Smadar Bar Akiva

Tel Aviv, Israel

Since 2002, Smadar Bar-Akiva is the Executive Director of JCC Global, a network that represents more than 1000 Jewish Community Centers worldwide and is a preeminent organization in Jewish Peoplehood education. In this capacity, she initiates, designs and implements global Jewish leadership programs, global partnerships and the facilitation of the professional and volunteer network of JCCs the world over.

Prior to that, Smadar worked for JCC Association of North America and also served as a Jewish Agency Community Shilcha (esmissary) at the Columbus Jewish Federation, Ohio. As a university student, she was a Jewish summer camp specialist in North America, South Africa and the former Yugoslavia.

Smadar holds an M.A. degree (with honors) in Contemporary and a B.A. (with honors) in International Relations and English Literature from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She is a graduate of “Kolot” Pluralistic Beit Midrash, a two-year mentorship at the Mandel Leadership Institute and a course in “Strategic Management for Leaders of Non-Governmental Organizations” at the Harvard Kennedy School. Smadar is currently studying to become a Life Coach at Tel Aviv University. In her spare time, she volunteers as a mentor for an Israeli NGO and serves on the steering committee of a new local JCC. Among her hobbies are music, sports and creative writing.

She resides in Tel Aviv and is the mother of Noam and Hadar.