Esther Sivan began serving as Director of Shatil in October 2018. Esther’s background in philanthropy and her executive experience in Israeli social change organizations make her uniquely prepared to lead Shatil in addressing the most pressing challenges facing Israeli society. In the past two decades, she has served in leadership roles in civil society organizations and initiatives; most recently, she was with the Merchavim Institute, where she served as Director of Kulanana, a multi-year civil-society partnership to promote social cohesion, led by the Arison Foundation. Prior to that, she served as legal counsel to the Israel Women’s Network (IWN), was the first Executive Director of NIF grantee Bimkom: Planners for Planning Rights, where she served for a number of years, and was Director of B’Zchut: The Israeli Human Rights Center for People with Disabilities. Esther has a BA in Law and an MA in Public Policy from Hebrew University.