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
Daphna Smolka
Daphna hes a Multidiscipline approach to understanding current organizational needs and synthesizing information to best position forward growth and development to satisfy all stakeholders. Experience in service industry with emphasis on customer contentment and human resource development. Extensive International travel and work experience demonstrates flexibility and adaptability. Public speaking presentations to medical and academic audiences. Daphne Smolka is an Investor Relationship Manager for SunCap, a Real Estate Investment company. In addition, she is a rare disease advocate and speaker on behalf of the International Pemphigus & Pemphigoid Foundation. Other volunteer activities include The Brain Bowl, raising funding and awareness for Alzheimers, Dementia & Parkinson diseases. Board member of the Neon Museum of Saint Louis, and Pandora’s Kids. Daphne is a widow, and mother of two. Her family has personally experienced the benefits of Pandora’s Kids.
Member of the Board
Ronnie Y. Frredman
Member of the Board
Hanan Lis
Hanan Lis is a Board Member and a key contributor to Minds of Peace. He serves as the Director and Chief Operating Officer of The WW Group, Inc., the largest Weight Watchers franchise group. Hanan also holds positions as Chairman of HBR Labs LLC, Chairman of The Yoga Shelter International, Founder and President of Lis Ventures LLC, Chairman of Estrakon Corporation, and Board Member of InfoAlly Corporation.
Hanan has a long history of community activism and philanthropy in both Israel and the United States. His extensive involvement includes serving as a Board Member for Detroit Public Television, President of the Detroit Area for the American Technion Society, Vice Chairman for the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital Campaign, member of the National Board of Governors for the American Jewish Committee, Co-President of MOPAC, and member of the Board of Governors for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Furthermore, Hanan has held leadership roles in numerous other non-profit organizations, including President of the Midwest for the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael), Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Jewish Community Centers of Metropolitan Detroit, President of the Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit, and member of both the National Board of Directors and the National Board of Trustees for the JNF, among
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.
