Manhattan born and bred, Lee Perlman, PhD, developed his life-long love for Hebrew at the 14^th St. Y Hebrew School, under the inspired leadership of his beloved teacher, Sylvia Hiat.  Lee who has lived in Israel since 1982, has extensive experience in philanthropy and non-profit management. Lee is currently the Director, Development and Strategic Partnerships, The Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI), Israel’s leader in turning around underperforming elementary schools serving low income communities. He has served as the Executive Director, The America-Israel Cultural Foundation and held senior positions at the Jewish educational non-profit, Melitz, The Jewish Federations of North America and The Abraham Initiatives.

Lee is an active member of the Bet Daniel community in Tel Aviv and recently completed two terms as board chair, The Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism, Tel Aviv-Jaffa. As an Associate of Brandeis University’s International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life, Lee researches arts, politics and cultural policy and seeks to understand and influence how artists create social change and open dialogue in conflict zones and divided societies and he co-leads IMPACT, a global collaboration to strengthen the Arts, Culture and Conflict Transformation field. He has taught at Tel Aviv University and in Brandeis University international summer programs. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from Tel Aviv University and his B.A. from U.C.L.A. Lee lives in Tel Aviv.