The Mandel Foundation–Israel is pleased to announce the appointment of Efrat Aran as the director of the Mandel School for Educational leadership, the Foundation’s flagship program, which is now training its 30th cohort of visionary leaders for Israel’s education system.
Before joining Mandel, Efrat was the deputy executive director and vice president of content and development of Aluma, a non-profit organization, which encourages young adults to play productive, influential roles in Israeli society, while maintaining their own, unique identities, values, and ways of life. In this capacity, she developed and led programs and processes designed to reduce educational-social gaps and to increase the social mobility of young people in Israeli society. These initiatives were conducted in partnership with the central and local government and with other organizations and foundations.
Efrat holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and management from Tel Aviv University, and a master's degree in business administration from the Kellogg-Recanati Executive MBA Program at Tel Aviv University. She worked at Intel, both in Israel and abroad, for 17 years, beginning as an industrial engineer and then holding a variety of senior managerial positions in strategic thinking, policy making, and business development. Efrat managed corporate-wide planning processes and long-range capacity planning, and in her last position at Intel was the manager of the manufacturing engineering department.
In 2012, Efrat embarked on a two-year educational journey as a fellow at the Mandel School for Educational Leadership, where she developed a vision of working toward the creation of a just society in Israel that provides equal opportunities for all, as expressed in social mobility for individuals from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Following her graduation from Cohort 21 of the School, Efrat was the head of the social mobility program of the Rashi Foundation, where she worked on educational projects and promoted policy issues.
“As a graduate of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership myself, I feel that it is both an honor and a duty to lead the School to the next stage,” says Efrat about her new position. “Given the School’s long legacy and its many graduates in the field, it is well-positioned to continue increasing its impact on education and society across Israel. I am excited that we are in the process of renewing the program so that it remains both deep and relevant for future fellows, and that the revitalized Mandel Graduate Unit will be accompanying our fellows when they are back in the field. I am committed to doing my best so that the Mandel School, and the Mandel Foundation at large, will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to enable Israeli society to cope with current and future challenges via educational leadership.”
