On June 7, 2022, eleven AFHU LEAD participants made their-long awaited trip to Israel. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, members of Cohort I have become a true team, ready to tackle the leadership challenges ahead. These future leaders have become enthusiastic supporters of AFHU and its mission of support for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Participants began their visit with a dinner including Hebrew University of Jerusalem President Asher Cohen; Hebrew University Vice President and Director General, Yishai Fraenkel; and Isaiah (Shy) Arkin, CEO & Founder of ViroBlock, professor of Biological Chemistry at HU, and former Vice-President for Research and Development. The event was typical of evenings to come, where HU leadership visited LEAD participants, offering greetings from the university and getting to know AFHU’s future leaders.

During their trip, LEAD members visited each HU campus, starting with Mt. Scopus, where they met a delegation of Student Diversity Ambassadors, visited international development students in the GLOCAL program, and learned about the assistance offered by Faculty of Law students as a part of the Clinical Legal Education Center (CLEC).

At the Safra campus, the LEAD team met Prof. Naomi Habib of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC) and learned of her research into aging related pathologies. Participants later engaged in Start-Up Speed Dating, where entrepreneurs from ASPER—HUJI Innovate described their businesses and sought feedback from the group.

The LEAD team’s visit to HU’s Smith Faculty of Agriculture campus included a stop at the Bravdo winery as well as an introduction to the research of bees, farming, and more.. The day after their visit to Rehovot, they enjoyed a special event with Hebrew University alumni and food-tech start-ups, held at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.

The week featured further meetings with program leaders, including an introduction to Alon Granot, commander of Talpiot, the HU/IDF elite training program, an opportunity to visit the university’s Institute of Archeology, as well as a meeting with Professor Yossi Tam at the Multidisciplinary Center for Cannabinoid Research.

In addition to learning about the first-rate educational opportunities and world-class research found at HU, the schedule included sightseeing and the LEAD team found time to enjoy Jerusalem nightlife. Participants experienced a graduation ceremony held during the AFHU Leadership Dinner, an occasion that capped their experience as Cohort I of the AFHU LEAD program.

Over the duration of the program, the members of Cohort I developed into a cohesive team, fast friends who have come to realize that their graduation ceremony was not the end of a program, but the beginning of a future committed to AFHU, HU, and Israel.

With Cohort I completed, nominations for AFHU LEAD Cohort II are now open. If you have the following qualifications (or know someone who does):

  • The drive and capacity to assume a leadership position,
  • A willingness to be a change agent, driven to do well by doing good,
  • Are between 30-50 years of age
  • Have a commitment to and interest in Israel, innovation, and global solutions that will change the world, and
  • Are willing to spend time on designated LEAD activities, including three U.S.-based seminars and a week-long group trip to Israel to visit the Hebrew University,

Please consider applying or nominating a friend!

Cohort II applications are due by August 31, 2022. and programming is scheduled to begin this winter. AFHU LEAD is chaired by Julie Leizman, a LEAD Cohort I graduate. To learn more about AFHU LEAD, visit https://www.afhu.org/nextgeneration/. If you would like to support the program with a financial contribution, please contact Laura Abrams, Leadership Development Director at [email protected]