Founder & Director of WeAreMENA, a transnational network of youth organizations across the Middle East & North Africa. Previously Head of Education at NOAL, the largest Jewish-Arab-Druze youth movement in Israel, Tom has over a decade of experience in cross-cultural facilitation and civil society initiatives. He works to foster partnerships and empower young leaders across the region.

George Stevens is co-founder and strategic director of WeAreMENA. Born and raised in Philadelphia, George lived in Vancouver Canada and study at Stanford in California before making aliyah (immigrating) to Israel in 2011. After arriving in Israel, George worked as programs director for Habonim Dror from the UK, Canada and Israel for several years, connecting Jewish communities from around the world. He worked as a financial director for NOAL, specializing in Arab-Jewish partnerships and international collaborations, ultimately helping to found the WeAreMENA network. A long-time resident of Sderot (Israel’s closest city to Gaza), George’s home was attacked on October 7, and he has become one of Sderot’s foremost voices on the international stage, presenting his story for parliaments, ambassadors, and groups from over a dozen countries. George serves as founder and co-director of our “Journey from Hate to Hope” program.

Program Manager at WeAreMENA. Previously an Israeli community emissary (Shlicha) for JAFI in Vancouver and a senior leader in NOAL, the Largest Jewish-Arab-Druze youth movement in Israel, Gal has extensive experience in operational management and educational programming. She specializes in working with teens and young adults, bringing years of expertise in designing impactful initiatives that empower the next generation of leaders.

Shadi is the Regional Partnerships Manager at WeAreMENA—an educator and partnerships-builder focused on connecting youth organisations across the Middle East and North Africa and mobilising resources for regional educational projects. He previously served as the Northern District Coordinator at NOAL (the Working and Studying Youth Movement) and later led the Arab society portfolio for “Shutafim” (Partners), a national youth and young-adult entrepreneurship program in Israel.

Einat is a strategic consultant specializing in developing partnerships between Israel, Morocco, and the MENA region. She was part of the founding team of Israel’s diplomatic mission in Rabat on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she led the economic and academic affairs. She later served as the advisor of the Ministry for Regional Cooperation of Israel, and advised numerous projects across the region. Einat is also an advocate for the power of cities and local authorities in promoting peace-building and regional integration and serves as a strategic consultant to Jewish, Arab, and Druze municipalities in the Haifa Bay Regional cluster in Israel. Einat is also a researcher at Mitvim Institute for Regional Foreign Policies of Israel, and the Forum for Regional Thinking. She is also a graduate of the Mandel Institute, the Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture and ISEF, the Israel Educational Foundation.

Salwa Abu Kashef is WeAreMENA’s Youth Relations Lead, building partnerships with youth organisations across the MENA region. In her most recent role, she founded Indimāj (اندماج – “integration”), a national Arab youth community in Israel. Previously, she spent over a decade with NOAL (the Working and Studying Youth Movement), including roles as Southern Region Director for Arab branches, Rahat branch lead, and coordinator of National Civil Service volunteer programs. She holds a B.A. in Health Systems Management and formal training in group facilitation and women’s leadership.