Mike Naftali

Topaz President

Michael (Mike) Naftali is a social entrepreneur, social activist and specialist in the field of voluntarism and civil society. For more than 40 years he has taken an active part in advancing, managing and leading a wide range of social endeavors, including the formation of social entrepreneurship platforms, volunteering and civil society infrastructure programs, youth at risk services, formal and non-formal educational settings, mental health programs, community based art programs, and a variety of international development initiatives.

To date, Dr. Naftali serves as the founding president of a network of leading Israeli Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) including: Topaz - Leading Social Innovations; Brit Olam - International Volunteering; and Development and Inspiration - Arts for Humanity.

Dr. Naftali formerly served as the chairperson of the National Council for Voluntarism in Israel, the national Civil Society umbrella association for Voluntary Effort. He is also co-founder of Natan - The Israeli Coalition for Disaster Relief, and until recently as vice chairperson of SID Israel - The Society for International Development. In 2017 Dr. Naftali was nominated as the chairperson of the Israeli Academic Forum for Social Enterprise, founded jointly in 2009 by the Shapell School of Social Work at Tel Aviv University, SHATIL – Leading Social Change (CSO), and Topaz.

In the past Dr. Naftali served as the founding director of Enosh - the Israel Mental Health Association and between 1984–2003, the founding CEO of Elem - Youth in Distress in Israel. Mike Naftali is a Social Worker by profession, and received his PhD from Tel Aviv University School of Social Work in 1996. He is also a keen sailor and holds a Skippers Certificate for Mediterranean and Ocean Voyages.