Our Team
Ygdal Ach
CEO & founder | Y.A. Maof Holdings & Management
Ygdal’s managerial and entrepreneurial experience in the environment field in Israel spans over 20 years as he founded Y.A. Maof Holdings & Management, a multinational project company that transforms academic and technological knowledge into profitable and sustainable solutions in the environmental fields – waste, water and renewable energies.
Ygdal Ach
President & CEO
Ygdal’s managerial and entrepreneurial experience in the environment field in Israel spans over 20 years as he founded Y.A. Maof Holdings & Management, a multinational project company that transforms academic and technological knowledge into profitable and sustainable solutions in the environmental fields – waste, water and renewable energies.
Jose Maria del Corral
President of the Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes,
The Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes
Theologian and Pedagogue, José María del Corral is currently the World Director of Scholas Occurrentes appointed by Pope Francis, with whom he has worked for more than twenty years. Passionate about Education, he was the founder of the Neighborhood School. Jose Maria carried out the educational mission, of turning the values of the meeting of culture for the sake of peace, into reality through education Except for a tutor, Coexistence Coordinator, Director of Studies, Vice-Rector, Rector and General Director in various parochial, congregational, and lay schools he is a President of the General Council of Education. He also served as director of teacher training and founded the First Archdiocesan Faculty of Religious Sciences. He is currently responsible worldwide for the mission entrusted to him by Pope Francis through the leadership of the International Scholas Occurrentes Foundation.
Eng. Patricio Caruso
Coordinator of the Water Educational Pact,
Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes
Patricio is an industrial Engineer; he has a high vast experience in project management and considerable on-site practice in poverty reduction and community development. In the last 20 years, he developed and managed more than 200 projects that have benefited more than 50.000 families Currently, Patricio is the Office Coordinator in the Educational Water Pact Forum; Project Manager at Scholas Occurentes; Project Manager at the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO), and a leading the World Women Observatory in Latin America and the Caribbean and in Africa. For 3 years, Patricio was the Director of Community Development of a National Programme in the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Nation, in Argentina-“National Social Protection Programme”. His professional experience in the implementation of social projects is also enriched by the four years that he worked as Program Director at “Haciendo Camino”, where he became aware of the importance of water for people’s development.
Maria Pia Delneri
International Strategic Coordinator
Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes
María Pía holds a degree in Political Science from the Argentine Catholic University and postgraduate studies at Sciences Po Paris University and Scicnces Po Toulouse, France. She is a fellow of the Rio de la Plata University Foundation. She is a member of the State Department alumni.state.gov worldwide network. She worked in various areas of the public sector. She started as a young adviser in the Honorable Congress of the Nation, and later assume as Deputy Director of Youth Policies of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires. She was the Coordinator of Interministerial Communication of the Presidency of the Nation and later served as Director of Press and Communication of the Argentine Foreign Ministry between 2017 and 2019. She founded a communication agency dedicated mainly to working with the subnational public sector in international positioning. Since the beginning of 2021, she has been working as International Strategic Coordinator at the Scholas Occurrentes Pontifical Foundation.
Avraham Israeli
Project Manager at YA Maof. Former President of the Israel Water Association Y.A. Maof Holdings & Management
Professional water, agriculture, and environment consultant, with strong managerial and business development expertise. Over 27 years of experience working with foreign and Israeli companies, government, and organizations. Involved in water projects worldwide. Holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics, from The Hebrew University. Former president, Israel Water (IsWA) Association.
Dr. Mauricio Dimant
Lecturer and researcher on Latin America at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Post-doctoral researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Coordinator of the Latin American Unit at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, and Teaching Fellow at the Department of Romance & Latin American Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Academic Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Iberian and Latin American Studies and the Middle East at the Rothberg International School (HUJI). Coordinator of Entrepreneurship Projects and Experiential Programs in Latin America.
Dr. Susana Pesis
Expert in Environmental Literacy and in Socio-Economic
and Environmental Policies
Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes
Susana Pesis, president of TESA foundation (Taller de Economía Sustentable Ambiental). She holds PhD in Project Engineering, tesis “Environmental Literacy”, and Doctorate, Diploma of Higher Studies – Universidad Politécnica de Cataluny. She is a member of the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University, Israel
Lior Abramovich
EWPF
Lior is the Managing Director of the Educational Water Pact Forum – An organization that has set on a mission to ensure every child in the world has access to clean water. He also serves as the Managing Director of the Canada Israel Chamber of Commerce and as the Vice President of Y.A. Maof Holdings. Lior has a decade of experience in the residential real estate market with over $150M worth of acquisitions and has co-founded a nonprofit organization that renovates homes of senior citizens, Holocaust survivors, and families in need. Lior holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Haifa and has completed 8 years of service in the Israeli Navy where he was an Executive Officer of the Israeli Naval Academy and a Chief Engineer of an Israeli Navy Warship.
Dr. Ornit Avidar
Managing Director of the EWPF, Sustainability, Water policy and social impact expert
Ornit Avidar is the Founder and Managing Director of WaterWays – founded in light of the growing need for clean water in off-grid and rural areas and the understanding that everyone is entitled to clean drinking water. Since then, she has promoted this issue and the issue of pragmatic low-cost innovative solutions for all. Dr. Avidar is an experienced former diplomat, investment manager and mediator with over 15 years of experience in developing international strategic partnerships, deal closing, investments, solving delicate business issues involving conflicting interest groups and getting people and technology together to address their needs and common goals. She has a B.A. Cum Laude in Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an M.B.A. from Temple University in Philadelphia, U.S.A. and is Ph.D. from Ben-Gurion university of the Negev, where she is also a lecturer and researcher.
Valerie Brandaur
Branding and Business development, EWPF
Valerie Brandauer is an executive with more than 3 years of experience in corporate management. She has worked in the development and execution of brand strategies, monitoring brand performance to insure relevance in the market. Valerie’s responsibilities have included measuring efficiency in team performance across various areas, including sales, work climate, team building, and she has acted as liaison between local and global teams. Valerie held a variety of positions gaining experience in other areas. As well as having the opportunity to be involved in TECHO Colombia, an organization formed by young volunteers together with inhabitants of popular settlements in La/n America. Simultaneously, she assists as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the EAN University in Bogota Colombia, where she assists faculty members in delivering educational content and providing guidance to students.
Eng. Mishelle Mejía
Water Engineering Expert at Y.A. Maof
Dan Region Association for Environmental Infrastructure
Environmental engineer with extensive experience in water reuse and sustainability projects in Israel. International consultant with experience in the area of policies and governance, wastewater treatment and management of environmental projects in Latin America.
Dr. David Pargament
Has a BSc in soil science, an MA in physical geography and a PhD on watershed management. David worked for the Nature Reserve Authority (7 years) and as CEO of the Yarqon River Authority in Israel (27 years), during which he successfully initiated and led master plan creation and implementation processes, flood mitigation projects, pollution prevention and river rehabilitation activities
Ziv Yoash
Technology Transfer
Adjunct Professor at Cornell Tech, teaching Startups and VC (High Growth Corporate Transactions).
