Staff
Asher Elias, Executive Director – holds a degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the Administration College of Jerusalem, and a degree in Computer Program Engineering from Sela University. He has worked with the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews’ COPE Center and the IAEJ. In 2001 Asher also published the first novel by a member of the Ethiopian community: "Ethiopian in Your Backyard," which explores the difficult and often tragic experiences of Ethiopian youth in Israeli society.
“In the many years I was working in the Ethiopian community I came to understand that there are a lot of projects, but that most do not bring about a true change. However, I believe that if you pay attention to the details and do simple things different, you can change a lot. Tech-Careers is a small organization directly connected to the community. Working without a large administration allows us to be flexible and creative. And this brings the best results, as we answer the needs in the community in an innovative way.”

Sharon Winer, Administrative Director – holds a B.A. in Criminology from Bar Ilan University. Originally from Sweden, Sharon has worked for the past three years for the New Israel Fund in the Donor Relations Department and as assistant to Dorit Karlin, V.P. of the NIF.
“I have worked with different projects in the field of social change. However, most of it was administrative and I rarely saw the real every day life of the organizations. With Tech-Careers I started in a new direction, working with people, and being directly involved in their development. Seeing the personal progress of the students illustrates again and again the extreme importance of this project.”

Itay Moav, Teacher – holds a degree in computer studies and biology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He worked as a developer for Amdocs International for three years and as a freelance computer programmer for three years. During this period he also worked with youth programs in the Israeli Society for the Preservation of Nature, working with street kids in the Ethiopian community in Mazkeret Batya.
“The work with Tech-Careers gives me much personal satisfaction, because I am working for a different aim than just earning money. The work here is meaningful; if my students succeed I know I did something important with my time. The work is sometimes more challenging than working in High Tech, because here I am working with people. In the same time it is always more rewarding than working alone with a computer.”

Daphna

Friederike Schwarzer, Resource Developer – holds a M.A. in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Friederike has been working on resource and organizational development with various social change organizations in Israel, the Netherlands and Germany.
“Tech-Careers is very real. The work is making a genuine difference in the lives of the students (and the staff). Seeing these changes of the individuals and their place in society is encouraging and gives hope that also a larger societal change is possible.”