Ronit Avni

Ronit Avni is the founder of Localized, a new social enterprise that makes it easy for expat professionals from countries facing brain drains to give back without moving back. Localized enables diaspora professionals to mentor, train and teach remotely in their language of choice, turning the brain drain into a brain gain. Ronit’s work has been featured in dozens of global news outlets, including The Washington Post, The BBC, NPR, The Economist and The New York Times. Prior to Localized, she founded and led Just Vision, which creates digital media, award-winning films, news analysis and public education campaigns to raise awareness and support for Palestinian and Israeli civilians working for freedom, dignity, equality and human security. As Executive Director of Just Vision, Ms. Avni managed a diverse team based in North America and the Middle East, raising over $10 million and ensuring the organization’s relevance, credibility and success. Previously, Ronit trained human rights defenders worldwide to incorporate film and digital media into their advocacy campaigns while working for the human rights organization, WITNESS. She co-edited the book, “Video for Change - A Guide for Advocacy and Activism” with WITNESS and now sits on the WITNESS Board, chairing the Program Committee. Ronit has been recognized with a variety of honors, including the King Hussein Leadership Prize, Search for Common Ground’s Common Ground Award, the Circles of Change Award, Auburn Seminary’s Lives of Commitment Award and the Trailblazer Award from the National Council for Research on Women. She was named a Young Global Leader (2009) through the World Economic Forum and a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations (2010). A graduate of Vassar College in Political Science, Ronit has completed advanced coursework at the Harvard Kennedy School through the Young Global Leaders Executive Education Program and at Columbia Business School through the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship. As a side passion, Ronit has trained hundreds of business leaders, MBA students, nonprofit leaders and civil servants to speak persuasively to the media, on stage and in executive settings with KNP Communications.