Washington DC, USA

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Founder and President
Cathy Bolinger, Vice President for Operations and Finance
Laura Kam, Senior Advisor
Meagan Shaina Buren, Research and Training Director
Jennifer Packer, Senior Adviser for Media
Deborah Adler, Develoment Manager
Brandon Gray , Web Advocacy Associate
Mitch Bard, Consultant

Jerusalem, Israel

Marcus Sheff, Executive Director
Eli Ovits, Communications Director
Leah Soibel, Senior Advisor for Research and Communications
Rachel Fishman, Project Coordinator
Miki Cohen, Consultant

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Founder and President

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi is the founder and president of The Israel Project (TIP), an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. TIP has offices in Washington and Jerusalem.

Mizrahi meets regularly with top Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Ambassador Sallai Meridor, author Natan Sharansky and many others. She also works frequently with pro-Israel organizations including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Jewish federations, Jewish community relations councils and Hillel organizations.

Mizrahi previously served as a foreign affairs legislative assistant to the U.S. Congress. She studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and has degrees in International Relations and Judaic Studies from Emory University. Her work earned her recognition as a "Point of Light" by President H. W. Bush. Mizrahi also has been honored with the Louis D. Brandeis Award by the Baltimore Zionist District. The Forward newspaper has twice listed Mizrahi in its "Forward 50" most influential Jews in America. Mizrahi was recently named to the March of the Living’s newly established advisory board.

Prior to starting The Israel Project, Mizrahi was the founder and president of Laszlo & Associates, Inc., a strategic communications and public policy company. Mizrahi has worked on projects with the White House, President Clinton, Vice President Gore and dozens of U.S. Senators. For six years Mizrahi published a weekly column on public policy in The Daily Record in North Carolina. Mizrahi has been interviewed on "One on One with John McLaughlin," CNN, CNBC, FOX, MSNBC and C-SPAN. She has been quoted in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Washington Times, Newsweek, The Economist, People and Investor's Business Daily. She also has been profiled in The Washington Post, Working Woman, the Jewish Times, Lifestyles and other publications.

Full Bio: [html] [pdf]

jenniferm@theisraelproject.org
202.857.6644

Cathy Bolinger, Vice President for Operations and Finance

Cathy Bolinger joined The Israel Project as chief operating and financial officer in 2005 following more than 20 years of experience in the non-profit and corporate sectors. Bolinger works behind the scenes, overseeing the day-to-day operations to ensure that every aspect of the organization - ranging from strategic business decisions and financial management to fundraising - runs smoothly.

Bolinger's service to the non-profit community includes serving as COO and CFO of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago for seven years and assistant treasurer and first CFO for the United Service Organizations (USO). In her position at the American Red Cross, Bolinger directed all business, planning, marketing and communications, support and strategic business operations for the second largest chapter of the organization. During her post at the USO, Bolinger directed all business and financial management activities for the organization's world headquarters and 31 overseas operations, operating on a $30 million annual budget.

In addition, Bolinger spent several years as executive vice president/chief operating officer of the Research Center for Government Financial Management in Washington, D.C. There, she played a vital role in expanding the organization's membership, programs and services and collaborated with CEOs and CFOs from more than 75 Fortune 100 and 500 companies, as well as senior executives from more than 20 federal government departments.

Bolinger is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Indiana University at South Bend and professional certifications from Harvard University and Northwestern University.

cathyb@theisraelproject.org
202.857.6697
 

Marcus Sheff, Executive Director, Israel Office

Marcus has been working as a media and communications professional in Israel for 20 years. He began as a political reporter for the The Nation and as an editor at The Jerusalem Post before setting up a marketing communications and PR company whose clients included government ministries, many of Israel's Top 20 companies and international publishers and advertising agencies. The company became the leader in its field. After selling the company, Marcus represented international publishers and media organizations in Israel and around the world.

As a reserve officer in the IDF Spokesperson Unit, Marcus was a prominent spokesperson for the IDF during all recent crises, also training senior IDF officers in media skills. Marcus has been interviewed on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, BBC World and domestic networks, IBA News (Israel TV) as well as dozens of other international TV and radio outlets. Marcus serves on the editorial board of “Engage”, an organization that challenges contemporary anti-Semitism and fights the academic boycott.

Marcus holds a BA (honors) degree in Political Studies from the University of Leeds, specializing in International Relations and Modern Jewish History.  As a student activist in the UK, held various positions in the student union movement.

marcuss@theisraelproject.org
011-972-(0)2-6236427

Laura Kam, Senior Advisor

As senior advisor for European affairs, Laura Kam supervises a highly talented multilingual team of experts working throughout Europe and the United States. Kam meets regularly with top politicians, diplomats and think-tanks across Europe, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States. A dynamic speaker and innovator, she is an expert on Israel-related issues and threats facing the nation. Kam and her team regularly distribute factual and newsworthy information to tens of thousands of reporters, experts and officials in English, French, German and Spanish. A consummate insider, Kam is well acquainted with key players in the Middle East and works to protect Israel as well as Jews in Europe. Results of her work can frequently be seen in top international media.
 
Prior to joining TIP, Kam worked for the Anti-Defamation League for 17 years, including as co-director of the ADL's Israel office, where she often met with leading Israeli and Middle East officials and policymakers. Kam was responsible for all areas of media relations for the League's Jerusalem office including developing and maintaining relations with the foreign and local media corps and serving as a liaison between the national headquarters and various Israeli government ministries and institutions. In addition, Kam was responsible for organizing missions that brought key U.S. and state legislators, law enforcement officials, journalists and others to Israel. Kam also was involved in carrying out several high-profile conferences on such topics as "The Psychology of Terror," "Hate on the Internet" and "The 2nd World Gathering of Children Hidden During the Holocaust."
 
Kam also has expertise on Iran, terrorism and teaching others about pro-Israel advocacy and worked as a press officer at the Israeli Consulate in New York. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, a masters degree in social work (community organization) from Yeshiva University's Wurzweiler School of Social Work and has completed all course work towards a doctorate in social welfare administration from the Hunter College School of Social Work.

laurak@theisraelproject.org
202.857.2761

Meagan Shaina Buren, Research and Training Director

Meagan Buren is The Israel Project's research and training director. As such, Buren is on the front lines of understanding and impacting public opinion about issues that affect Israel's security. Buren is responsible for managing TIP's consultant-led focus groups and polling in the United States, France, Germany, England, Spain and Russia. 

A dynamic speaker and trainer, Buren has conducted interactive training sessions on strategic communications and media for more than 1,000 Israel advocates, professionals and lay leaders who are key to impacting Israel's image. She is an expert on Israel and Iran and has trained top leaders to do media interviews on those topics.

A four-year veteran of The Israel Project, Buren was previously TIP's communications and outreach manager, running high-profile events for the community and media. These included rallies for more than 1,000 people at both the Republican and Democratic Conventions and the annual Ultimate Training Seminar for Pro-Israel Advocates. Buren has organized media events attended by outlets ranging from CNN and CBS to The New York Times, The Washington Post and the BBC.

Buren earned her master's degree from Georgetown University in communications, culture and technology; her thesis was entitled, "Spinning, Spending and Sponsoring: Efforts to Generate Anti-Israel and Pro-Palestinian Media Coverage and Public Opinion." She graduated from Ohio State University cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in arts and sciences for international studies focusing on the Middle East and a B.A. in humanities for Hebrew.

meaganb@theisraelproject.org
202.857.6671

Jennifer Packer, Senior Adviser for Media

Jennifer Packer, a seasoned former journalist, joined The Israel Project in January 2005 where she has been on the front lines helping reporters in the United States and abroad get the facts they need to cover Israel. During Israel's summer 2006 defensive war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, Packer was in northern Israel as missiles fell to help journalists from around the world see the destruction and devastation caused by the attacks from southern Lebanon. Packer was also in Gaza during Israel's disengagement from that region to disseminate facts to reporters and write about Israel's painful sacrifices for peace. Packer also helped begin The Israel Project's Jerusalem office.

In Washington, Packer heads TIP's content team, working closely with journalists to provide them sources and information about Israel. An expert on Israel, she also conducts research and writes press releases, fact sheets and other material about issues ranging from Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel's commitment to peace. Her work has been read by thousands of journalists worldwide. Packer also has organized and led dozens of press conferences and events in Washington, New York and beyond with top Israeli officials such as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman. Additionally, Packer serves as The Israel Project's in-house editor and twice has run the organization's summer Media Fellowship program.

Prior to joining The Israel Project, Packer worked as a senior editor for a Washington, D.C.-area counter-terrorism think-tank. Before that, she spent more than 10 years as a reporter, the last seven as a staff writer for The Dallas Morning News. Her journalism career also includes working as a Jerusalem-based freelance reporter for a dozen major U.S. newspapers, during which time she covered various aspects of the first intifada, the Israeli Cabinet and wrote numerous features stories about life in Israel. Packer also worked for the Jerusalem bureau of United Press International.

Packer, a San Francisco-Bay Area native, holds a B.A. in English and Spanish from U.C. Berkeley and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University. As an undergraduate, Packer worked as a freelance reporter for the Los Angeles Times in addition to serving as an editor and reporter for Berkeley's The Daily Californian. She also has written freelance articles for the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner.

jenniferp@theisraelproject.org
202.857.6657

Deborah Adler, Development Manager

Deborah Adler is responsible for planning and implementing high-profile events to help promote TIP's work. She also is a gifted public speaker who leads engaging and passionate presentations to highlight TIP's critical work and issues impacting Israel's survival.

Adler has devoted her life to the welfare of the Jewish community locally and around the world, striving to make a positive impact on the lives of all Jews no matter where they live. She has worked as a lay leader in Maryland for the past 12 years, promoting the importance of giving back to the Jewish community. She has created and chaired many events and has developed programs recognized for their innovation and adopted nationally.

Adler earned a B.S. in art and graphic design from the University of Maryland. Adler is a professionally trained calligrapher, and prior to joining The Israel Project she owned a calligraphy business for 24 years. Her clients included The White House, embassies, museums, universities, public relations firms and private clients. She is a member of boards and organizations including AIPAC, Acharai, the executive board of the Jewish Federation of Howard County and the steering committee for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults Gala with Lance Armstrong.

deboraha@theisraelproject.org
202-857-2760

Brandon Gray, Web Advocacy Associate, D.C. Office

Brandon Gray joined The Israel Project's team in July 2007 as a Development Associate.   In February 2008 Brandon transitioned to his current position. His primary responsibilities include the creation and maintenance of TIP's multimedia webpages.

Prior to joining The Israel Project, Gray worked for the sales and marketing department of iComply Incorporated, a division of Washington-based Lotstein Buckman, LLP, a mortgage banking law firm. Gray also spent two years with Kraft Foods in Richmond, Va., representing the company at almost 40 retail stores in Virginia and North Carolina, where he worked as part of a team that won awards for highest market share growth.

Gray graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2003 with a B.S. in consumer science; he minored in business administration. As an undergraduate, Gray was a delegate to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee campaign training institute in Washington, D.C. and was active in the University of Tennessee's Jewish student center. Gray has been to Israel numerous times and spent a summer there studying Hebrew and Israeli culture.

brandong@theisraelproject.org
202-857-6627

Eli Ovits, Communications Director, Israel Office

Eli Ovits, born in London, moved to Israel in 2003 and today lives in Jerusalem.

Eli’s career in public affairs began at the Embassy of Israel in London and as a Youth Director for the Jewish National Fund. In 2000 he was appointed National Director of Bnei Akiva youth movement and in 2001 Executive Director of Mizrachi Federation of Great Britain and Ireland.

Since moving to Israel, Eli completed Ulpan Etzion language school and was recruited by Investec Private Banking to cultivate client relationships in the individual and non-profit sectors. Eli also worked with the BBC Middle East Bureau during the 2006 general election campaign.

Eli joins The Israel Project from the prestigious global humanitarian organization - the Joint Distribution Committee. At JDC, Eli briefed high level delegations across Israel, Ethiopia, Great Britain and Ireland. An accomplished orator on Israel's social and security affairs, Eli was charged with devising a communications strategy for specific partners resulting in significant support for Israel.

Drafted into the Israel Defense Forces Spokespersons Unit in 2003, Eli managed relations with the British and Australian media. To date, as an Officer in the Reserves, Eli served as a Spokesman during the Disengagement and Second Lebanon War in which he was regularly interviewed by major news outlets including CNN and the BBC.

Eli has a Masters degree in International Relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem - having specialized in Diplomacy and National Security and is a graduate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Israel Advocacy Program. 

elio@theisraelproject.org
011-972-(0)2-6236427

Leah Soibel, Senior Advisor for Research and Communications, Israel Office

Leah Soibel, the daughter of an intelligence officer who was involved in the capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, works today to keep Israel secure. Soibel, who has served in intelligence, is a meticulous researcher with expert knowledge of cyber-terrorism/jihad and Arab/Islamic public diplomacy. She has conducted in-depth analyses of the connections among Iranian, Palestinian and Hezbollah terror Web sites used as platforms to wage sophisticated media campaigns and terrorist efforts against Israel and the United States.

At The Israel Project, Soibel conducts state-of-the-art research on the Iran-backed activities of terrorist groups including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. She also studies how Israel goes about working for peace. Her work is published regularly in The Israel Project's press releases, backgrounders and fact sheets read by thousands of journalists worldwide.

Soibel has put her life at risk more than once to get the facts to journalists. As the southern city of Sderot was under siege by Gaza-based Palestinian groups launching hundreds of Qassam rockets, Soibel was in Sderot bomb shelters sending out press releases and at the Gaza border providing information to the foreign press. During Israel's defensive war against Iran-backed Hezbollah, Soibel was on the front lines getting reporters the facts they needed to get the story right.

Soibel is a National Security Education Program Fellow and has traveled throughout the Arab world. In 2000-2001 she studied at the American University in Cairo's Arabic Language Institute. She earned a B.A. in Middle Eastern history and Judaic studies from Dickinson College and an M.A. from George Washington University in security policy studies, focusing on the Middle East. She is currently working towards her Ph.D. in political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, focusing on Arab public diplomacy campaigns.

Soibel is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew and Arabic and is currently learning Farsi.

leahs@theisraelproject.org
011-972-(0)2-6236427

Rachel Fishman, Project Coordinator, Israel Office

Rachel Fishman manages all events headed by The Israel Project's Jerusalem office, including press conferences featuring a wide variety of high-profile Israeli officials such as Ehud Olmert, Isaac Herzog and Miri Eisin. She also organizes large academic conferences - including two focusing on Iran - and exclusive press conferences highlighting senior-level security officials.

While Fishman primarily manages events for the foreign press stationed in Israel, the audiences also include ambassadors, diplomats and academics. Fishman's events consistently draw hundreds of people, including bureau chiefs from The New York Times, The Economist, TIME Magazine, Reuters and the BBC. She also coordinates guided helicopter tours for visiting and Israel-based journalists.

Fishman was especially influential during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, where she worked from Haifa to manage press briefings and bus tours of Katyusha-damaged sites for dozens of visiting journalists. She also regularly travels to Sderot to arrange media trainings and tours for journalists.

Fishman holds a B.A. in international relations and English literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Before joining The Israel Project, she worked for two-and-a-half years at The Jerusalem Post both in the editorial and advertising departments. She is a native Israeli and speaks fluent Hebrew and English.

rachelf@theisraelproject.org
011-972-(0)2-6236427

Dr. Mitchell G. Bard, Consultant

Dr. Mitchell G. Bard is the Executive Director of the nonprofit American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and a foreign policy analyst who lectures frequently on U.S.-Middle East policy. Bard is also the director of the Jewish Virtual Library, the world¹s most comprehensive online encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture. For three years he was the editor of the Near East Report, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) weekly newsletter on U.S. Middle East policy. Prior to working at AIPAC, Bard served as a senior analyst in the polling division of the 1988 Bush campaign.
 
Bard has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, CBC, the Jenny Jones Show, and other local and national television and radio outlets. His work has been published in academic journals, magazines and major newspapers. He is the author of 19 books including "The Water's Edge And Beyond: Defining the Limits to Domestic Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy," "Partners for Change: How U.S.-Israel Cooperation Can Benefit America," "Myths And Facts: A Concise Record of the Arab-Israeli Conflict"(coauthor), and "Will Israel Survive?" Bard holds a Ph.D. in political science from UCLA and a master's degree in public policy from UC Berkeley. He received his B.A. in economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

mgbard@aol.com
301-565-3918

Miki (Michael) Cohen, Consultant, Israel Office

Miki Cohen served as the Chief of Protocol for 10 years under Mayor Olmert for the Jerusalem Municipality. As Chief of Protocol for Jerusalem, Cohen was responsible for all the official events, ceremonies and official visits in Jerusalem. This includes many heads of State, Foreign Ministers, celebrities and the Pope.

In 2003, Cohen joined the Israel office of the United Jewish Communities and Federations of North America as the Director and Executive Producer of its Jerusalem General Assembly - an event attended by thousands of leaders from around the world. Miki Cohen has a Masters degree in political science from Hebrew University, worked for 14 years in El Al, served as the Director of the Zionist youth and student council in South Africa and directed a tourist company in Jerusalem.

Cohen is also a communal activist and was a Deputy Chairperson of Baaka Neighborhood community Administration. 

chmiki@zahav.net.il