Sherwin Pomerantz, President and Partner, immigrated to Israel in 1984 from Chicago, where he was president of Controls for Industry, Inc. Prior to founding Atid E.D.I., he served as vice president of Luz Industries Israel Ltd., where he had senior management responsibility for operations, policy development, public relations, administration and international relations. Sherwin currently serves as Chair of the American State Offices Association (ASOA) of Israel. He is a member of the Management Committee of the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce and the Israel Life Sciences Industry association.  He also serves as a member of the Board of the Committee for the Economic Growth of Israel. Born in New York, Sherwin earned a B.S. from New York University, an M.S. from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Northwestern University. Sherwin is fluent in English and Hebrew.

Ben Dansker, Partner, was born in Boston and worked in urban and strategic planning for U.S. health care and information systems sectors. After immigrating to Israel in 1984, he worked in business planning and financial analysis for a solar energy company. Ben's expertise includes project planning, strategic planning, economic analysis, organizational development, business plan preparation and business writing. He has extensive experience in all facets of managing small to mid-size organizations. Ben received a B.A. from Emory University and an M.A. in urban planning from Harvard University. Ben is fluent in English and Hebrew.
   
Seth J. Vogelman, Associate Director, coordinates local office activities for the states of Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and New Mexico. He was instrumental in creating a national and regional marketing system for the promotion of American exports in Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Persian Gulf and the Palestinian Authority. A native of New York, Seth holds a B.A. from Montreal's McGill University. Seth is fluent in English, Hebrew, German & French, and has an excellent working knowledge of Arabic.

  
Rebecca Raab, Business Events Coordinator, is responsible for organizing seminars and events, in addition to her Office Administration responsibilities. She is also the Director of Alumni Relations for the Merage Foundation for US-Israel Trade.A graduate of Touro College, N.Y., Rebecca moved to Israel from Florida in 1997. Rebecca is fluent in English and Hebrew.

Berat Pehlivanoglu, Istanbul Office Director, principal of Pehlivanoglu Financial Services Ltd. of Istanbul. The former business development officer of a US investment bank in Istanbul and managing partner of Arend Industrial Consultants, Berat specializes in financial advisory services, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, project management and sales channel management. He holds degrees from Bogazici University (Roberts College), Istanbul, Turkey.    

Tully Friedgut, Agricultural Consultant, spent 15 years as the Senior Agricultural Specialist in the Office of Agricultural Affairs of the Foreign Agricultural Service at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. He has over 30 years of experience in agricultural economics, foreign trade and trade policy as agricultural economist and foreign marketing specialist. He has vast experience in trade policy analysis, market development, international trade statistics management, agricultural sector development and planning, and project feasibility studies. His overseas experience in East, West and Southern Africa, the Far East and Central America makes him a valuable asset to the EDI team. A native of Canada, Tully holds a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Manitoba and a B.A. and Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Michael Platt, Trade Specialist, is responsible for trade relations with client states, focusing on Georgia and Illinois.  His primary tasks include targeting potential trade leads, writing feasibility studies, conducting market research and facilitating communication between companies.  Michael holds a B.A. from Brandeis University with a major in political science and minors in Computer Science and Near Eastern &Judaic Studies.  He is currently working towards his M.B.A. at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is particularly interested in public policy and management.  Before joining EDI, Michael served the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) as a program analyst, policy consultant, and IT assistant.  Michael is fluent in English and Hebrew and has a working knowledge of Spanish.

Cina Coren, Project Manager, is a public relations, business writing, economics, marketing and sales specialist with 20 years experience both in the US and Israel.  From 1992-2000 she was the portfolio manager for First Union National Bank of New York, handling accounts worth in excess of $30 million for 20 private banking clients.  After moving to Israel in 2001 she was a financial consultant for the Jerusalem-based Financial Resource Network.   Cina holds a BA in Economics & Speech from Brooklyn College and an MA in Communications from the Hebrew University.  She is fluent in both English and Hebrew. 

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