b'MAYA JACOBS Maya Jacobs is the CEO of Zalul Environmental Association, one of Israels leading environmental NGOs, dedicated to protecting the marine environment and water in Israel. During her tenure, she led the organization to victories and great achievements such as shutting down the dangerous ammonia reservoir in Haifa, stopping the discharge of 5 million annual tons of sewage sludge into the Mediterranean Sea by the Dan Regional Sewage Treatment Facility (Shafdan), stopping the Jerusalem sewage contamination of the Kidron River to the Dead Sea, passing the ban the bags law, and creating public awareness to the problem of disposable plastics, and many more. Previously, she served as a spokesperson and member of Prime Minister Ehud Baraks close staff, Chief Information Officer of the Consulate General in New York, Chief Representative of the Geneva Initiative (Beilin - Yasser Abed Rabbo) in North America, and spokesperson for international media for the Kadima Party. Upon returning to Israel in 2005, she served as the Director of the Center for Philanthropy at Sheatufim (Strategies for Social Impact) and later as Director of Government Relations and Communications at The International Fellowship for Christians and Jews. Maya holds an M.A. in Public Administration from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, an M.A. from Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and a B.A. in Media and Jewish History from Tel Aviv University. Maya is a frequent speaker for environmental issues in media and conferences and hosts weekly online interviews on diverse environmental issues on Zalul TV (Zoom broadcasts developed during the past year). In 2019, she was chosen as one of the top 20 activist women in Israel by Lady Globes magazine. Alongside Zalul, Maya is establishing an impact investment group for climate solutions clean of greenwash, and she is also a central member of many collaborations and coalitions aimed at accelerating the environmental awareness and community involvement in Israel and abroad, including Parents for Climate, Youth for Climate, No Plastic Bezrat HaShem, Divest and Invest (The Forum for Clean Money), and many more. A MOSAIC OF ISRAEL|75 UNSUNG HEROS'