Like the children, the staff at Yemin Orde Youth Village is diverse.

Yemin Orde Youth Village Staff members are from Ethiopia, the former Soviet Union, France, Poland, South America, Turkey and Zimbabwe, among other countries.

Yemin Orde currently employs:

  • 70 full-time teachers
  • 28 part-time teachers
  • 47 full-time informal educators
  • 10 part-time coordinators
  • 6 social workers
  • 5 part-time psychologists
  • 1 full-time and 2 part-time graduate staff
  • 1 full-time and 1 part-time family connection staff
  • 12 housemothers
  • 15 full-time and 2 part-time administrative staff
  • 12 maintenance staff
  • 10 kitchen staff
  • 2 eco-farm staff
  • 3 education resource center staff

Boaz Schwartz

Director, Yemin Orde Youth Village

Boaz Schwartz joined Yemin Orde Youth Village as its director on January 1, 2021. He previously served for seven years as Director of Maayanot High School in the Beit Shean area. Boaz is an experienced educator and communicator. He was formerly a high school teacher in Tiberias and a Shaliach (liaison) for the Jewish Agency for Israel, stationed in Belgium. He is a charismatic leader, capable of providing inspiration, loves working with people and shows great passion for wanting to lead the Village. Boaz has a BA in Economics and Business, MA in Israel History and is currently finishing his MBA studies. He serves in the Israel Defense Forces's active reserves as a Lt. Colonel Brigade tank force officer. Boaz is married with five children.

Susan Weijel

Deputy Director , Yemin Orde Youth Village & Village Way Educational Initiatives
susan@yeminorde.co.il

Susan has served as a member of the senior leadership team on the Yemin Orde Youth Village staff for nearly two decades. She is responsible for the Susan Weijeldevelopment and implementation of many of the Village’s core programs. Susan also is one of the original strategists behind the creation of Village Way Educational Initiatives and continues to oversee the expansion of Yemin Orde’s philosophy and methodology to other youth villages in Israel.

Susan is a native of Brooklyn, NY and received her BA in Political Science and English Literature from the State University of New York (SUNY-Albany), and a Masters in Public Administration and Urban Planning from the Hebrew University. She is the liaison between Yemin Orde and its global community of supporting individuals and organizations.

Miri Farber

Principal, Yemin Orde High School

Miri has been with Yemin Orde since 2002, serving as lead teacher and educational Yemin Orde Youth Village Staff Miri Farbercounselor. In 2015, Miri was appointed Vice Principal of Yemin Orde's high school and, in 2018, was named Acting Principal. In September 2019, Miri's position as Principal became permanent.

Miri has earned two Master's degrees: Communication and Technology in Education from Bar Ilan University, and Nonprofit and Organization Management from Hebrew University. She received her Bachelor's degree in Informal Education and Judaism from Bar Ilan University. For her national service, Miri worked in a school for children with special needs.

"I enjoy working with our youth because they are real and true individuals who are open and speak out about their beliefs and ambitions. Our task, as their peers and as grown-ups, to guide them in voicing their opinions but in a respectable and refined manner without abuse or insults," Miri said.

Anat Ohana

Director of the Psycho-Social Work Department

Anat earned her Bachelor’s degree in social work from Bar-Ilan Yemin Orde Youth Village Staff Anat OhanaUniversity and her Master’s degree in social work at the University of Haifa. Anat has broad professional experience with assisting children in need, including youth with disabilities as well as those with emotional and developmental needs. Prior to her position at Yemin Orde, Anat taught Social Work at Tel Hai College, and served as a social worker in various capacities in Israel’s social services arena, including at Migdal HaEmek Youth Village. During her national service, Anat served as Youth Coordinator at a high school providing support for families in need, as well as a guide for blind children with additional disabilities.

Racheli Yaso-Ngatuo

Director,  Visitor Relations and Outreach Programs
racheli@yeminorde.co.il

Yemin Orde Youth Village Staff Racheli Yaso-NgutoRacheli joined the Yemin Orde Youth Village staff in July 2008. Born in Ethiopia, Racheli made aliyah at the age of seven with her mother and siblings in 1984 during Operations Moses.

Racheli's father was working with the Mossad at that time, helping Jews escape from Sudan, and he joined the family in Israel in 1985. Racheli's family settled in the northern town of Kiryat Motzkin, following a two year stay at an absorption center. Because she lived at a youth village from the 7th grade through high school graduation, Racheli has a first-hand understanding and identification with the children at Yemin Orde.

Racheli served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a soldier-teacher for children from underprivileged and challenged backgrounds. She received her BA degree in Social Sciences and Criminology at Ariel College. Racheli and her husband have three young boys and live at Yemin Orde.

Amare Bitou

Community Liaison

Amare Bitou is the Village’s Cultural Director for the Ethiopian Yemin Orde Youth Village Staff Amare Bitoucommunity. He was born in Ethiopia and came to Israel in 1991 at the age of ten with this eight brothers and sisters during Operation Shlomo. After high school, Amare attended a pre-military leadership program (mechina) before serving in the Israel Defense Forces. He served in a paratroopers and combat unit and rose through the military ranks becoming a Deputy Company Commander.

After his military service, Amare worked as an Informal Educator at Yemin Orde where he provided guidance and support to a group of teens from Ethiopia and Sudan.

Today, Amare oversees the important programs and activities for the Village’s Ethiopian children. This includes building and maintaining communications with families, ensuring a positive experience for the child at Yemin Orde and providing a positive role model and steady friendship for the at-risk teens. Amare and his wife, Shira, have three children: Noam, Moriah and Temezgen.

Itay Mizrachi

Director, Informal Education

Itay Mizrachi oversees Yemin Orde's Informal Educators, who serve as important adult role models for the Village’s at-risk youth. Informal Educators provide guidance and daily emotional support throughout a teen's years at Yemin Orde.

Itay started his career as an Informal Educator, working with at-risk youth within different educational frameworks across Israel. He arrived at Yemin Orde in 2013, as a head teacher and part of the communications area of study. He also took on coordinating different group activities outside of school for the youth. In 2017, he was appointed Manager of Educational Content and as part of the Village’s management team.

Itay, his wife and three children have made the Village their home, inviting youth for Shabbat meals and gatherings. Their home is open and welcoming to anyone in need at the Village.

After high school, Itay studied at a Yeshiva for two years before serving in the elite Nahal Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, eventually becoming a Commander. Itay has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Non-Formal Education as well as a teacher’s certificate from Oranim Academic College. He is currently completing a Master’s degree in Education Management at Oranim.