Yam Atir
YAM ATIR
Yam Atir, a professional with over a decade in government relations and international affairs, is currently pursuing an MPA-MC degree. Living in Tel Aviv, born and raised in Kibbutz Afikim, Israel. Atir is the co-founder and VP Strategy and Policy at the Start-Up Nation Policy and Research Institute, an innovation-policy think-tank. Yam is the only Israeli to have served on the OECD's young advisory board where she provided valuable insights and input on the challenges facing the next generation. Additionally, she previously served on the prime minister’s foreign relations team at the Prime Minister's Office and on the executive team of Shimon Peres, the ninth president of Israel. In 2021, Forbes magazine honored her with its 30 under 30 list. Yam holds a dual B.A. in political science and communication from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (honors student) and Sciences Po Paris.
The St. Paul Jewish Federation administers the scholarship fund, which has granted 97 scholarships since its inception. With the high cost of tuition, often as much as $75,000 a year, an increasing number of applicants seek this prestigious prize. The E. David Fischman Scholarship, administered through the St. Paul Jewish Federation, provides full tuition and most general fees (excluding medical and housing) for graduate degrees through completion of a doctorate in political science, law, or economics at a top university in the U.S., such as (but not limited to) Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Columbia, to Israelis who have served in the IDF. The scholarship is awarded annually to a limited number of qualified applicants. Upon completion of their studies, Fischman Scholarship recipients are obliged to return to Israel and occupy a position in their profession in civic or political life for a minimum of five years.