As the event does not have a theme, it will cover a broad range of topics: social entrepreneurship, overcoming adversity, and space colonization. This blend of topics reflects the need for a person to have a broad based education, especially in the interconnected modern world, which we live in.

Schechter Westchester High School
Schechter Westchester High School
555 West Hartsdale Ave.
Hartsdale, New York, 10530
United States

David Rosenblatt

Executive Vice-Chairman and co-founder of Arava Power Company

David Rosenblatt is a Co-founder of Arava Power and the CEO of Global Sun Partners, the controlling company of Arava Power. David has a deep background in the financial and technology industries, having successfully grown start-ups from inception through IPO as well as building established businesses. Previous senior roles include Managing Director, BlackRock, and a founder of QuickenLoans at Intuit. Prior to those roles, David focused on project finance and corporate transactions as an attorney with Chadbourne & Parke and Weil, Gotshal & Manges. David holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School, a JD from Northwestern University Law School, and a BS with honors from Pennsylvania State University.

Mason Peck

Associate Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University and the Director of Cornell's Space Systems Design Studio

Dr. Peck is an Associate Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University and the Director of Cornell's Space Systems Design Studio. His research interests include space-systems architecture and satellite dynamics and control. Dr. Peck also currently serves on the Mission Advisory Board of Mars One. From 2011 through 2013 he served as NASA's Chief Technologist in Washington, DC. There, he acted as the agency's chief strategist for technology investment and prioritization and chief advocate for innovation in aeronautics and space technology. Dr. Peck received an undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at UCLA. From 1994 to 2001 he was a systems engineer and attitude-control specialist at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. From 2001 to 2004 he was a Principal Fellow at Honeywell in Phoenix, Arizona, where he directed research related to agile satellites and control-moment gyroscopes.

Yedidya Harush

JNF - Halutza Liaison

Yedidya Harush was born and grew up in the community of Atzmona in Gush Katif. Yedidya's family relocated to Halutza after Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. While in high school, Yedidya received a scholarship to play basketball in New Jersey while studying in a yeshiva. Upon his return home, Yedidya served in one of Israel's elite units, the 890th Paratroopers Brigade. Yedidya and his wife Shiran live temporarily in Yad Binyamin, but his heart lies in Halutza, where the members of his former Atzmona community have relocated. Yedidya dreams of soon moving to Halutza and making Ben Gurion's dream in the Negev a reality for himself and his fellow Jews.