sivan borowich ya'ari is the founder and president of jewish heart for africa. born in israel and raised in nice, france, sivan traces her roots back to the african continent where her father was born in algeria and her mother in tunisia. sivan first traveled to africa as part of her work for a multinational clothing company, verifying compliance issues in the company's african manufacturing facilities. sivan was immediately moved by the pervasive poverty she witnessed and began to look for ways to transform and improve the lives of african people. following a brief stint as a mortgage banker, sivan joined the united nations development program (UNDP) and developed the groundwork for what would become jewish heart for africa. sivan graduated summa cum laude with a degree in finance from pace university and holds a master's degree in international energy management and policy from columbia university's school of international and public affairs.
while studying art and literature at new york university, rachel took some time to study and teach in west africa, where she founded a small non-profit for street children. after graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in individualized study, she decided not to get her PhD. as planned, and traveled the world instead, before returning to her native new york and joining the jewish heart for africa team. rachel has worked with various non-profits promoting the arts, education, and human rights. she speaks hebrew and spanish, has taught english on three continents and has traveled to over 30 countries.
calia talmor began working in the developing world as an undergraduate, studying and living for six months in south africa doing wildlife research. after graduating from cornell university with a degree in natural resources, calia worked as a program coordinator for americorps VISTA, while freelancing as a knitting instructor. calia welcomed the opportunity to return to her environmental work in africa by joining the jewish heart for africa team. she has studied seven languages, including swahili and zulu, and has spent time living in europe, africa and australia.
robert khakhosi was born and raised in mbale, uganda. after studying sustainable agriculture in KULIKA charitable trust, robert worked as an agriculture extension worker with heifer international and as an agricultural trainer with world vision international. robert has also volunteered as a community health worker with the abayudaya congregation and foundation for development of the needy communities in mbale, uganda. robert speaks fluent english and kiswahili as well as eight bantu languages.
