech, Israel’s National Museum of Science, Technology and Space, the Haifa-based interactive education museum.
Professor Abdussalam (Abed) Azem, Dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University. Prof. Azem is an internationally renowned molecular biologist. He received his PhD from Ben Gurion University and pursued postdoctoral studies in Jerusalem and later on in the Biozentrum, Basel. Prof. Azem lives in the town of Taibe in central Israel, where he was born and raised.
Michal Avera Samuel is currently the community shlicha (emissary) at JewishColumbus, where she serves the Columbus, Ohio community as an advocate and an educator for Israel. Before assuming her role as shlicha, Michal served as the CEO of Fidel Association, where she was a leader within the Ethiopian-Israeli community and has advocated for the successful integration of Ethiopian Israelis throughout her career. She joined the Fidel Association in 2000, serving as director of professional training, PR, community development and deputy director prior to being appointed as executive director in 2011.
Mary Ann Stein, Board Chair, President, the Moriah Fund. Founding Chair, the Fund for Global Human Rights; Vice-Chair, Advocates for Justice and Education; Board Member – Americans for Peace Now; Board Member and Former President and Board Chair – The New Israel Fund
Michael Berman, a Medical Device Entrepreneur working with a select group of high potential development and early commercial stage companies. From 1995-2000 Mr. Berman was President of Boston Scientific/Scimed. In 2000, Mr. Berman co-founded Velocimed, and served as a board member until the company was sold to St. Jude Medical in April 2005 for $82.5 million upfront plus contingent payments. He currently resides in Tel Aviv.
Rachel Liel, Former Executive Director of The New Israel Fund (NIF) and Shatil, NIF's Initiative for Social Change. Former Deputy Director, Division of Rehabilitation Services in the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, and Policy Analyst in the Department of Social Policy Planning of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Don Futterman, Executive Director
Mr. Futterman is the Founding Director of ICEI, and the Program Director, Israel for the Moriah Fund. He is also a regular contributor to Haaretz, a blogger for Open Zion, and a panelist on the bi-weekly Promised Podcast review of politics and society in Israel.
Harvey Newman, Senior Fellow, the Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association (CEI-PEA); Board Member – Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx Lebanon Hospital, Schools That Can, Brooklyn Charter School, Hellenic Classical Charter School, John V. Lindsey Wildcat Charter School
Dr. Yehudit Shalvi, the founder and director of Avney Rosha, The Israel Institute for School Leadership; former deputy director general of the Jerusalem Municipality supervising the Jerusalem Education Administration and the Religious Education Department, the Community Administration and the Culture and Leisure department
Lior Brown, A former senior government policy maker, Lior served in both the Bank of Israel and the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance, where she was responsible for overseeing Israel’s education budget. Lior is currently the Director of Israel-based Strategic Partnerships at Via, a company developing ‘smart’ technological solutions for public transportation across the globe.
Eli Shermeister, Served as the Chief Education Officer of the Israel Defense Forces from 2007-2013, where his responsibilities included the social integration of Ethiopian-Israeli, new immigrant and minority soldiers, instilling of ethics and values, and providing educational opportunities for IDF soldiers, especially for those from low socio-economic backgrounds. He also served as the Executive Director of Madatech, Israel’s National Museum of Science, Technology and Space, the Haifa-based interactive education museum.
Professor Abdussalam (Abed) Azem, Dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University. Prof. Azem is an internationally renowned molecular biologist. He received his PhD from Ben Gurion University and pursued postdoctoral studies in Jerusalem and later on in the Biozentrum, Basel. Prof. Azem lives in the town of Taibe in central Israel, where he was born and raised.
Michal Avera Samuel is currently the community shlicha (emissary) at JewishColumbus, where she serves the Columbus, Ohio community as an advocate and an educator for Israel. Before assuming her role as shlicha, Michal served as the CEO of Fidel Association, where she was a leader within the Ethiopian-Israeli community and has advocated for the successful integration of Ethiopian Israelis throughout her career. She joined the Fidel Association in 2000, serving as director of professional training, PR, community development and deputy director prior to being appointed as executive director in 2011.
Mary Ann Stein, Board Chair, President, the Moriah Fund. Founding Chair, the Fund for Global Human Rights; Vice-Chair, Advocates for Justice and Education; Board Member – Americans for Peace Now; Board Member and Former President and Board Chair – The New Israel Fund
Michael Berman, a Medical Device Entrepreneur working with a select group of high potential development and early commercial stage companies. From 1995-2000 Mr. Berman was President of Boston Scientific/Scimed. In 2000, Mr. Berman co-founded Velocimed, and served as a board member until the company was sold to St. Jude Medical in April 2005 for $82.5 million upfront plus contingent payments. He currently resides in Tel Aviv.
Rachel Liel, Former Executive Director of The New Israel Fund (NIF) and Shatil, NIF's Initiative for Social Change. Former Deputy Director, Division of Rehabilitation Services in the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, and Policy Analyst in the Department of Social Policy Planning of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Don Futterman, Executive Director
Mr. Futterman is the Founding Director of ICEI, and the Program Director, Israel for the Moriah Fund. He is also a regular contributor to Haaretz, a blogger for Open Zion, and a panelist on the bi-weekly Promised Podcast review of politics and society in Israel.
