Wexner Israel Fellowship Alumni Profiles

The Wexner Israel Alumni Community numbers 216 public sector leaders. To read about the Community's activities, click here. For profiles of Classes XXI and XXII, see below.

Class XXI

Class XXII

Yousef Abu Jaffar - Director of Finance, Rahat Municipality

Yousef Abu Jaffar is the Director of Finance at the Rahat Municipality. He has been working for the Rahat Municipality since 1999. From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Abu Jaffar was also the Projects Director for the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation (AJEEC) at the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development. He is involved in numerous community and voluntary activities such as establishing, directing and participating in a community theater. He has served as Executive Director of Bahr, the Association for Education, Health and Welfare Promotion. He has also planned and organized volunteer camps for public projects in Rahat to assist the local population. Mr. Abu Jaffar holds a B.A. in Public Policy and Administration from Sapir Academic College and is currently a student there in the Public Policy and Administration program, working towards his M.A. He also holds a Master Degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School  of Government  at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow.
His mother tongue is Arabic and he also speaks Hebrew, English and Italian. He is married to Samira and they have four children: one girl and three boys.

Natasha Epstein - Budget Director's Advisor, Budget Department, Ministry of Finance 

Natasha Epstein is the Budget Director's Advisor. Prior to that, sheserved as the Deputy Manager of Internal Affairs and Local Government in the Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance. Ms. Epstein was born in the former Soviet Union and made aliyah to Israel eighteen years ago. During her army service, she served in an elite technology unit and was released with the rank of Lieutenant. After the army, Ms. Epstein led a quality assurance engineering team. She then received a B.A. in Economics through the Amirim Interdisciplinary Program for Outstanding Students. During her course of study, she served as an assistant economist for the research department at the Bank of Israel. After graduation, Ms. Epstein joined the Ministry of Finance, where she has worked until the present as the Deputy Manager of Internal Affairs and Local Government. Ms. Epstein's many activities include serving in the following capacities: councilmember and board member for the Jerusalem Development Authority; director of Mekorot, the National Water Company; councilmember for the Plants Production and Marketing Board; and member of the Public Committee for Local Tax Reform. She was a fellow at the Kolot Leadership Program. She also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Unviversity as a Wexner Fellow.
Due to Ms. Epstein's wide interest in other cultures, she had traveled throughout most of Europe, South and Central America, and Southeast Asia. She is fluent in Russian, Hebrew, English and Spanish and also speaks French and Arabic.   

Andrea Haas - Director of Compensation Programs in Eastern Europe, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany  

Andrea Haas is the Director of Compensation Programs in Eastern Europe for the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany. Prior to that, Ms. Haas was the Senior Regional Program Manager for the Western Russian-FSU Department at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Ms. Haas made aliyah from Slovakia in August of 2001. While living in Slovakia, she was intensively involved in working with Holocaust (Shoah) survivors.  She worked for the "Survivors of the Shoah", Steven Spielberg's Visual History Foundation, both in Slovakia and in Hungary, and also worked with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Ms. Haas has received the Ralph I. Goldman Fellowship, an award in international Jewish communal service, which included professional placements in the USA, Russia and Israel. She holds a Master's Degree in Slovak Language, Literature and General History from the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. She also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Unviversity as a Wexner Fellow.
Ms. Haas is fluent in English, Hebrew, French, Russian, Slovak, Czech and Hungarian, and has a basic knowledge of German. She is a mother of Elia (6.5 years old girl) and Ariel (3.5 years old boy).

Eyal Hulata - Technical Project Manager, Prime Minister's Office

Eyal Hulata joined the Prime Minister's Office following his academic training, and has served there ever since in a variety of technological and project-management positions. Mr. Hulata was a cadet in the accelerated studies Talpiot program, during which he received his B.Sc. in Physics and Math from the Hebrew University. Mr. Hulata received his M.Sc. in Physics (summa cum laude) from Tel-Aviv University. He has published several academic papers and articles. In 2007, Mr. Hulata was awarded The Applied Materials Israel Award for distinctive research (Tel-Aviv University). He also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow.

His personal hobbies include hiking, puzzle and quiz solving, and playing the trumpet (classic, jazz) and harmonica. Mr.Hulata is married to Adi and they are the parents of two boys: Amitay and Tomer.

 

Barak Loozon - Director for Young Adult Engagement for Israel, Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation San Francisco and a Community Shaliach  

Barak Loozon is the Director for Young Adult Engagement for Israel at the Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation San Francisco and a Community Shaliach. He is a native born Israeli and raised in Bat-Yam.
Barak has held numerous leadership roles in Israel and in the American Jewish community. He worked for the Institute for Democratic Education in Israel and led the implementation of the "Bat-Yam Model for Personalized Education" - an educational reform in the city of Bat-Yam. Due to its success the model became part of the National Education reform.
Previously Barak worked as the National Education Director & Deputy Director-General of the Israeli Scouts, where he was in charge of Developing and conducting educational programs for thousands of scouts throughout Israel. He was an emissary for the Jewish Agency for Israel to the U.S. and served as the Education Director for the Tzabar program - aimed to foster and sustain a strong Israeli and Jewish identity among your Israelis living in the U.S.. Barak is a member of the Task Force on Jewish Peoplehood Education as well as Gvanim Fellow - a Leadership Training Program to Promote Jewish Pluralism in Israel.
He holds a B.A. from Bar Ilan University in Criminology and Political Science and two M.A. degrees in Education Policy and Administration from Tel Aviv University as well as a M.A. in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Wexner Israel Fellow.
Barak served as a combat soldier in the Nahal Brigade of the IDF during his compulsory service. In his reserve duty he is now serving as the head of staff training for "C.V.K." - an IDF summer program for young American Jews and Israelis in Israel.
Barak and his wife Keren are the proud parents of Yuval, Tomer, Amir and Hillel. As a family, the are members of "Beit Tfila Israeli" in Tel Aviv and recently became members of Kibbutz Einat in Israel.

    

Yitzhack Sabato - Senior Advisor to the Director General of The National Insurance Institute of Israel (NII or Bituach Leumi)

Yitzhack (Itzik) Sabato is the Senior Adviser to the Director-General of Bituach Leumi, the National Insurance Institute. He is in charge of policy, planning and strategy and leads the risk management activity within the organization. From 1998 to 2003, Mr. Sabato received LL.B., LL.M. and M.B.A. degrees, all three cum laude. During the course of his studies, Mr. Sabato served as a professional consultant to a Member of Parliament in Israel's Knesset and did his internship in the Attorney General's office. He also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow. He is a Senior Goldman Fellow in the School of Government and Policy at Tel Aviv University for 2008-09, responsible for counseling junior fellows and preparing policy papers. In addition, he taught tax and welfare policy in Bar Ilan university for several years and published articles on that matters in Israel and abroad. Mr. Sabato is also involved in volunteer work; he moderated a community group in the framework of Beit Morasha, which combines study of religious Jewish sources with modern social issues. Through the Pa'amonim organization, he is a counselor for legal and economic matters to families in economic distress. Mr. Sabato is married to Shira and they have 2 young children (a boy and a girl). 

     

Eliad Weinshall - Senior Deputy to the State Attorney, Criminal Division, Ministry of Justice   

Eliad Weinshall is Senior Deputy to the State Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Ministry of Justice. He has worked for the Ministry of Justice for the past ten years in a variety of roles, among them Chief Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General in the Legislation and Legal Counsel Department, Chief Assistant to the Attorney General at the Attorney General’s Office, and as a member of several inter-ministerial reform committees. Mr. Weinshall received his LL.B. degree from Tel Aviv University and his LL.M. degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow.

During his military service, he served in the IDF's Anti-Aircraft Unit and is currently the IDF's Chief Solicitor-Legal Advisor in times of emergency as part of his reserve duty. Mr. Weinshall is married to Keren and they are the parents of two boys.   

   

Yanai Yedvab - Office of Science, Israeli Atomic Energy Commission

Yanai Yedvab works for the office of science in the Israeli atomic energy commission. Previously he was head of the physics department in the Nuclear Research Center - Negev.

Mr. Yedvab received his B.Sc. in Physics from Tel-Aviv University with honors and is currently a Physics Ph.D. student at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He also holds a Master Degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government  at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow. 

Mr. Yedvab is married to Hadas and they have a daughter, Tamar. 

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Please meet the Alumni of Class XXII:

Noa Asher - Head of International Support and Finance Department, Foreign Trade Administration, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. 

 

Noa Asher has been Israel's Economic Consul to the Midwest since 2006. As such, she was responsible for initiating and maintaining trade relationships between Israel and the region. Previously, Noa served as the Chief of Staff for the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor. She joined the ministry in 2002, serving as a Foreign Trade Officer within the Asia Pacific Division of the Foreign Trade Administration. Prior to entering government service, Noa was a legal advisor to an Israeli group of start-up technology companies. She holds an MBA from Tel Aviv University and an LLB degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Unviversity as a Wexner Fellow. Before beginning her education, Noa served as a Lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces. Together with her husband Assaf, Noa has a daughter Yahli, and a son Ori.

 

Moria Charka - Director of the Civil Department, Jerusalem District Attorney's Office, Ministry of Justice

 

Moria Charka is part of the Civil Department in the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office, representing the State of Israel in a variety of civil law suits, including tort, contracts, land property disputes and civil rights petitions. Since 2009, Moria has been the Director of the Civil Department, shaping the state's civil litigation policy. She holds a B.A. in Medical Sciences, an LL.B. and an LL.M. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Unviversity as a Wexner Fellow. Moria is one of the core members of Shira Hadasha, an orthodox, feminist congregation in Jerusalem. Moria is married to Yaron and they are the proud parents of four girls, two of them currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

 

 

Amit David - Director of the Knowledge Management Branch, Israeli Air Force

 

Amit David is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Throughout his service, Amit has combined operational combat flying in one of the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) strategic jet squadrons with professional positions in the headquarters. Amit currently serves in the IDF Planning Directorate, Strategic Planning Division. Amit served in the IAF's communication, networks and information department where he directed the knowledge management branch, considered one of the most advanced knowledge management organizations in Israel. He has also led complex multidisciplinary projects, most recently within the Operational Requirements Department.

Amit received his B.Sc. in Electronics and Computer Engineering (cum laude) from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and has also begun a Master’s Degree in Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning. He also holds a Master Degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow.

He is a long-distance runner. During the past several years, he has run several marathons. Amit is married to Adi and they have three children: Noa, Itamar, and Maya.

 

 

Tamar Elram - Medical Assistant to the Director General, Ministry of Health

Dr. Tamar Elram is a certified obstetrician and gynecologist who trained at Hebrew University and at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem. She is an intern in Healthcare Management with the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Health, and the management of Hadassah Medical Center as well as working as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist through Meuchedet Public Health Fund.

She worked in Hadassah’s delivery room and volunteered as a physician in the Hadassah Centre for Sexual Assault Victims. Tamar has served as an emissary for Zionist seminars in Australia and New Zealand through the Jewish Agency and worked in the Jewish community in Nairobi, Kenya through “Project Areivim" which aims to strengthen Jewish communities around the world. For the last few years, Tamar has worked with women’s empowerment treks in Israel called Desert Queen. Tamar also participated in a voluntary medical delegation to the displaced persons camps in Haiti following the earthquake in January 2010 through F.I.R.S.T IsraAID. She also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Unviversity as a Wexner Fellow.

 

Ori Gordin - Commander of Brigade 55, Israel Defense Forces

 

Ori was born in California and raised in Kibbutz Yotvata, which is located at the southern tip of Israel. In 1988, he was recruited to the IDF and developed as a leader through a line of commanding duties as a platoon and squadron leader, planning and leading special operations and military campaigns. He now holds a position of leading the paratroopers reserve brigade, brigade 55. Ori studied electrical engineering at Tel Aviv University in conjunction with his military service, graduating with a B.Sc. in 2002. He also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow. He lives in Moshav Sitriya, a small village in the center of Israel, with his wife Miri, his daughter Ella, and his sons Yuval and Alon.

 

Niv Price - Director of Research and Development, Intelligence Corps, Israel Defense Forces

 

Lt. Col. Niv Price is the Deputy Department Director in one of the Israel Defense Forces’ elite technology units. He joined this unit 15 years ago after receiving his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Tel Aviv University under the IDF’s program for outstanding students. While working, Niv also received his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Tel Aviv University and in 2009 was promoted to the highest military R&D rank. He also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow. Among his community activities, most recently Niv served as the Tiberias Regional Leader of the "Atidim" Program, an IDF initiative providing university education to talented youth from Israel's disaffected communities. Niv is married to Keren and they live in Ra'anana, Israel with their two daughters Lia and Alma.

 

Tomer Rosner - Senior Legal Adviser, The Knesset

 

Tomer Rosner is the leading legal adviser to two of the most prominent statutory Knesset committees and their members: the State Control Committee and the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee. He has extensive experience in both the private sector, where he served for several years as a litigator and a corporate lawyer, and in the public sector, where he served for six years as the legal advisor and a directorate member of the administrative branch of the Knesset. Tomer is a member of the Israeli bar and received his LL.B. degree (magna cum laude) and LL.M. degree (magna cum laude) from Tel Aviv University. He also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow. Tomer is an alumnus of the US State Department International Visitor’s Leadership Program of 2008. Among his community activities, Tomer tutors high school students from low socio-economic backgrounds. His hobbies include horseback riding and kayaking.

 

Pazit Shalmon-Baratz - Deputy Legal Adviser, Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality

 

Pazit Shalmon-Baratz is the deputy legal advisor at the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality. She has been working for the Tel Aviv Municipality since 2002, concentrating on various legal facets of municipal construction and planning affecting the city's community. She has acted as a member of several inter-ministerial reform committees. Prior to that, Pazit worked for 10 years as a corporate commercial lawyer in the private sector. She received her LL.B and LL.M degrees from Tel Aviv University. She also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Unviversity as a Wexner Fellow. Among her community activities, she graduated from the Kolot Fellows Program, a progressive Jewish Studies Institute. She was also an Israeli Scouts delegate at a Young Judea camp. Currently, she is a volunteer trustee on behalf of Israeli artists and students.

 

Yishay Sorek - Director of International Relations, Ministry for Development of the Negev and the Galilee

 

Yishay Sorek has worked at the Ministry of Regional Cooperation since 2005 under two Vice Prime Ministers, including Shimon Peres. He is currently in charge of economic development in the Negev and Galilee and leads strategic planning in the Ministry. He leads regional cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and with Jordan in various fields. He also leads development and integration programs for the Arab population of Israel. Prior to his work at the Ministry, Yisay has served as the Executive Director of the Israel-Jordan Chamber of Commerce (chaired by the late Benjamin D. Gaon) and worked at Avigdor Feldman's law firm in Tel Aviv, specializing in human rights.

Yishay received an LL.B. Bachelor of Law from the Hebrew University (magna cum laude) and an MA from the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas (summa cum laude). He also holds a Master Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Wexner Fellow. He is a member of various forums for cooperation and understanding between Jews and Arabs.