Na’ama Shabtay has always taken a leading and central part in social activities—both in Israel and California since she moved to Silicon Valley. In her last job in Israel, managing Perach, a national program for social impact in the southern district, she was in charge of 3,600 university students, tutoring school children across the Negev and aiding them in their various academic subjects, such as language and math, in different study groups.

Na’ama held different positions in the organization. She started as a project coordinator, continued to manage the coordinators’ staff and directing the teaching division, and finished with her last position as the director of the southern district. In the past decade, Na’ama has been developing and leading various educational programs which cater to students’ emotional, social and academic needs, whether they are in preschool, school, a preparatory program, college or university, including students with special needs. In addition, she has initiated and managed broad cooperation between social organizations and authorities in different communities in the Negev.

Na’ama discovered her passion for education and social impact as a youth guide in the Bnei Hamoshavim movement. During her military service as a squad commander in Machva Alon (a unique military base for education and integration of special populations in the IDF), she taught Hebrew to new immigrants from different countries to Israel and facilitated their integration in the army and Israel. As an officer, she commanded courses in Zionism and Judaism to new immigrants and later on was sent as a delegate of the Jewish Agency to the former Soviet Union.

Volunteering in the community is a central value to Na’ama. She has trained teenagers in the leadership program Kav Hazinuk with the establishment of community projects; served as a board member in her home community; and upon her relocation to Silicon Valley, she volunteered in different programs at the Israel Community Center (ICC).

Na’ama has a BA in social work, majoring in social change in the community and an MBA, specializing in organizational behavior, from Ben-Gurion University, Israel. After relocating to California, she completed her studies as a parent specialist. Her affiliation to Israel and the culturally rich world of Judaism is strong; she also took part in the social leaders’ program of Kolot Beit Midrash.