Over the past decade, Alina has dedicated her career to social entrepreneurship, technological innovation and strategic communication.
She is the Global Manager of the iCoach Program at HPE SW and founder of Ms. Catt.
She co-founded House of Genius Israel, and the Women’s Parliament at AJC.
Last but not least, she is writing her MA thesis on behavioral economics and conflict resolution in Security and Military Strategy.
What are you working on these days?
Working for HPE while writing my MA thesis and promoting my social ventures: Ms.Catt, House of Genius Israel and the Women’s Parliament.
What was your first position In the Startup-Nation?
European Programs Director, and later Director of Content and Programs at Presentence for 3 years.
What was your first job ever?
Folding laundry at Hadassah Hospital
What life event or moment affected your life the most?
By the age of 18 I called 4 different places “home”:
My birth town, Harkiv, Ukraine; Jerusalem where I grew up; Seeds of Peace Summer Camp in Maine, USA; and my boarding school, MUWCI, near Pune, India.
When you are both foreign and local, both an outsider and an insider, each place you call “home” gives you the opportunity to have a choice to blend or stand out.
This helped me throughout my career, as I understand different languages and cultural nuances.
I could tell what people cared about during a negotiation process and received honest feedback.
Growing up as I did taught me the importance of interdependent collaborations, social cohesion, and multidisciplinary reasoning.
It shaped my passion for synthesizing multidisciplinary data, in a multicultural context.
Best advice you received or would like to share?
In the book The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell talks about three different archetypes of people: mavens, connectors, and salespeople.
My advice is: try to be all 3!
First, become an expert (a maven) in your professional field by following industry leaders and trends, using the latest tools and personalizing them to perfection.
Simultaneously, be a passionate advocate of your social agenda (a salesman), volunteer, and speak up.
Finally, position yourself as a strategic matchmaker (connector) within your network, share the love and create meaningful relationships with others.
