Meet Our Team

Erica Shaps

Erica Shaps joined the Task Force team in 2020. As the U.S Associate Director, she manages strategic partnerships and develops educational programs, trainings, and resources pertaining to Arab citizens and Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. Erica has dedicated her career to elevating lesser-heard voices in Israel and advancing meaningful education and constructive conversations on Israel and the Middle East in North American Jewish communities. She planned immersive learning experiences with Palestinians in the West Bank at Encounter Programs and supported social mobility programs, focused on Arab citizens and Haredim, as a Fellow with JDC-Israel. With experience in humanitarian and conflict research, monitoring and evaluation, and grant writing, Erica has also consulted for diverse institutions. She received her BA from Brandeis University in Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies and an MA from the Fletcher School at Tufts University in International Law and Diplomacy as a Wexner Fellow/Davidson Scholar. Erica is a trained facilitator and mediator and currently lives in Cambridge, MA.

Camellia Darawsha

Camellia joined the Task Force as Israel Representative. She previously served as the institutional Diversity Officer at the Equity, Diversity and Community Commission, Office of the Vice President, Tel Aviv University. In this capacity, she worked on designing and implementing policies to promote equity, diversity and partnership in the academic institution. In addition to directing the “Faculty Diversity Forum” and accompanying academic units, she was also responsible for the “Shared Space” Project on campus, aiming to increase a sense of belonging among diverse groups.

She has years of experience promoting diversity and multiculturalism within Israeli society, as well as extensive academic knowledge in this field with an emphasis on ethnic groups. Camellia worked for three years as Prof. Amal Jamal’s research assistant in the Faculty of Social Sciences, the School of Political Science, government and International Affairs, focusing on culture and minority groups. She was the administrative director of the Walter Lebach Institute for the Study of Arab-Jewish Relations at Tel Aviv University. She previously worked as a career coordinator for the Palestinian Arab students at the Career Development Center, Dean of Students Office. Camellia has a master’s degree in literature and American studies from Tel Aviv University.

Stay tuned for bios for our program consultants and guest speakers!

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