ARIK BUKATMAN – Chair
Arik is a lawyer in private practice, However he has chosen to devote his practice to representing children and youth on contract with the public defender's office. He has volunteered as a lawyer in out Jerusalem office legal clinic for 12 years. In this context he has provided legal information and advice to storefront users one a month. He has been a member of our Jerusalem branch steering committee for 7 years and a national board member for 5 years.  

JACQUELINE BARUCH – Secretary
Despite the demand of caring for her family of 5, including a daughter who is 100% disabled, Mrs. Baruch has worked with our organization since 1993. She is a founding member of the organization and has served on the Beersheva Steering Committee for 14 years. During that time she has also served on our National Board and has held the position of Chief Voluntary Officer for a year. A leader and model of commitment and initiative in the community, Jacqueline is also a founding member of our Community Food Co-op in Beersheva.

RIVKA NACHMANI – Treasurer
Rivka is trained as a bookkeeper and has worked over the years for the Israeli Commerce Association and for several private firms. Rivka became involved in our organization in 1997 when she joined the struggle of Public Housing tenants to guarantee their rights. As owning a home in Israel is one of the clear defining factors between remaining in poverty and breaking the cycle of poverty, this struggle- which enabled Rivka to become a homeowner, changed her life. She has remained active in our organization, currently chairing the Jerusalem branch steering committee. She has been treasurer for the past three years.  

ETTIE ALONI
Ettie is a homecare worker for populations with special needs. She is a member of a community lobby group operating within our Beersheva branch call itself H.E.T.Z., which is an acronym for A Just Society. During the past two years this group has been actively advocating for the inclusion of dental care in the National Health Care Law. In this context she has helped research the issue, been involved in a petition campaign and participated in meeting with the Israeli dental association. She is part of the group helping our staff lawyer to draft the law. She has been a member of our Beersheva branch steering committee for 5 years and a national board member for 3 years.

DR. RONI KAUFMAN
Dr. Kaufman is an Associate Professor at the Ben Gurion University School of Social Work, specializing in Community Work. His commitment is to student involvement in social action in the community. He teaches a research action seminar which each year takes on a different issue with the goal of placing the issue on the public agenda by collecting both hard data and experiential data from the people who are impacted by the issue. For the past two years, he was involved with the issue of food insecurity and Food Programs for School Children. Currently he has taken on the issue of worker's rights, with particular focus on social workers who are employed by personnel companies rather than by the public bodies they actually work for – which means that they do not receive workers benefits and security. He has been a member of our Beersheva steering committee for 6 years and a national board member for 5 years.  

SABRINA SOPHER
Sabrina was elected to the Board in 2007. She is a founding member of the Kiryat Gat food cooperative and has been on the steering committee for three years. Sabrina worked with WIZO in Kiryat Gat and is now retired and volunteering at WIZO as well as at Community Advocacy.  

MANYA SHAPIRA
A new immigrant from the FSU – Manya was trained as an Economist but as many new immigrants over the age of 50, she has not been able to find employment. She has volunteered in our storefront advocacy center in Beersheva for 8 years first as a translator and later as a rights counselor. She has been a member of our Beersheva steering committee for 4 years and a national board member for 2 years.