Our Team

Shimrit Bainhoren, CEO

Shimrit directs the MAOZ organization.

Shimrit joined the MAOZ team in 2015, and in her last role, she managed the Change & Strategy Platform. In this position, she oversaw the accompaniment of Network members’ social change initiatives through the Meitzim (Accelerators), Knowledge Center, investment platforms and Technology Unit. In addition, she led MAOZ’s organizational strategy.

Shimrit previously directed the Meitzim and accompanied social change initiatives as a Portfolio Manager, after initially joining MAOZ as the Network Team Coordinator.

Prior to joining MAOZ, Shimrit worked at a mediator and senior facilitator at Gevim Group. She has rich and diverse experience in facilitation, leading organizational processes, and personally accompanying senior managers. She has also established social and technological ventures.

A lawyer and mediator by training, Shimrit holds a BA in law from Bar-Ilan University. She is married to Ori and they live in Kfar Saba with Eliya, Evyatar, Lee and Adi.

Adv. Michal Lehner, CFO & COO

Michal is in charge of MAOZ's financial management, governance, operations, procurement and information systems. In her previous roles at MAOZ, she led the organization's Resource Development and Organizational Development teams. Prior to joining MAOZ, Michal completed the Ministry of Foreign Affair's Cadets' Course, after which she was posted to Latin America, where she served in several roles, including First Secretary and Consul General in Costa Rica and the position of First Secretary in Colombia. Later on in her time at the MFA, Michal worked in the International Organizations Department and focused on the multilateral arena. Michal also served as a buyer for a Ministry of Defense delegation to New York. Upon her return to Israel, she joined Nokia Siemens Network's (NSN) post-merger integration department (PMI). At the beginning of her professional career, Michal interned with the deputy national defense attorney at the Ministry of Justice. Michal holds a BA in Law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She lives in Ein Vered with her partner, Yonatan and her son, Eitan. In her free time, Michal likes to exercise and visit the sea.

Rasool Saada, Director of Business Development

Trained as a lawyer, Rasool is the Director of Business Development. He previously oversaw all initiatives that engage Arab communities at MAOZ and set the foundations for our newest joint venture called Mamlachtiut. He has served as the deputy chair of the Young Lawyers' Committee at the Israel Bar Association. In 2017 he joined the Abraham Fund as Director of the Safe Communities Initiative at Abraham Fund, focused on combatting crime and violence, as well as policing issues in Arab local communities. He previously served as head of the department for the promotion of Arab students in the National Union of Israeli Students, was member of the Council for Higher Education's committee for improving accessibility to higher education for Arab society, served as a government relations coordinator at the Sikkuy organization, and was a fellow in the Derech Program of the Berl Katznelson Educational Center. In 2017, he was picked by the Yedioth Aharonoth newspaper as one of Israel's fifty most influential people in the public sector.

Hadas Bracha-Kleider, Director of the INBAR Joint Venture & the Capacities Unit

Hadas directs INBAR, a joint venture between MAOZ and the Ministry of Health which seeks to formulate a leadership reserve of Israel's top senior healthcare system officials. In addition, Hadas directs the Capacities Unit, which builds trust and leads social changes with Network members. Before taking on her current position, Hadas was a facilitator in the MAOZ Fellows Program for two years. She has vast experience in developing and conducting workshops in the business sector, the nonprofit sector and in the IDF. Previously, Hadas worked at BISLAM, the IDF’s Leadership Development School, where she provided long-term consulting to units and commanding officers, developed teams, facilitated content and skill workshops, diagnosed leadership challenges and implemented interventions at the organizational level. She also worked at Basis Evaluation for six years, where she served as a facilitator and workshop developer for various organizations and HR managers in the business and third sectors. Her role also included developing professional screening tools and building different organizational measurement and evaluation processes. Hadas holds a BA in Psychology from Haifa University and an MA in Social and Industrial Psychology from Bar-Ilan University. She currently resides in Even-Yehuda, is married to Eyal, and has three children: Maya, Amit and Roy.

Tali Semani, MAOZ Network Director

As Director of the MAOZ Network, Tali is in charge of fellows' transition into the Network, increasing Network members' social capital, accompanying their initiatives and building their trust with one another.

Tali is a clinical psychologist and an activist who obtained her BA and MA from Tel Aviv University. She has experience accompanying screening, measurement and evaluation processes. A researcher and a lecturer, Tali leads workshops in various fields, including on the subject of multiculturalism, about which she has published several articles. Prior to joining MAOZ, Tali served as the Jewish Community Director at the Chicago Community Center in Lod, established an early childhood care center and worked to develop solutions for residents of all ages.

A social activist in the Ethiopian-Israeli community, Tali provides mental health care to a number of Ethiopian-Israeli groups and volunteers with the Ethiopian-Israeli Health Promotion Forum. She also manages a Facebook group focusing on mental health among Ethiopian-Israelis. Tali is an Advisory Committee member of the aChord Center, and was selected as one of The Marker newspaper's 40 most promising young men and women in 2018.

Chen Leder-Avgi, INBAR Joint Venture & Program Director

Chen holds an MA in occupational psychology from the Tel Aviv-Yaffo Academic College and a BA in psychology, sociology and anthropology from Bar-Ilan University. An occupational psychology specialist, Chen has over 10 years of experience in the employment world, with a focus on the areas of recruitment, screening, evaluation and career counseling. Among other things, she has conducted workshops and trainings for professionals in the field and accompanied managers’ personal and professional development processes in individual and group work. Chen joined MAOZ after working at the Adam Milo Institute as a senior employment consultant for several years while also working independently as an organizational consultant and a managerial mentor. Chen lives in Kfar Saba, and she enjoys long-distance running, cooking, baking and reading historical novels. She is married to Roni and is the mother of Talia, Ofri, Maya and Hadar.

Avi Rokach, ‘Mamlachtiut’ venture director

As part of his role as director of the 'Mamlachtiut' venture, Avi is responsible for formulating the senior and leading administrative future personnel in government ministries, the third sector and business. In addition, he is a facilitator in the Maoz fellows program. In his last position, he was the general manager of the Sutria organization for a year and a half, an innovative organization in the field of mental health. Most of his previous positions were in the education system. He formerly held a management position in of the Amit network as the director of the central region for five years. At the beginning of his career, he was the high school director of the Kfar Ganim yeshiva and later co-founded the Amit Yeshiva in Rehovot and served as head of the yeshiva for eight years. Avi has a rabbinical certificate from the Chief Rabbinate and two degrees in Talmud from Bar Ilan University. He also holds a Teaching Diploma, graduate of the program for administrators and community rabbis of the Rothschild Foundation, mediator diploma and member of the Maoz network of the third class of the Ripples program. Alongside his professional occupation, Avi is involved in the social field, together with Tal and their six children. Avi and his family live in Lod and as a family they are active members in social activities in the city in a variety of fields. During his first years in the religious community in Lod, Aviwas the chairman of the Education Committee and for the past five years has served as the chairman of the core committee of the community. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Lod Development Fund. In his free time, he likes to run and read books.

Vered Amar, Maoz North Director

Vered is the new Atudot North joint venture director. Vered has extensive management experience in the areas of local government and NGOs, as well as expertise and knowledge in planning and establishing infrastructure and multi sector cooperation. For the past two years Vered worked as a project manager in the fields of development and training. Over the course of eight years, Vered also held several senior positions in Kfar Vradim local municipality, including as the Director of the Education Department and the municipality CEO.

At the same time, she was a board member and a held signatory authorization responsibilities in two municipal corporations, as well as a board member in the Western Galilee Cluster.

Prior to that, she headed the Directorate for the Establishment of a Community Educational Campus in the Merom Hagalil Regional Council - a joint initiative of the council, the Rashi Foundation, UJIA and the Ministry of Education.

Vered began her professional career as an architect in leading design firms, and later set up an independent architectural firm alongside a partner and taught in practical training programs.

Vered lives in Koranit with her husband, Ilan and their three children, Achinoam, Yehonatan and Haleli.

Ziv Harel, ADVOT Joint Venture Director

Ziv directs MAOZ's ADVOT Joint Venture.

Over the last 17 years, Ziv has gained experience in a variety of positions in the four sectors – especially in the public sector – by establishing and institutionalizing public organizations and systems. Between 2011 and 2016, Ziv partnered in establishing and institutionalizing the Israel National Mine Action Authority, for which he spearheaded information management work and GIS. Ziv also served as chairman of the board of directors of the Nofei Prat local authority and one of the founders of the Gush Adumim local committee. He served as CEO of Ulpan-Or, which specializes in teaching Hebrew innovative pedagogy, and served as a senior instructor and personal consultant for employment and career counseling at Macademia.

Ziv holds a bachelor's degree in sociology, anthropology and geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is a graduate of the group facilitation course at the Tafnit School of Management at the Open University.

Over the past five years, Ziv has been a Meitzim (Accelerators) field lead at MAOZ, and has partnered in the design, acceleration and implementation of over 30 systemic socio-economic change initiatives, most of which focused on the field of education.

Ziv was born, raised and educated in Jerusalem. He is married to Sarit and together they raise their children Eviatar, Carmi, Elisha and Ruth in Nofei Prat, situated in the Judean Desert.

Malak Msalha, Employment Joint Venture Director & Recruitment & Admissions Director

Malak directs the Employment Joint Venture, which is run in partnership with the Ministry of Economy's Labor Branch and was established in order to provide solutions for the burning challenges Israel's employment market faces. In addition, Malak oversees the multi-stage recruitment and admissions processes for MAOZ's programs, screening approximately 1,800 candidates per year. Before joining MAOZ, Malak managed the Career Center at Kav Mashve, which promotes the integration of Arab academics into the Israeli business world. Prior to that, Malak worked as a diagnostic and placement consultant at Ortal HR. Malak has roughly 12 years of experience in the employment world, including specific work in the recruitment and placement phases. Her tremendous experience with workshops, trainings and content development, project and team management, and creating partnerships all stem from her in-depth knowledge of diverse populations in the employment market. Malak obtained her BA in Psychology and Communications from Tel Aviv University and she holds an MA, Cum Laude, in Gender Studies from Bar-Ilan University. Malak lives in Kafr Qara and enjoys traveling around the world.

Yotam Zeira, Accelerator Manager

Yotam Zeira manages the Accelerator unit at Maoz, and is a co-director of the change platform. Under his leadership, the Accelerator accompanies dozens of socio-economic initiatives, initiated by Maoz network members, individuals that hold senior positions in the public, social and business sectors. In addition, he manages Maoz's strategic partnership with Yad Hanadiv regarding implementation of social mobility initiatives. Yotam joined Maoz after five years in Boston, during which he managed the strategy and partnerships at Roca, which developed a groundbreaking model that assists young people entangled in the world of crime and gangs to rehabilitate and integrate into employment. Yotam is a lawyer, he has formerly worked at the Ministry of Justice and was an intern with Supreme Court President Miriam Naor. He is also an educator who has worked with youth and young people from a variety of backgrounds for more than a decade at Yad Ben Zvi, the Jerusalem Prepatory College, the Open House, Choshen, Yehuda Hatzair, the Jewish Agency, and other organizations. Prior to that, he served as an intelligence officer and did a year of service with the Malchishua organization. He holds a bachelor's degree in law with honors and a teaching certificate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master's degree in law from Harvard University.

Nitzan Ben Dov, ‘Starter’ unit Director

Nitzan Ben Dov, manages the 'starter' unit in Maoz, a professional unit established during the COVID period, and accompanies dozens of local organizations a year to strengthen the effectiveness of these organizations and promote quality of life and socio-economic resilience in the local area. Nitzan joined Maoz in 2019, as a portfolio manager in the accelerator programs, after running the Consciousness Organization for three years, which deals with the fight against prostitution in Israel. In the years she managed Consciousness, the association won the Genesis Award for being an innovative and technological project dedicated to preventing violence and harassment online and developed the first digital program of its kind in Israel, for violence prevention for boys and girls in collaboration with HIT. Prior to that, she managed the field of education and information in the Assistance Centers for victims of sexual assault and led several projects to reduce social, emotional and educational gaps in the social periphery and geographers of Israel. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and human resources from Tel Hai College, and a master's degree in gender studies from Ben-Gurion University. Graduate of the Management Excellence Program in Matan Social Organizations.

Yael Neve Meir, Director of the Knowledge and Strategy center

As part of her role, Yael manages the Maoz Knowledge and Strategy Center, as well as a partner manager of the Change platform. The center, in partnership with the accelerators, accompanies dozens of socio-economic initiatives of Maoz network members and helps them make knowledge-based decisions and promote knowledge-sharing and trust-building processes with stakeholders relevant to the cause. In addition, the knowledge center leads data-based decision-making within Maoz and assists in shaping organizational strategy. Yael joined Maoz in 2018, after several roles in employee selection, measurement and evaluation and strategic research, all of which led processes in which knowledge promoted the joint work of stakeholders and enabled effective decision making. Yael studied for a bachelor's degree in psychology and management at Tel Aviv University and has a master's degree in social-organizational psychology at Bar Ilan. She lives in Herzliya with her partner Yonatan and their son Daniel. In her free time, she likes to dabble in design (not just data), listen to books, podcasts, TED talks, and travel the world.

Osnat Meron, MAOZ Eco Director

Osnat heads MAOZ's efforts to increase its impact spheres and create a wide and engaged ecosystem in various systems. Previously, Osnat directed the MAOZ Fellows Program for two years and created the MAOZ Network, which she directed for three years. In this position, she was in charge of the Network's activities and helped advance MAOZ's organizational mission. Prior to joining MAOZ, Osnat worked in various television production roles, including establishing Channel 2 News, producing the Friday Studio news magazine and serving as Executive Producer of the Uvda investigative journalism show hosted by Ilana Dayan. Osnat was also a founding member of Channel 10 and the Channel 10 News teams, as well as a production and operations manager of the Tchelet Channel and Or-Media company. In addition, Osnat produced the Now-Beyond events for Shimon Peres' 80th birthday celebrations. She is a graduate of Gvanim, a program for pluralistic Jewish leadership and of the Bertelsmann Foundation German-Israeli Young Leadership Exchange. In 2006, she began working for the foundation as a project manager. In this role, which she held for eight years, Osnat was responsible for all activities and seminars in Israel. She has also managed Israeli Horizon, the alumni forum for Israeli fellows of the Bertelsmann program. Osnat graduated with honors from the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was born in Jerusalem, has three children and currently lives in Ramat HaSharon. In her free time, she enjoys reading poetry, playing basketball and traveling around the world.

Hadas Lahav, Storytelling Director

Hadas established and directs MAOZ's Storytelling Department, which works to document and tell Network members' social change stories. Hadas has 18 years of experience as a journalist, during which she served as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper and as Deputy Editor of Ynet. Hadas has engaged in a number of social initiatives designed to alter perception using the media, including in an Olim BeYahad media initiative designed to change perceptions about persons of Ethiopian origin; integration of Arab journalists in the media and strengthening their social media reach; and in the Nivheret project to double the number of women running for municipal office. Hadas holds a BA in Law and Political Science from Tel Aviv University and an LLM (Cum Laude) from Bar-Ilan University. Hadas lives in Ramat Hen with her children, Yonatan and Ofri.

Efrat Darf, HR & Organizational Development Director

Efrat is in charge of MAOZ team members' welfare and organizational development processes. She is a psychologist with a wealth of knowledge in the human resources world, specifically in the fields of recruitment and admissions practices, measurement, evaluation, and organizational consulting. Efrat holds a BA in Behavioral Sciences from Ben-Gurion University and obtained her MA in Socio-Organizational Psychology from Bar-Ilan University. During her IDF service, Efrat was an evaluations and research course Officer at the IDF’s Center for Behavioral Sciences, an experience which set her off on a career in the recruitment and admissions world. Originally from Kiryat Ekron, Efrat currently lives in Kibbutz HaOgen with her husband, Yotam and their children.

Yair Schindel

Dr. Yair Schindel Co-Founded Maoz in 2010, served as CEO in early years and as board member until 2014. As business and social entrepreneur, Yair helped co-found, establish and manage other organisations including the national government bureau of Digital Israel, the 8400 Health Network and Start-up Nation Central. More recently he is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of aMoon Ventures, a leading HealthTech investment fund based in Israel and Boston. Born into a family of physicians, Yair’s parents and grandparents are doctors. His grandparents were also Schindler’s List Holocaust survivors who escaped Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps. Yair began his career as a physician, but pivoted to a life in innovation and entrepreneurship. He earned his BSc and MD degrees at Ben-Gurion University’s Medical School and his MBA at the Harvard Business School. Prior to b-school Yair served as an officer with IDF Special Forces, in his last position served as the Chief Medical Officer for the Israeli Navy Seals, aka “Shayetet 13." Yair is married to Hila and they have 3 children.

DR. Yoav Heller

Yoav has served as CEO of MAOZ since 2014 until 2021. At the beginning of his professional career, he was part of the staff that established Ynet, Israel's largest online media site, and went on to serve as one of its senior editors. Following his time at Ynet, Yoav made a career change and became Deputy General Manager at the Branco Weiss Institute. During his time at Branco Weiss, he supervised 200 employees, fundraised, managed a budget of roughly NIS 50 million, and was responsible for executing large-scale educational projects and working with government agencies, including the Ministries of Education, Absorption and Welfare. After six years at Branco Weiss, Yoav moved to London, where he lectured about history, served as an advisor to various local Jewish organizations and was the Director of the Israel Connect European Young Leadership Program. A historian, Yoav specializes in Holocaust research. He obtained his BA in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies and his MA in Management and Education at Tel Aviv University before completing his Ph.D. in History at the University of London, Royal Holloway College Holocaust Research Institute. Yoav served as the chairman of the national student campaign to reduce university tuition in the late 1990s and is a reserve officer in an elite Air Force combat unit. He lives in Tel-Aviv with his wife and two children.