Our team
Team USA
President
Dr. Daniel Mahgerefteh
Daniel Mahgerefteh is President and co-founder of Minds of Peace. Daniel coined the name ‘Minds of Peace’ and is the designer of the organization’s LOGO, which signifies peace emerging from the middle of an assembly. Daniel has also provided seed funding for the organization since its inception. Daniel has successfully brought Israeli-Palestinian public negotiating assemblies, called Minds of Peace Experiments, to highly divided Israeli-Palestinian communities in Los Angeles and Irvine, as well as in Beit Jala. Before founding Minds of Peace, Daniel was the founder and CTO of Azna LLC, a successful start-up in the telecommunications area in Boston, MA. Daniel brings his experience in a fast paced, goal oriented technology company to the ambitious undertaking of the social grass-roots organization; Minds of Peace. Daniel has over 50 issued patents and numerous publications. Daniel has a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Southern California.
Treasury
Ronnie Y. Fredman
Ronnie Y. Fredman is the secretary, treasurer and co-founder of Minds of Peace. Ronnie recruited the legal and accounting services to establish Minds of Peace in 2009 and to obtain 501C3 non-profit status in 2009 and continues to maintain rigorous accounting practice on the organization’s finances. Ronnie was the founder of ‘Through A Child’s Eyes,’ a non-profit organization that used discontinued furniture to generate charitable dollars for disadvantaged children throughout the United States. Ronnie has served on the boards of directors of Bais Abraham Congregation and Epstein Hebrew Academy. He is formerly the Chairman of the development committee of Epstein board. Ronnie is on the board of directors of Fredman Bros Furniture Corporation, and the Executive Vice President of Glideaway.
Member of the Board
Hannan Lis
Hannan Lis is member of the board of directors and a major contributor to Minds of Peace. He is the Principal and Chief Operating Officer of The WW Group, Inc., Weight Watcher’s largest franchise group. Hannan is also serving as Chairman HBR Labs LLC, Chairman, The Yoga Shelter International, Founder and President of Lis Ventures LLC, Chairman, Estrakon Corporation, and board member InfoAlly Corporation. Hannan has a long history of community activism and philanthropy both in Israel and in the United States. He is board member of Detroit Public Television, President of Detroit Region, American Technion Society, Vice Chairman, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital Campaign, Member, American Jewish Committee National Board of Governors, Co-president, MOPAC, Board of Governors Member, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Hannan has held leadership positions in a number of other non-profit organizations; serving as Midwest President, Jewish National Fund, Executive Committee Chairman, Jewish Community Centers of Metropolitan Detroit, President of Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit, National Board Member and JNF National Board of Directors, among others.
Associate Partner
Mazen Badra
Mazen Badra is Associate Partner and principal Palestinian moderator of Minds of Peace since its founding in 2009. Mazen has successfully moderated Israeli-Palestinian public peace assemblies, called Minds of Peace Experiments, in a number of bilateral divided communities in Saint Louis, Irvine, Los Angeles, and Detroit, in the United States and in Windsor Canada. In addition to moderating Minds of Peace Experiments, Mazen is responsible for organizing the participating Palestinian negotiators from expatriate communities, and training associate moderators. Mazen has been a peace activist since 1988, promoting non-violence, and dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis, first in Bethlehem, and later in expatriate communities in the United States. Mazen is the co-founder of The Children of Abraham, a non-profit organization dedicated to bring about understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. Since 2002, Mazen has managed several projects in World Bank, UN, etc. Mazen is a professor and Chair of Business Administration and Health care Administration in Sanford-Brown college in Fenton-Missouri.
US Projects Coordinator
Natany Pick
Owner & c.o. of the Third Ear (“Haozen hashlishit”) – a well-known brand in music and film.
Miki is an entrepreneur and a partner in several start-ups.
Studied and taught Economics and Philosophy at Tel Aviv University.
Former owner of record stores in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Lives in Tel-Aviv.
For the past two years, he is a peace-activist in Minds of Peace as he believes in resolving the conflict through dialogue between equals.
