Leadership Team

Michal Gilad, SJD

Executive Director & Co-Founder

Michal is an interdisciplinary scholar with a background in law and social science. She specializes in the utilization of academic and empirical research to inform and improve our laws and policies, with specific expertise in laws and policies that impact the lives of children and families. Her research focuses on the synthesis of science and law, developing evidence-based adaptations of laws and policies to the unique developmental, social and cultural needs of children and youth, in order to improve efficacy and quality of justice.

Michal currently serves as an expert fellow with the Salzburg Global Seminar on issues of youth violence and safety, and whole-child education. Her most recent work has been published in prominent professional journals, such as the University of Illinois Law Review, NYU Review of Law & Social Change, and the Fordham Urban Law Journal, as well as media outlets such as Forbes, NY Daily News and the Philadelphia Enquirer. She holds a doctorate degree (S.J.D) and an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an M.S. in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, and an LLB from Tel-Aviv University Faculty of Law.

Nizan Geslevich Packin, SJD

Head of Research & Development and Co-Founder

Nizan is a Professor of Law at Baruch College, CUNY, and a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Haifa. She researches financial regulation, consumer protection, business ethics, cybersecurity, tech policy and information law. She has particular interest and expertise in the protection of children and youth in cyberspace, technology regulation, and the application of FinTech and DeFi to children. 

Nizan writes about these issues in Forbes as a contributor. She has also published Op-Eds in outlets such as the WSJ, American Banker, Toronto Star, Newsday, Calcalist, Globes, the Harvard Corporate Governance Blog, Columbia Law School’s Blue Sky Blog, and Oxford Business Law Blog, and was cited in media outlets such as the Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, Medium, Vox, Protocol, Coindesk, and The Marker. Prior to entering academia, she practiced corporate law in the New York office of Skadden Arps for six years. She also clerked in the Israeli Supreme Court for Justice Salim Joubran, interned at the FTC, and externed for Judge Jack Weinstein in the US SDNY. She earned her LLM from Columbia Law School and her SJD from the University of Pennsylvania. She is an Affiliate Fellow at Indiana University’s Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance and served as a fellow at the Yale Cybersecurity Center; an adjunct professor at NYU; and a visiting professor and fellow at Goethe University’s Law School.

Liat Bodaker

Lead Scientist

Liat is a Computer Science engineer who holds a Master’s degree in Technology Education with a specialization in computer science, showcasing her expertise in the intricate intersections between education and technology. Her focus lies particularly in imparting soft skills through technology to young children.

Currently, Liat serves as the leader of the Computer Science and Technology Program at the Adelson School in Las Vegas. Her educational journey includes the attainment of a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science at the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), followed by the successful completion of two additional degrees at the Technion: a Master’s and a Bachelor of Science in the field of computer science teaching and technology education.

With a wealth of experience spanning a decade in the Israeli hi-tech industry, notably at Elbit Systems, Liat has demonstrated versatility in roles involving management, teaching, and computer science education. Her contributions extend to the prestigious private high school, “The Real Hebrew School in Haifa,” where she held positions as a principal, teacher, and computer science educator. Furthermore, Liat assumed the role of Director of Education and Studies at the “Command Military Boarding School,” an institution affiliated with the same esteemed school.

Affiliated Faculty

Diana H. Fishbein, PhD

Diana is the director of translational neuro-prevention research at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and the director of the Program of Translational Research on Adversity and Neurodevelopment at Pennsylvania State University. She holds positions as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California, Irvine, as well as a faculty subcontractor at Georgetown University, and a guest researcher at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program.

Diana’s studies use transdisciplinary methods and a developmental approach to understanding interactions between neurobiological processes and environmental factors. Her research supports the premise that underlying neurobiological mechanisms interact with the quality of our psychosocial experiences and environmental contexts to alter trajectories either toward or away from risk behaviors. Her work further suggests that compensatory mechanisms can be strengthened with the appropriate psychosocial and environmental manipulations. She has published extensively (for a full list of publications, see the CV link at the top of this page) and serves in an advisory capacity for federal and state government bodies as well as several universities and organizations. Given the inherent translational nature of this research, she founded and directs the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives (NPSC), a national organization dedicated to the transfer of knowledge from the basic sciences to practices in real-world settings and public health policies.

Alice Wong, PhD

Alice is an industry leader in the early education and adult learning space. For over 10 years, Alice held faculty and leadership positions in academic institutions in Canada and later in Hong Kong at Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education. She is an experienced action-researcher, and has extensive experience in teaching, training, and curriculum development. More recently, Alice became interested in scalable innovation and systemic change to improve the quality of early childhood opportunities for young children. In 2017, she transitioned into the NGO sector and as the Chief Program Officer, she led an international, diverse team to create and support the implementation of adult training and early childhood programs in Asia including Hong Kong.

Alice currently represents Hong Kong at the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) to advance the international agenda on investment in Early Childhood. She is a recipient of the prestigious award from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and a published writer and presenter at numerous conferences and professional development workshops. Alice is passionate about children and women’s empowerment, impact measurement, mental health, creative leadership, and play.