Meet Anat, PPI – ME’s New Operations Manager

Meet Anat, PPI – ME’s new Operations Manager.  Anat is working to up our game by offering support to all of our coaches and project managers, and to create a holistic view of our activities in the region. Here, Anat shares a little bit about herself and how she got to the PPI family.

Anat brings to PPI – ME years of experience in educational counseling and management

Hi! I’m Anat, from Be’er Sheva, but I’ve been living in Tel Aviv for the past five years. I am an educational counselor who has always worked with children in non-formal settings – everything from youth at risk to value-based education in “standard” educational settings. For the past three years, I worked as an educational counselor in a middle school, a job that included personal meetings with children, and meetings with teachers and parents. I gave educational and emotional support to children, teachers and parents. The work was very satisfying and challenging. As a counselor, I was a part of the school’s organizational structure, and as a member of the management, I received a holistic view of the organization and its needs. The deeper I got into the processes involved in managing the school, the more I became attracted to the field of organizational consultation. So, I decided to broaden my horizons to fields that also combine management with value-based education.

Then I found out about the job at PeacePlayers International. I had heard that the organization is a really good place, with a warm, family-like atmosphere. And when I found out more about the organization, I immediately identified with the values and importance of the work it does. I thought this would be a job where I would be able to contribute to values that I believe in, and to add my skills to making the organization even better.

Anat practices a team-building dance with PPI – ME coaches and management at last month’s Professional Development Retreat

I believe that change can come from the experience of individuals. If I stand in front of a group of kids and tell them why they should respect one another, and why they should work together, it won’t make a difference. But if I create for a child, or any person, a positive experience, in which he experiences cooperation and mutual respect first hand, that’s when real change will be possible. Therefore I think that the goal of the organization – to bring about change from a place of fun, joy and outside of the political context, let children just play together – can really bring about change. And basketball is a very intelligent and challenging sport. Using the sport, we can get the children to think together, and to work together and to overcome challenges together, through their strategic thinking in the game.