FACULTY & STAFF

Directors

Yael Hess

Director, Mandel Leadership Institute

Yael Hess, a colonel in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reserves and a graduate of the Israel National Defense College, served in key positions in the IDF Education Corps for many years. She commanded the Shaare Avraham training base, which trains the educational staff of all IDF units; she headed the Education Corps’ Culture Branch; and she commanded the IDF’s education system, which includes high-school completion courses, matriculation studies, preparation for enlistment, and the IDF’s Gadna bases, where future conscripts participate in week-long preparatory programs. In her last position in the IDF, Yael headed the Education Division of the IDF Chief Education Officer’s headquarters. In this combined educational and managerial position, she was responsible for defining the IDF’s educational approach; implementing the IDF’s spirit and values; and overseeing the work of the educational staffs of all IDF units, and the work of IDF hasbara (information) units throughout the country. She was also responsible for cultural activities for soldiers and for Holocaust education and commemoration throughout the IDF. From 2000 to 2003, Yael served as a community emissary of the Jewish Agency to North America and taught Hebrew in the department of Middle Eastern studies of the University of Arizona and at the Tucson Hebrew Academy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master’s degree in national security studies from the University of Haifa. Yael is a graduate of the Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Program.

Chen Artzi Sror

Director, Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture

Chen Artzi Sror is a journalist, educator, social entrepreneur, and the director of the Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture. She is a columnist in the weekend supplement of the Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper, where she focuses on Israeli society. Additional topics at the heart of her writing include culture and Jewish culture, politics, and women's rights. Chen is a content producer and television and radio host, served in the armed forces at the IDF radio station Galei Tzahal, and held managerial and editing positions at Yedioth Ahronoth. She is the author of The New Religious Women: When Religious Feminism Meets Social Media (Yedioth Books, Hebrew), which tells the story of Orthodox feminist women and the trailblazing role they are playing in the religious Zionist community through their online activities. Chen is a graduate of the Ofakim honors program at Tel Aviv University, where she specialized in teaching Jewish philosophy, and is a graduate of Cohort 3 of the Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture.

Ido Barkan

Director, Mandel Program for Academic Leadership in Teacher Education

Ido Barkan is the director of the Mandel Program for Academic Leadership in Teacher Education. Before joining the Mandel Leadership Institute, he was the head of the school superintendent division and a member of the management of Avney Rosha–The Israel Institute for School Leadership, where he led training and professional development for superintendents working for the Ministry of Education.. In recent years, Ido has served as a senior mentor in the Global Business Studies Program at the faculty of management of Tel Aviv University, an MBA program for outstanding international students. He is also one of the founders of the New School of Holon, a unique public school patterned after High Tech High in San Diego, which focuses on project-based learning. Ido began his career as a strategy consultant at TASC consulting firm. He holds a master's degree in education policy (magna cum laude) from Tel Aviv University and a bachelor's degree from the Amirim program for outstanding students and the cognitive science department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a graduate of Advot, a joint venture between the Ministry of Education and MAOZ that aims to create a senior management pipeline for Israel's education system.

Lior Peri

Director, Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Program

Lior Peri served in a variety of command and headquarters positions during some 25 years in the Israel Defense Forces, completing his service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He commanded operational units in the Golani Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade, and held other posts in the IDF ground forces. Lior also set up the IDF’s only reservist battalion made up of Haredi soldiers and served as the commander of that battalion for eight years, during which time it was awarded a certificate of excellence from the president of Israel. In his final role in the IDF, Lior commanded the Or Etzion military boarding school, which is part of the IDF’s military college system and prepares high-school students for significant service in combat command roles. Lior holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Land of Israel studies and archaeology, both cum laude, from Bar-Ilan University. He is a graduate of the IDF’s battalion commander’s course and command and staff course, and of the Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Program.

Dr. Naomi Perl

Director, Mandel Programs for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community

Dr. Naomi Perl, a music teacher and developer of music and leadership programs, directs the Mandel Programs for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community. She founded the Shluchei Tzibur program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Ron Shulamit academic program for female musicians and music teachers at the Levinsky International College of Education in Tel Aviv. Previously, she served as the educational director of the Sulam nonprofit, which operates extended diagnostic preschools and special education schools, and as a pedagogic instructor and developer of music curricula for preschools and middle schools. She also founded music study tracks at six Haredi high schools, and was a member of the team that founded and directed the Ron Shulamit Conservatory for Haredi girls. Naomi is a graduate of the Me’ohr Bais Yaakov Teachers’ Seminary in Jerusalem, and holds a master’s degree in musical education from the Levinsky International College of Education and a doctorate in sociology of education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Naomi is a graduate of Cohort 16 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership.

Dr. Nitza Roskin

Director, Mandel Leadership Program for Senior Civil Servants

Dr. Nitza Roskin is an organizational psychologist, consultant, and group facilitator who is the director of the Mandel Leadership Program for Senior Civil Servants. Her doctoral research, conducted at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, dealt with organizational identity from a narrative perspective. Nitza studied the construction of identity in a well-established educational institution in Israel and showed how the organization's central narratives help its personnel resolve the dissonance between the organization's social-educational ideology and the economic principles underlying its work. Nitza's main research and work interests include organizational identity, processes of constructing identity by narratives, and the interface between self-identity and professional and organizational identity. She explores the interface between the self, the collective, and leadership, in order to reveal the ties between them during the development of identity. This interface focuses on the individual's sense of real and imagined belonging to other collectives with which he/she is in dialogue, and on his/her perception of leadership. Nitza teaches graduate courses on organizational thinking and leadership.

Dani Rozner

Director, Mandel Program for Youth Leadership

Dani Rozner, a social entrepreneur and educator, directs the Mandel Program for Youth Leadership. He has 20 years of experience in the fields of education and society, including management positions. During his years of involvement in the social arena, Dani has specialized in promoting social mobility and in bringing the diversity of Israeli society to the fore. He has served as CEO of the "Aharai!" youth organization, as the director of the Ministry of Education's social and youth administration, as a member of the inter-sectoral roundtable at the Prime Minister's Office, and as a member of an advisory board to the Minister of Education. He was also a co-founder of the Israeli Council of Youth Organizations, the initiator and founder of the "People on the Way" social tourism website, growth manager of the riseup profit-with-purpose startup, and a project manager and policy advocate in the realm of Israeli society and in nonformal education. Dani has a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a master's degree in business administration from the Open University and Ariel University, and a second master's degree in environmental management, planning, and policy and geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dani is a member of the boards of the "Aharai!" youth group, the "Looking Forward" association for involving young people from the periphery in leadership positions, the National Union of Israeli Students, the Amit network's 24/7 program.

FACULTY

Dr. Lior Alperovitch

Faculty Member

Dr. Lior Alperovitch is a lecturer on the 20th-century history of Europe and the Jewish people, who specializes in the history of the Holocaust and its commemoration in Israel, visual representation of the Holocaust, and halakhic rulings and religious observance during the Holocaust. He completed the bulk of his academic studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in the departments of history, Jewish history, Jewish thought, and international relations. He holds two master’s degrees – one in history and the other in Jewish thought – and a doctorate in history. His doctoral dissertation examined the relations between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany and their impact on Holocaust commemoration in Israel during the first two decades of the State. He conducted his postdoctoral studies at the Strochlitz Institute for Holocaust Research at the University of Haifa. Lior is the head of the Center for the Study of Visual Representations of the Holocaust at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, is a Spiegel Fellow at the Finkler Institute for Holocaust Research at Bar-Ilan University, and teaches in the department of visual and material culture at Bezalel and the department of multidisciplinary studies at the Holon Institute of Technology. Lior is a graduate of the Mandel Program for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community in which he now teaches.

Dr. Amichai Amit

Faculty Member

Dr. Amichai Amit is a faculty member of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership and the Mandel Leadership Institute. He researches and writes on ethics and is a lecturer in the philosophy department of Tel Aviv University. Amichai’s research focuses on issues ranging from questions about the nature of values and moral justifications, to questions about meaning in life, to topics in applied ethics, such as environmental ethics and the ethics of technology. Amichai is a founding partner of two educational ventures: the first, "Mashma," aims to integrate the study of philosophy into the community through discussing questions relevant to everyday life and guiding small study groups. The second, "Maalot," is an educational non-profit that aims to increase the public's understanding of the climate crisis, its complexity, and its multisystemic nature. Amichai holds a master's degree in philosophy from Tel Aviv University and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Ruth Calderon

Faculty Member

Dr. Ruth Calderon is an educator and Talmud scholar working to promote Hebrew, Israeli, and Jewish culture, to cultivate the study of Torah in the secular world, and to create a liberal, humanistic public space that is rich in culture. She served in the 19th Knesset as a Member of Knesset for the Yesh Atid party and as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. Ruth founded Beit Midrash Elul in Jerusalem and Alma – Home for Hebrew Culture in Tel Aviv. She also served as the head of the culture and education department of the National Library of Israel. In recognition of her work, Ruth was awarded the AVI CHAI Prize for Jewish Education, the Samuel Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education, and honorary doctorates from Brandeis University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and Hebrew College in Boston. Ruth is the author of A Bride for One Night: Talmud Tales and A Talmudic Alpha Beta, which present personal readings of Talmudic stories. Her children's books, The Princess and the Rock and A Rainy Day Story, present adaptations of Talmudic and Chassidic stories for children. Ruth holds a master's degree and doctorate in Talmud from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is a graduate of Cohort 1 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership.

Dr. Jeremy Fogel

Faculty Member

Jeremy Fogel teaches at Tel Aviv University's department of Jewish philosophy, as well as at its school of education. He is the academic director of Alma, teaches at the Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts, and lectures publicly on philosophy in various forums. Jeremy holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Cambridge and a master's degree and doctorate in philosophy from Tel Aviv University. His doctoral research explored the tension between universalism and particularism in modern Jewish philosophy, focusing on the Jewish-German philosophers Moses Mendelssohn and Hermann Cohen, and he continued exploring these issues as a post-doctoral fellow at Hamburg University. Jeremy is involved with several independent artistic and literary ventures. His first book, Tel Aviv is Water and Other Seasidian Thoughts, was published by Hava Lehaba in 2019.

Dr. Yaron Girsh

Faculty Member

Dr. Yaron Girsh is a sociologist and researcher, specializing in education and youth. He completed his master’s degree cum laude in the sociology of education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and completed his doctoral studies in the same institution. His doctoral dissertation examines Israeli teenagers’ conceptions of heroism. He currently teaches sociology and philosophy of education at the Hebrew University, where he has been voted Outstanding Lecturer on numerous occasions. He serves as the head of the department for nonformal education at The David Yellin Academic College of Education. In recognition of his accomplishments during his studies, he was awarded the Hebrew University President's Scholarship, the Polonsky Prize, the Levi Eshkol Scholarship, and the Rector's Prize for Master's Studies.

Rabbi Dr. Aviad Hollander

Faculty Member

Aviad Hollander is a rabbi and educator, who served in the IDF as a military chaplain. In his last position in the army, he was a member of a joint team of the IDF Military Rabbinate and the Education and Youth Corps, which founded the IDF's Jewish Identity and Consciousness Division. Within the division, Aviad was the acting head of the bureau responsible for formulating professional guidelines for the transmission of content related to Jewish tradition and identity in the context of the IDF, as well as for developing training programs on these subjects for education staffs, the IDF rabbinate, and officer-training settings. Previously, Aviad was a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University and at the Orot Israel College of Education. He has also lectured and facilitated study groups in informal education settings for adults. Aviad's main areas of expertise are ethics and mishpat ivri (Jewish law), rabbinic thought, religion and state, religion and the IDF, and philosophy of halakha. Aviad’s doctoral dissertation was titled “The Halakhic Profile of Rabbi Shlomo Goren: Studies in the Adjudicatory Deliberations and Modes of Substantiation in his Halakhic Writings.” While studying at Bar-Ilan University, he also studied and taught at the university’s Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies.

Vardit Rosenblum

Faculty Member

Vardit Rosenblum is a lawyer and a rabbinic advocate. For many years, as part of her work at Yad L’Isha at Ohr Torah Stone, she represented women denied a divorce by their husbands. She is a graduate of Beit Yaakov Seminary and has a master's degree in public policy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she is currently a graduate student in Jewish philosophy. Vardit is the founder and director of Midreshet Otot, a framework for in-depth study of Talmud and Jewish philosophy for ultra-Orthodox women. She writes, advises and lectures on various legal and social issues facing Haredi society. In addition, she served on public advisory committees to the Rabbinical Courts and to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and led the latter's program for training religious leaders how to address domestic violence within their communities. Vardit moderated the Tikva Foundation's women's program Chochmatchem Ubinatchem (“Your wisdom and understanding”). She is a graduate of cohort 20 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership.

Tzvi Schreiber

Faculty Member

Tzvi Schreiber is the director of the Lustig Campus of the Lev Academic Center (JCT), which provides hundreds of Haredi women with training in software engineering and computer science in the faculty of engineering and with training in accounting and business management in the faculty of management. Previously, Tzvi was deputy director of the Kemach Foundation, which promotes the integration of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the labor market. He developed and directed the Center for Career Guidance, which referred thousands of Haredi men and women to professional training programs and academic studies, and was also involved in the establishment and operation of partnerships with academic and government bodies. In addition, Tzvi directed an educational institution for immigrants from English-speaking countries, was on the staff of a special program at the Retorno Psycho-Educational Center for Addiction Rehabilitation, and served as a tutor and workshop facilitator for the Mandel Program for Leadership in the Haredi Community and for the Hebrew University's Shluchei Tzibbur program for leadership in the Haredi community. Tzvi holds a bachelor’s degree from Ono Academic College and a master’s degree in business management from the Jerusalem College of Technology, where he specialized in finance and capital markets. He also holds diplomas in organizational consulting from Bar-Ilan University and in business and financial consulting from the Pilat Institute.

Dr. Benayahu Tvila

Faculty Member

Rabbi Dr. Benayahu Tvila is a faculty member of the Mandel Leadership Institute, where he is a lecturer, pedagogical advisor, tutor, and workshop facilitator for the Mandel Program for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community (Men’s Track). Benayahu has held numerous positions in the ultra-Orthodox education system. Most recently, he served as supervisor of secondary schools in the ultra-Orthodox department of the Israeli Ministry of Education. Prior to that, from 2014 through 2018, he was a member of the Ministry’s Education Committee. Benayahu is a graduate of several yeshivot and Kollel programs for training teachers and rabbinical judges. He teaches Torah, literature, and pedagogy in various settings, and is involved in environmental issues, addressing the climate crisis, and the obligation to care for the created world. Benayahu is also a poet and writer. His poems appear regularly in newspapers and journals, and he has written a book on Haredi education that is due to be published by Resling Press. Benayahu holds a master’s degree in philosophy from Tel Aviv University, and a doctorate in educational philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a graduate of Cohort 20 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership.

Mishael Zion

Faculty Member

Rabbi Mishael Zion, an educator and community entrepreneur, is a faculty member of the Mandel Leadership Institute. He was the founding director of the Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture, where he currently serves as a faculty member dedicated to the leadership development of fellows and graduates in the fields of culture, media, and community in Israel. Mishael is the author of Esther: A New Israeli Commentary (2019) and is the co-author of Halaila Hazeh: An Israeli Haggadah (2004) and A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices (2007), together with his father, Noam Zion. Born and raised in Jerusalem, Mishael is a founder of the Klausner Minyan, a partnership minyan in Talpiot, where he lives with his wife and four daughters. Mishael holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and Jewish thought from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in New York. Previously, he served as the co-director and rabbi of the Bronfman Fellowship, a leadership program for outstanding young Jewish people in Israel and North America. Mishael has served as a faculty member at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and North America, and has been a visiting scholar at the New York University School of Law and the Center for Israel Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

VISITING FACULTY, TUTORS & ADVISORS

Menachem Bombach

Senior Project Manager

Menachem Bombach is a community leader and educational entrepreneur in the Haredi community. He has served as principal of the award-winning “Le’Zion Be’Rinah” high school; founded the preparatory program for Haredi students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and directed the youth department of the Beitar Illit local authority. Menachem heads the “Netzach” Haredi educational network, which he founded, and which combines religious and secular studies, and aims to educate students to become observant, Torah-loving Jews who are also prepared for practical life. He also heads the Hasidic girls’ seminary affiliated with the network. Menachem studied at the Vizhnitz “Ahavat Yisrael” yeshiva and at the Mir yeshiva, and holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Moreshet Yaakov College and a master’s degree in public policy from the Hebrew University. He lectures in Israel and abroad on education and society. His main areas of interest are education, managing education systems, and inter-cultural dialogue.

Professor Michael Feuer

Visiting Faculty Member

Professor Michael Feuer is Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development and Professor of Education Policy at The George Washington University, and President of the National Academy of Education. For 17 years he held leadership positions at the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, most recently as the executive director of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. He consults regularly to educational institutions and governments in the US, Israel, Europe, and the Middle East, including the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (now JPPI) and the Initiative for Applied Education Research in Israel (“haYozmah”). He has published academic papers in education, economics, and policy journals and has had reviews, essays, and poems in newspapers and magazines in Washington, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York. In October 2014, President Obama appointed him to the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences.

Malka Puterkovsky

Visiting Faculty Member

Malka Puterkovsky has taught and studied Talmud and Jewish law in various settings in Israel for more than three decades. The former head of Midreshet Lindenbaum, an institution of higher education for religious young women that combines Torah study with military service, Malka is a founder and member of Forum Takana, an organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse by people with authority in the Orthodox community. She is also a member of the Koby Mandell Foundation, which supports families of victims of terror attacks, and of the non-profit organization that supports the Maaleh School of Film and Television. From 2014 to 2015, Malka served on the Ministry of Health's committee that determines Israel's Medical Services Basket, where she was a public representative specializing in questions of Jewish law. Her book Walking on Her Path: Life Challenges from a Halakhic and Moral Perspective was published in Hebrew in 2014. Malka holds a master’s degree in Talmud from Tel Aviv University, and was honored as a torch lighter at the state Independence Day ceremony in 2015. She is married, a mother of five, and lives in Tekoa.

Professor Lee Shulman

Visiting Faculty Member

Professor Lee Shulman is president emeritus of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and was the first Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education and Professor (by courtesy) of Psychology at Stanford University. He was previously Professor of Educational Psychology and Medical Education at Michigan State University, serving as a member of that faculty from 1963 to 1982. He was the founding co-director of the Institute for Research on Teaching (IRT) at Michigan State University from 1976. Professor Shulman is a past president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He is a member of the National Academy of Education, having served as both vice president and president of that organization. In 2002 he was elected a Fellow of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Professor Shulman's research and writings have dealt with the study of teaching and teacher education; the assessment of teaching; medical education; the psychology of instruction in science, mathematics, and medicine; and the quality of teaching in higher education.

Dr. Roman Sukholutsky

Senior Staff Member

Dr. Roman Sukholutsky is a researcher of international relations, with experience in teaching at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in directing educational programs. He completed his doctoral studies at the Hebrew University's department of international relations. His doctoral dissertation examines the intellectual origins of opposition to cosmopolitanism. In his previous positions, Roman developed leadership initiatives, implemented plans for corporate social responsibility and organized international conferences.

Professor Sam Wineburg

Visiting Faculty Member

Professor Sam Wineburg is the Margaret Jacks Professor of Education and Professor of History (by courtesy) at Stanford University, and the head of Stanford's doctoral program in history education. He is one of the world's leading experts on how history is taught and learned, and a pioneer in creating free online history curricula; his "Reading Like a Historian" curriculum has been downloaded 4 million times and is used around the world. In 2007 Professor Wineburg was awarded the American Historical Association’s William Gilbert Prize, and in 2008 he received the James Harvey Robinson Prize, for his work on the teaching of history and on teaching innovation. In 2014-2015, Professor Wineburg chaired a visiting committee appointed by Israel's Council for Higher Education to evaluate the performance of the eight faculties and departments of education at Israel's universities.

Senior Staff

Roei Ben-Tolila

Senior Staff Member

Roei Ben-Tolila is a senior staff member at the Mandel Leadership Institute. Prior to his work at Mandel, Roei was involved in leadership development as the founder and CEO of Roim Leadership, and as a facilitator for the MAOZ Fellows program. In recent years, Roei has worked to promote multi-sectorial change involving leaders from the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Roei played for Israel’s national wheelchair basketball team for 12 years, and represented Israel at six European championships. He is the author of At Heart Level: Fighting for Meaning, which examines willpower in leadership and the capacity of every individual to transform crises into opportunities. Roei holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Bar-Ilan University, and a master’s degree in organizational consulting and development from the College of Management Academic Studies. As part of his responsibilities at the Mandel Leadership Institute, Roei serves as a facilitator and tutor in the Mandel Youth Leadership Program.

Dr. Noga Bing

Senior Staff Member

Dr. Noga Bing is an expert in Jewish education, the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community, and gender studies. In addition to her work at the Mandel Leadership Institute, she is the director of the Melton Centre for Jewish Education of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Previously, she served as the director of the department of teacher training at the Hebrew University’s Seymour Fox School of Education. Noga holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Hebrew University’s Revivim program for outstanding Jewish educators, and holds a doctorate in Hasidism and gender from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Noga also studied interior design and is involved in design in her free time. As part of her position as a senior staff member at the Mandel Leadership Institute, Noga runs the Institute’s elective courses for fellows and serves as a tutor in the Mandel Program for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community.

Dana Prives

Senior Staff Member

Dana Prives is a senior staff member at the Mandel Leadership Institute. Prior to her work at Mandel, she designed research and development projects as part of an innovation team of the Jerusalem municipality funded by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. She was also part of the Jerusalem team for policy development, where she led research processes and training in design thinking methodologies. Dana also accompanied change processes in educational settings and developed study and training programs. Dana holds a bachelor's degree in architecture from the WIZO College of Design and a master's degree in industrial design from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem, where she teaches graduate courses in design change and systemic thinking to students in the design and innovation management track. As part of her work at the Mandel Leadership Institute, Dana is responsible for developing leadership programs for senior executives.

Yehonathan Schiff

Senior Staff Member

Yehonathan Schiff is a senior staff member of the Mandel Leadership Institute. Prior to his work at Mandel, he was a member of the research and development team of Avney Rosha – The Israeli Institute for School Leadership. In parallel, he was a lecturer and practicum instructor in Achva Academic College’s training program for school principals and a mentor for beginning principals on behalf of Avney Rosha. Previously, Yehonathan was the principal of the Alon elementary school in Kiryat Anavim. Under his leadership, the school won a district award for best educational climate, an award for optimal induction of novice teachers, and awards for educational initiatives from the Fund for Innovative Education and the Israeli Green Building Council. In the past, Yehonathan was the director of the programs of the non-profit organization “Bakehila – Leading Social Change” in the Neve Ya'akov neighborhood of Jerusalem, which worked toward reducing educational and social gaps among children and teenagers in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Yehonathan holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master's degree in Hebrew literature from Tel Aviv University and is also a graduate of the Czech literature program at Charles University in Prague. He is interested in the intersections and interrelationships between formal and nonformal education, as well as in cultivating curiosity from the child's point of view. As part of his work as a senior staff member of the Mandel Program for Academic Leadership in Teacher Education, Yehonathan is responsible for the pedagogical development of study days and elective courses, as well as facilitating study-day activities and advising fellows regarding the implementation of their initiatives in their academic institutions. A graduate of Cohort 20 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership, Yehonathan is also involved in carpentry and permaculture gardening.

Nili Tal

Senior Staff Member

Nili Tal is an organizational consultant and group facilitator. In the past, she headed health promotion for Maccabi Healthcare Services, where she initiated and led cross-organizational projects designed to promote quality medicine. Today, Nili is involved in leadership development, intra-organizational entrepreneurship, and consulting work. She also accompanies organizational change processes in the business sector and in the educational institutions of Israel’s Defense Ministry, and guides organizations in clarifying their organizational and educational visions and missions. In addition, she provides strategic consulting services to help organizations identify and develop their core capabilities, leads projects, guides staff development, and mentors managers facing educational, organizational, and managerial challenges. Nili holds a bachelor's degree in human nutrition from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and has two master's degrees from Bar-Ilan University, one in sociology and anthropology and the other in organizational consulting. At the Mandel Leadership Institute, Nili is a tutor in the Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Program.

Michal Tock Harpaz

Senior Staff Member

Michal Tock Harpaz is involved in research, content development, and program development in the field of educational leadership. She leads Jewish heritage and holocaust memory tours in Poland, and is a consultant and facilitator for developing and implementing pedagogy that encourages critical thinking. A lieutenant colonel (res.) in the IDF, Michal is a graduate of the IDF College of Command and Staff, and served in a variety of key positions in the IDF's education system. She was the commander of the IDF's central regional unit, in which capacity she led processes related to preparation for military service and to formal and informal values education, in collaboration with the Education Ministry and local authorities. Michal also served as an education officer in combat field units such as the Nahal Brigade and the IDF Judea and Samaria division, where she promoted values discourse and strengthened unit solidarity. In her last position in the IDF, Michal was an adviser at the College of Command and Staff in the areas of strategy, security, and leadership. She holds a master's degree in management and leadership in education from Tel Aviv University, and is a graduate of the first cohort of the Mandel Program for Educational Leadership in the IDF.

Staff

Orit Roset

Administrative Supervisor

Orit Roset is the administrative supervisor of the Mandel Leadership Institute. Prior to her work at Mandel, Orit was a missions coordinator for AIPAC, where she managed delegations of senators, Congress members, and senior American officials visiting Israel. Orit also worked for many years at Keshet – the Center for Educational Tourism in Israel, where she was the director of programs and operations for groups of Jewish and Christian tourists, students, and youth visiting Israel from the United States. Orit holds a bachelor's degree in law from Bar-Ilan University. After receiving her degree, she served as a legal assistant to Judge Rachel Karlinsky in the Magistrate's Court in Kfar Saba. As part of her work at the Mandel Leadership Institute, Orit is responsible for the administration and operation of Institute-wide events and provides professional guidance to the Institute's program coordinators.

Rivka Cohen

Coordinator, Mandel Program for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community (Men)

Rivka Cohen is the coordinator of the men’s track of the Mandel Program for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community. Before joining the Mandel Leadership Institute, she worked as a coordinator of Yedidut Toronto’s “Merchavim” project, which aims to prevent dropouts among ultra-Orthodox high school students. Rivka holds an engineering diploma in industrial design and a teaching certificate, both from the Mercaz Chareidi Institute of Technology.

Liat Carmi

Graduate Community Facilitator

Liat Carmi facilitates the graduate community of two programs of the Mandel Leadership Institute: the Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Program and the Mandel Youth Leadership Program. Prior to her work at Mandel, she served in the IDF Education and Youth Corps for approximately two decades, holding a wide range of staff and field positions. Her work in the IDF involved developing soldiers’ ethical and mental fitness to serve, writing professional and educational policy guidelines, and developing educational methodologies and tools for use by officers in the Education and Youth Corps and by IDF commanders. Liat holds a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in special education and youth advancement from Beit Berl College, and holds a master’s degree in organizational consulting and human resource development from the executive program at the College of Management Academic Studies. She also holds a teaching diploma, and is a graduate of the Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Program.

Shay Eizenstadt

Digital Learning Coordinator

Shay Eizenstadt is the digital learning coordinator of the Mandel Leadership Institute. Prior to his work at the Mandel Foundation–Israel, he was a research assistant in the computer science department at Bar-Ilan University. Shay is in the process of completing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he is a teaching assistant in the philosophy department. He is also involved in music and has experience in directing musical ensembles. In his role as digital learning coordinator at the Mandel Leadership Institute, Shay is responsible for developing and implementing advanced learning technologies and provides support to faculty members in their work in digital environments.

Yael Falko

Program Coordinator, Mandel Program for Academic Leadership in Teacher Education

Before joining the Mandel Leadership Institute as coordinator of the Mandel Program for Academic Leadership in Teacher Education, Yael worked for the informal education department of the Jewish Agency for Israel and at the Harry Oscar Triguboff Institute in Jerusalem. As part of her job as manager and coordinator of projects and partnerships, Yael promoted international cooperation and coordinated inter-organizational educational programs. Prior to this, Yael worked at the Yesod Jewish Cultural Center in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she organized, promoted, and produced social, educational, and cultural events. Yael holds a bachelor's degree in the humanities from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and speaks and translates in three languages. She has lived, worked, and volunteered in several countries, and taught English at orphanages in Kenya as part of her volunteer work. Yael was also a translator and member of the organizing committee for the Limmud FSU St. Petersburg conferences. Yael was Israel's national fencing champion for several years, and won gold and silver medals in Fencing World Cup tournaments. At the Mandel Leadership Institute, she is responsible for the administration and logistics of the Mandel Program for Academic Leadership and for ongoing communication with the program's fellows.

Eitan Kehati

Coordinator, Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Program

Eitan joined the staff of the Mandel Foundation–Israel following his graduation from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's Mandel Social Leadership MBA Program, which is conducted in cooperation with the Mandel Foundation. Eitan's first position at Mandel was that of a coordinator and research assistant at the Mandel Graduate Unit. He now is the coordinator of the Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Program. While studying for his degree, Eitan directed a non-profit organization that runs educational projects in elementary schools. Prior to that, he served as an educational-social coordinator for a national organization for children at risk, worked as a social coordinator at a military boarding school, and coordinated a program that integrated overseas students into educational frameworks and prepared them for meaningful service in the Israel Defense Forces. Eitan holds a bachelor's degree in education from Orot Israel.

Yaeli Orly

Coordinator, Mandel Youth Leadership Program (Year One)

Yaeli Orly is the coordinator of the first year of the Mandel Youth Leadership Program. Before joining the Mandel Leadership Institute, she was the professional coordinator for the department of inclusive industrial design at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem. Yaeli holds a bachelor’s degree in photography from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, and has her own photography business, specializing in portraits of children and families. She also volunteers as a photographer for the Tismotek nonprofit for children with Down syndrome and for other charitable organizations.

Chaya Platner

Coordinator, Mandel Program for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community (Women’s Track)

Chaya Platner is the coordinator of the women’s track of the Mandel Program for Leadership Development in the Haredi Community. Before joining the Mandel Leadership Institute, she was a department coordinator at Hadassah Academic College (HAC) in Jerusalem. Prior to that, she worked as an office manager, first for Lewinsky College’s undergraduate program in music education for graduates of the Beit Yaakov school system and then for Emuna College’s pre-academic preparatory program. Chaya holds a bachelor's degree in Hebrew language teaching and a certificate in language editing, both from Efrata College.

Asaf Reshef

Staff Member

Prior to joining the Mandel Leadership Institute as a staff member, Asaf Reshef was involved in creating technological spaces as the director of entrepreneurship and innovation centers of the Israeli Association of Community Centers (IACC). He also worked as a senior support solution expert and support project manager at SAP, where he also managed lab activities for the community, and was vice president of education for the Aharai! (Follow Me!) leadership development organization. Asaf holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering (information technology) from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Oranim Academic College of Education. At the Mandel Leadership Institute, he is responsible for the second-year program of the Mandel Youth Leadership Program.

Hodaya Serlui

Coordinator, Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture

In her capacity as coordinator of the Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture, Hodaya is responsible for liaising with fellows and faculty, day-to-day logistics and administration, and coordination of the program's recruitment and admissions process. In addition, Hodaya is involved in planning and implementing activities for all fellows, graduates, and faculty members of the Mandel Leadership Institute. Hodaya holds a bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies and in sociology and anthropology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she is completing her master's degree in cultural studies. She also holds a civilian pilot's license. Prior to joining the Mandel Leadership Institute, Hodaya worked at the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, where she was a curriculum coordinator and assistant to the school's director.

Shira Shapira

Coordinator, Mandel Youth Leadership Program (Year Two)

Shira Shapira is the coordinator of the second year of the Mandel Youth Leadership Program. Before joining the Mandel Leadership Institute, she served as the coordinator of intellectual rights and of finance at Carmel Publishing House. Shira holds a bachelor’s degree in art and education from HaMidrasha Faculty of Arts at Beit Berl College and is currently studying Hebrew literature at the Open University. Shira also participates in a learning program run by the Juda’s Yard nonprofit for people who have left the Orthodox community.

Yiftach Shavit

Graduate Community Facilitator

Yiftach Shavit is the facilitator of the graduate community of the Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture and of the graduate communities of a number of past programs of the Mandel Leadership Institute. In this capacity, he works to support graduates’ initiatives, strengthen ties between graduates, and expose graduates to the various services provided by the Mandel Graduate Unit. Prior to joining the Mandel Leadership Institute, Yiftach was the pedagogical director and activities coordinator of Madrasa, a nonprofit organization that promotes the study of spoken Arabic in Israel. Yiftach holds a bachelor’s degree in history and international relations and a master’s degree in history from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently studying for a teaching diploma at the Kerem Institute for Teacher Training. In his spare time, Yiftach enjoys studying Talmud, and serves as a study group facilitator for “Shtaigen,” an initiative that encourages Talmud study among secular Israelis.