Venture Philanthropy and Social Impact Investing in Israel

Join us for an interactive discussion about what it means to invest in Israel in 2017, and the differences between social impact investing and philanthropy. Hosted by YALA’s Finance professionals network, the panel will feature Avi Deutsch, CEO at LAVAN, a nonprofit organization focused on impact investing with Jewish values, Beth Sirull, President and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, and Sam Yebri, Cofounder and Board President of 30 Years After, a grassroots organization focused on Iranian-American Jews. Dan Gold, Vice-President of Israel Education and Advocacy at the Federation, will moderate.

All ticket sales cover the cost of goods or less, and tickets are non-refundable.

About the panelists

Avi Deutsch is Cofounder and CEO of LAVAN, a nonprofit organization training the next generation of Jewish leadership in impact investing. He is the former Business Development Manager at Boundless Impact Investing, a market intelligence platform for impact investors. Prior to that, he spent a year working at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda, building a safe and stable family environment for at-risk, orphaned youth. Avi has worked as a research analyst at the Bank of Israel and served as an officer in the Armored Corps of the Israel Defense Forces, commanding soldiers in training and combat. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is currently getting his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Sam Yebri is Partner at Merino Yebri LLP, a general practice business law firm in Los Angeles specializing in litigation, real estate, and employment law. An experienced litigator, Sam counsels a broad spectrum of media, technology, and real estate companies. Prior to founding Merino Yebri LLP, Sam served as a law clerk for federal judge Hon. A. Howard Matz, and worked at two national law firms, Jones Day and Proskauer Rose. In 2007, Sam co-founded 30 Years After, a grassroots civic organization that has engaged thousands of Iranian-American Jews in American civic and Jewish life. Sam currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Foundation, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, the Builders of Jewish Education, and ETTA. Sam has also held leadership positions with the Jewish Federation, AIPAC, Bend the Arc (formerly the Progressive Jewish Alliance), the Anti-Defamation League, and both USC and UCLA Hillel. He also leads a bipartisan pro-Israel political network and is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program. In October 2010, then Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed Sam to the Board of Civil Service Commissioners, a position he held until May 2014. In 2013, Sam served on the Transition Team and Gun Violence Prevention Task Force for Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer. At the age of one, Sam and his family fled Iran as refugees to the United States. He graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and received his law degree from the USC School of Law.

All ticket sales cover the cost of goods or less, and tickets are non-refundable.

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