Dr. Aliza Inbal founded and currently leads the Pears Program for Global Innovation which collaborates with the Israeli government, private and entrepreneurial sectors to develop policies and programs to transform Israel into an important source of innovation targeting development challenges. One of Israel’s top experts in  innovation ecosystems for inclusive innovation,  she has been responsible for the design and launch of several innovative Israeli government programs to support Israeli technology innovation for development, including Grand Challenges Israel, the Global Innovation Bridge and the Adaptation Fund for proven technologies entering emerging markets. 

For her impact on Israel’s approach to inclusive technology innovation, she was chosen in 2012 by an Israeli national newspaper as one of the 100 most influential Jews in the world. Prior to this, she was a Senior Evaluation Officer at the World Bank, where she led large evaluation studies.

What does “Do No Harm” mean to you?

“Doing no harm, for me, means having the humility to realize that good intentions do not always lead to good results and the understanding that even efforts that achieve their stated aims may have harmful unintended consequences. I do evaluation for the World Bank. It is one of the best resourced and most powerful development organizations in the world, with one of the most extensive evaluation departments. Every project the World Bank does, it analyzes in great detail to see what went well, what went wrong and why. As an evaluator, I feel that it is my job to speak truth to power – to go beyond the self-assessments of project managers to hear from the people who were supposed to benefit from the aid and how it truly impacted their lives. And of course, when you stop to listen, and you do what you can to make sure that people feel comfortable sharing with you their thoughts, you invariably learn how difficult it is to do good and avoid harm.”

Named one of “Pittsburgh’s 40 under 40” in 2012 and a “Rising Education Leader” in 2017 – Brandon has nearly 20 years of experience in the nonprofit, service-learning, and international education sectors. In his work as Executive Director of Amizade, Brandon has organized over 700 global service-learning programs, overseeing life-changing global experiences for nearly 10,000 students, and spearheading sector-changing innovations like The Global Switchboard and the concept of Fair Trade Learning.

In addition to his work with Amizade, Blache-Cohen was a US delegate to the One Young World Summit in Zurich, Switzerland in 2011, has published several articles on responsible global service-learning in peer-reviewed journals, has sat on a planning committee for the Pittsburgh Holocaust Center, and was the President of the Pennsylvania Council on International Education (PACIE).

What does “Do No Harm” mean to you? 

“’Do no harm’ is the bare minimum I can do as a positive steward of global engagement and social action. It means ensuring that as we serve others, we do so in a way that adheres to community-driven development, rather than outsider-driven development. “Do no harm” means being transparent about the realistic potential and possibilities for creating more joy and justice in the world, rather than selling false hope or even worse. Finally, it means that we are guided not by profit, but by empathy, shared experience, and global solidarity.”

Lilach Shafir is the Director of International Education and Jewish Engagement at American Jewish World Service, where she harnesses the political power of rabbis and other Jewish leaders to advance AJWS’s mission of promoting human rights in the developing world. Her team is responsible for implementing the Global Justice Fellowship and engaging the leadership of the American Jewish community to join AJWS’s human rights campaigns.

Lilach has spent more than five years living overseas, including three consecutive years in East Timor as a leadership trainer and one year in Israel as a Dorot fellow.

Lilach has led groups of North Americans on international education programs in Latin America, Asia and Africa. She holds a master’s in international education from Stanford and a bachelor’s in international studies and Latin America.

Lilach is an advanced speaker of Spanish, Portuguese, Tetun and Hebrew.

What does “Do No Harm” mean to you? 

“Do no harm means pausing and considering the potential harm we could do with work that has inherent power dynamics and centuries of systems of oppression already built. We must take steps to mitigate those harms, or we risk exacerbating them. While we are headquartered in and fundraise from the Global North, we need to constantly consider our impacts on the Global South and especially how we can center the voices of those with whom we work, in everything we do.”

Mickey Noam-Alon is a humanitarian communications advisor with ten years of extensive field experience in more than 30 delegations, both on emergency and long-term development programs. A former Communication Director at IsraAID, a Photographer and a Team Leader. He believes that representing communities with dignity and respect is crucial in creating any responsible and sustainable impact. 

What does “Do No Harm” mean to you? 

“”Doing less harm” is about understanding our limitations and blind spots in trying to do good, the power we take and hold, and how responsible, respectful, and accountable we should be in our actions. Constantly questioning our own inherent perspectives and assumptions, learning, and improving.”

Ophelie has been studying and working in the fields of diplomacy, international development and humanitarian action for the past 13 years. Her areas of interest and expertise include:

Institutional development in post-conflict settings, Humanitarian-development continuum, Gender mainstreaming, Gender-Based Violence and social norms, Community resilience in fragile and complex environments, Humanitarian innovation.

Ophelie has 4+ years of experience at the United Nations Headquarters, combined with 8 years of field experience in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa – including 5+ years in South Sudan, where she established and managed IsraAID’s office and operations as South Sudan Country Director.

In 2019, Ophelie established an innovative advisory company, Mindset-PCS, which offers people-centered solutions to organizations and companies seeking to bolster their work and social impact in international development, humanitarian and peacebuilding settings. Through her work, Ophelie seeks to develop a global community of humanitarian and development best practices that place communities at the center of our work!

What does “Do No Harm” mean to you? 

“We’ve all learned that our activities as humanitarian and development practitioners should not create harms in the communities where we work, meaning should not either exacerbate existing harmful dynamics or create new ones. However, we still witness too many activities that disrupt the social, economic, environmental dynamics in the communities where we work. (…) One of the core best practice and mitigation strategy to “Do No Harm” or to “Do Less Harm” is precisely meaningful and effective community engagement.”

Einav Levy is the Founding Director of The Israeli School of Humanitarian Action and Lucien Research center for Humanitarian Action. He is a manager and entrepreneur with a profound experience in the interface between the Non-Profit sector and the business,  governmental, social and academic sectors, and expertise in Humanitarian Action. Einav was a COO in an organization, which promote development in Africa, a CEO of NGO dealing with International Humanitarian Action, and is a founding member of SID-ISRAEL (Society of International Development) and a member of its first board. Currently, Einav is a director at NALA Foundation Board. He led Humanitarian and social missions in countries such as Jordan, Haiti, Serbia, Zambia, Greece and Uganda.

Einav is a consultant of few Israeli Ministries (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Social equality) on the topics of managing people in emergencies, systems on crisis and community resilience. Einav serves as a member and the coordinator in the national committee for the strategic planning of the rehabilitation of senior citizens following the Covid-19 pandemic.

What does “Do No Harm” mean to you?

“The main thing in “Do No Harm” concept is acknowledging the fact that we will do harm – to someone, at some point, somehow. And sometimes, avoidance of doing something is the less harmful thing to do. Besides following the law, the ethics, the standards, and tools we are given, there is a constant need to criticize ourselves, and to keep in mind that the optimal light we should follow is that of human dignity.“

Matthew has more than 25 years of multi-sector program management experience, including work for global government, non-profit, and private sector organizations. He has spent more than 10 years advancing youth economic opportunities, and is especially passionate about the power of youth and sport to drive social change.

Matthew currently serves as Africa Regional Director, providing technical and operational oversight of a $30M program portfolio, and as a member of IYF’s Senior Management Team. He is also Co-Chair for the Society for International Development’s Youth in Development workgroup.

Past leadership positions include Director for Africa programs at Chemonics International; Director of Civic Engagement at Citizen Schools; Cape Verde Country Director for Peace Corps; and Angola Country Representative for Catholic Relief Services.

Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in American Studies from Brandeis University and a Master of Arts in International Relations with concentrations in International Economics and Social Change and Development from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Matthew is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) from Guinea-Bissau and has worked in more than 25 countries. He speaks French, Portuguese, and Cape Verdean/Guinean Creole and is proficient in Spanish.

What does “Do No Harm” mean to you?

“To me, “Do No Harm” means taking action to address a particular social issue, while trying to maximize positive impacts and reduce potential negative impacts on direct and indirect recipients and actors of a particular intervention. This requires engaging the ecosystem of actors and key stakeholders in the design of a particular intervention, for consensus on a common vision, goals, objectives and activities of the initiative. Building credibility and trust through this process will enable all key actors and stakeholders to better understand each other’s incentives and disincentives to avoid doing harm.”

Andrew Carmona is an international development practitioner with over 12 years of experience managing and evaluating projects throughout the world. He has worked in a variety of sectors from health, water and sanitation, and agriculture to education, disaster response, and governance. Andrew’s work has taken him to 51 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

In his current role as a Senior Program Manager at Social Impact, Inc. in Washington, DC, Andrew evaluates US-government foreign aid programs, utilizing statistical methodologies to design the evaluations as well as carry out large-scale data collection to answer key questions about the effectiveness of development assistance.

Previously, Andrew worked for Abt Associates, Inc. where he managed health sector projects that sought to strengthen HIV/AIDS and family planning services in the developing world. In 2010, after the Haiti earthquake, Andrew worked for the American Red Cross, managing their databases to track and monitor the $500 million response to the natural disaster.

As part of his professional career, Andrew lived abroad in Spain, India, and East Timor. He holds a Master of Development Practice from Columbia University, a BA in International Studies from UC San Diego, and speaks Spanish and French. Originally from Los Angeles, he is currently based in Washington, DC.