Cynthia Yaakovi nee Shapiro was born in New York City and raised in Bayswater, Queens. Very active in Junior Hadassah, she came to Israel as a volunteer in 1967 and stayed to marry a local boy. She studied English Literature at Queens College, NYC and Business Administration in Tel Aviv. Cynthia recently retired from an over 40-year long and demanding career in International Marketing and Sales of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. She now fills her spare time studying Anthropology and remains an avid world traveler, never declining an opportunity to visit a new and unknown place, and is the volunteer coordinator of ESRA’s Students Build a Neighborhood project in Kiryat Nordau, Netanya. She lives in Ramat Poleg, Netanya. She has 3 children and 7 grandchildren, all living in Israel.