Rebecca Zeffert is the Founder and Executive Director of the Israel-Asia Center.
Prior to founding the Israel-Asia Center, Rebecca worked for more than a decade in media, public relations and public affairs, with multinational companies, media organizations, NGOs and educational institutions in China, Japan, Israel and the UK.
At Washington-based public affairs firm, APCO Worldwide, she worked on communications campaigns for heads of state in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Prior to that, she established and headed the international public relations department at the Citizens’ Accord Forum between Jews and Arabs in Israel, an organization founded by Member of Knesset Rabbi Michael Melchior to promote relations between Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens. For six years, she also handled the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s international media relations.
Rebecca provided PR consulting to a range of Israeli and international organizations, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Maala – Business for Social Responsibility, and the Aoshima One World Festival in Japan. She has also worked with Lonely Planet publications, and the BBC World Service Chinese Section, where she co-produced and co-presented a series of programs in Chinese on Chinese language study and university life in the UK.
Rebecca has spent significant time living in Israel, China and Japan. She studied at Kansai Gaidai University (Japan), Tianjin Normal University (China) and Shanghai Theater Academy (China) and holds a B.A. in Modern Chinese Studies from the University of Leeds.
Rebecca serves on the Board of Advisors of the Capital Jewish Forum, on the Advisory Committee of India Cyber Connect, and is an inaugural member of the India-Israel Young Leaders Forum. She previously served on the board of AJC ACCESS in Israel, and on the Steering Committee for the PresenTense Institute for Social Entrepreneurs. In her spare time, she is a keen photographer.