Aharon Ariel Lavi
Aharon is a serial social entrepreneur and a well-established community development professional, who believes that networks are the key to shaping our reality in the upcoming generation. He is one of the founders and leaders of the Nettiot Mission-Driven Communities Network, reengaging Haredi ba'aley teshuva into Israeli society. He is also founder of Garin Shuva, a Jewish eco-mission-driven-community on the Gaza border, and co-founder and Director of Partnerships for the National Council of Mission-Driven Communities. As founder of the Hakhel project, Aharon is also involved in developing similar Jewish intentional communities in North America. He is also the founder and general director of several unique social businesses in Israel, among them Hitzim, a mobile JCC based in the Negev, and the Rakee'a Institute that develops groundbreaking curriculum for Haredi schools integrating Torah and secular studies. Aharon holds a B.A. in economics and an M.A. in history, philosophy and sociology of science, and is currently writing his Ph.D. in public policy. He is a fellow in several research institutions in Israel and the author of a book on Judaism and economics, as well as numerous articles. In 2013-14 Aharon was a Tikvah Fund fellow in New York. He lives with his wife Liat and their three children in Shuva.