CLI:

RABBI YONATAN GORDIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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VINITA CHAND, ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

ATHENA DAVIS, OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

BETH GLICK, PROGRAM DIRECTOR

ALIZA MAZOR, INSIGHT FELLOWSHIP CONSULTANT

ANN RASKIN, OPERATIONS MANAGER

YAEL TISCHLER, FELLOW

CLI - Israel:

NURIT GLYN, OFFICE MANAGER- ISRAEL

JUSTIN KORDA, DIRECTOR OF ISRAEL PROGRAMS

BETO MAYA, ROI PROGRAM MANAGER

CLI

RABBI YONATAN GORDIS

Yoni is the Executive Director at the Center for Leadership Initiatives. He is responsible for the strategic vision and implementation of CLI's various programs. While overseeing program design, Yoni maintains CLI's network of contacts with current and future leaders, assessing needs and working with the CLI team to determine methods of creating online and offline communities.

Prior to the launch of CLI, Yoni worked as a senior consultant to the CLSFF for eight years, primarily on the Foundation’s giving in the former Soviet Union. Yoni has served for the past ten years primarily as a consultant to philanthropic foundations in Israel and in North America, offering skills that maximized the donors’ impact and their engagement with the heart of their philanthropic efforts. Yoni has worked as a facilitator and strategist with numerous non-profit organizations, focusing on change management and facilitation of complex processes for organizations and their stakeholders.

Before consulting work, he was a founding member of the Elul Beit Midrash in Jerusalem and a teacher in numerous educational institutions throughout Israel. Yoni was born in the United States, lived in Israel for nearly twenty years, and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife and two daughters. A graduate of Columbia University, Yoni received private rabbinic ordination in Israel, has spent time as a midwife’s assistant, and is a teacher of Jewish text and creative writing, a translator of military history, and fan of live music.

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VINITA CHAND

Vinita joined the Centre for Leadership Initiatives in the position of Insight Fellowship Administrative Assistant. Vinita has an extensive background in administrative and financial management in the non-profit sector, including experience as an office manager, administrator, program and volunteer coordinator. Vinita began her career in the non-profit sector as a volunteer and staff member at Battered Women’s Support Services where she undertook specialized counseling training and provided phone and one-on-one counseling and facilitated support groups for abused women. Vinita’s interest in social justice and community development continued through positions she held at Positive Women’s Network and the Vancity Community Foundation. Vinita holds a BA in Psychology and Criminology.

Vinita was born in the Fiji Islands and immigrated to Vancouver at age 4 with her family in the 1970’s. She currently lives in Surrey with her husband and three children and enjoys long walks, reading and cooking for friends and family.

ATHENA DAVIS 

Athena is the Office Administrator for the Center for Leadership Initiatives. In this position she is responsible for providing overall administrative support for the organization, as well as financial management and some logistical arrangements for programs sponsored by CLI.

Athena has recently graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Legal Studies from Simon Fraser University. Some of her previous work was with the Canadian Federal Government through Health Canada where she ran the administration for a program dealing with mental health concerns for Indian Residential School Survivors and connecting them with appropriate care. She recently completed a practicum with the Immigration and Refugee Board which involved case management and some administrative work. Currently, Athena volunteers with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, for the Women’s Drop-in Centre which provides services to women who are homeless, coming from institutions, or struggling with addiction or mental illness.

Athena is a Vancouver native and enjoys baking, reading, walking, and spending time with friends and family.
 

BETH GLICK

Beth is the Program Director at the Center for Leadership Initiatives. She is responsible for the management, design and implementation of CLI’s leadership and professional development programs.

Prior to her work with CLI, Beth was Associate Director at Dasra, an India-based organization committed to maximizing social investments and building non-profit sector leaders across South Asia. Through coaching, group facilitation and training, she has guided organizations through strategy creation and implementation, organizational restructuring, staff recruitment and retention, leadership development, and impact evaluation design and application. She previously worked with Partners for Democratic Change, where she managed civil society and conflict resolution programs in Eastern Europe and Latin America, and partnered with its global affiliate organizations to strengthen their operations. Beth has also held positions with Amnesty International, Sarvodaya (Sri Lanka’s largest nongovernmental organization), and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston. She holds a Master’s degree in Religious Conflict and Conflict Resolution from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from the University of California, Berkeley.

Beth is a lifelong ballet dancer and has also dabbled in Bollywood, Indian classical, jazz and modern dance. A recent transplant to Vancouver, she loves the outdoors and is steadily improving her snowboarding skills. 
 

ALIZA MAZOR

Mazor is an independent organizational consultant specializing in non-profit start-ups and the social change sector. She currently serves as Program Director for Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas where consults to new non-profits on strategic planning, fundraising, program development, governance and management. Aliza has curricula in non-profit management for the Robin Hood Foundation and Joshua Venture: A Fellowship for Jewish Social Entrepreneurs. In addition, Aliza has provided organizational development assistance to organizations and philanthropies including American Jewish World Service, UJA Federation of New York, Working Films and the Mandel Leadership Institute.

Aliza holds an MSW from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She spent 15 years living and working in Israel and was an Associate Director of the New Israel Fund and its capacity building center for social change non-profits, SHATIL.

Aliza is mother to Yihun (age 2). They reside in New York City.

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ANN RASKIN

Ann is the Operations Manager at the Center for Leadership Initiatives. She is responsible for overseeing all internal operational functions. Previous to joining the CLI team, Ann worked as a Social Planner with the City of Vancouver. This work involved managing community dialogue processes, running a major grants pool, focusing on youth involvement in the city, and representing the city at national and international conferences and forums. She has held positions with the International Institute for Child Rights and Development and with the Concerned for Working Children. Currently, Ann volunteers with the Minerva Foundation and previously sat as their Co-Chair for the Learning to Lead program. Ann graduated in 1999 from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor’s degree in International Development Studies, and in 2003, completed a Masters in Planning from the University of British Columbia, School of Community and Regional Planning. Ann was raised in Halifax where she was an active member of the Jewish community, serving as assistant director of a Jewish summer camp and as a Birthright Israel madricha. Ann enjoys most things that keep her physically active. She is also an avid downhill mountain biker, snowboarder, rock climber, and open water swimmer.

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YAEL TISCHLER

Yael is the Fellow at the Center for Leadership Initiatives Vancouver office where she focuses on programming for younger generation leaders. Last year, Yael participated in AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps in New York City. She worked at Project Renewal’s Next Step Program as an employment and educational counselor for homeless and formerly homeless adults.  In 2007, Yael graduated from List College, the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). She received a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Columbia and a Bachelor’s Degree in Bible from JTS. During her time at List, Yael was an active member of Nightline, Columbia’s peer-counseling hotline, played forward for the Columbia women’s ice hockey team and performed the role of Mrs. MacAffee in JTS’s Hebrew production of Bye, Bye Birdie. She also ventured to Nicaragua and Thailand with American Jewish World Service, where she worked alongside other Jewish college students and local community members on grassroots sustainable development projects. 

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CLI - Israel

NURIT GLYN

Nurit Glyn is the Office Manager for the Center for Leadership Initiatives branch in Israel. In this capacity, she is responsible for the administrative and financial management of CLI office in Israel.

During her Israeli national service, Nurit operated a pedagogical library in Tel Aviv while studying Journalism. Upon completion of her service, Nurit spent three years at Manchester University studying for her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. In Manchester, Nurit worked in a local Jewish Community Center in the Aliyah Department. 

After returning to Israel, Nurit worked as an Israeli Tour Operator and became an assistant to a Plastic Surgeon for hair transplants surgeries. Prior to joining the CLI team, Nurit worked as the Head of the Human Resources Department for a Maximum Global Development Company that is associated with IDT. She is currently pursuing additional studies in Human Resource Management at Bar Ilan University. 

Nurit is married and mother of two children. 

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JUSTIN KORDA

Justin is the Director of Israel Programs at CLI. He is responsible for design, planning, and implementation of CLI programs in Israel and Europe. Prior to joining CLI, Justin was the Managing Director and one of the creators of the ROI program.

Justin was raised in Montreal and was an active volunteer in the local Jewish community. While earning a BA at McGill University, Justin spent most of his time on various grass-roots student initiatives such as the Wake-Up Tour and Dateline: Middle East. In 2000, Justin joined the staff of the first Taglit-birthright israel program in Canada and served as the first Post-Program Coordinator in North America. In the following years Justin held several positions managing the national implementation of Taglit-birthright israel at the Canada Israel Experience (UIAFC) based in Toronto.

Since moving to Israel in 2004, Justin completed an MBA from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and worked as a Marketing Analyst in the Financial Services industry. Justin currently lives in a Moshav on the outskirts of Jerusalem with Yael, Noam and Buzz (wife, son, dog).

BETO MAYA

Beto Maya is the Program Manager for ROI. In this position, he is responsible for summit selection, programming, regional gatherings, grant pooling and more.

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