About the Speaker
Hanita Zimrin, Ph.D., is the founder and chairperson of ELI, the Israel Association for Child Protection. Since 1979, Dr. Zimrin and her organization have worked tirelessly to increase the awareness of this painful problem by educating the public at large, training professionals, lobbying policy decision-makers, and providing vital information to potential victims and parents – all to increase ELI’s ability to intervene, shelter and give assistance to victims of child abuse. Dr. Zimrin and her staff approach this difficult problem in a unique and innovative way by offering single-point-of-entry comprehensive services. Families receive therapy, legal counseling, shelter and other needed support services without having to go from agency to agency. Thus, ELI complements other welfare agencies in Israel by providing a totally coordinated array of services.

Dr. Zimrin was born in Jerusalem and studied there at Hebrew University, where she earned her BSW and MSW degrees in 1968 and 1974, respectively. In 1978, she was the first person in Israel to be awarded a Ph.D. in Social Work. As a professor at Tel Aviv University from 1970-1988, Dr. Zimrin headed the Children and Youth Unit at the School of Social Work. She continues to be a frequent lecturer at Hebrew University in Jerusalem as well as a consultant to financial institutions on matters of family business and management.

Since founding ELI, Dr. Zimrin has successfully brought about significant improvement in Israel’s child protection laws, and the Knesset has enacted many of her suggestions into law. She has addressed the full Knesset on the subject of child abuse and is frequently called to committee hearings as an expert in the field. In addition, Dr. Zimrin serves on the board of Kupat Holim, Israel’s largest health maintenance organization.

Widely regarded as a leading figure in Israel and throughout the world in the field of child protection, Dr. Zimrin is a member of the editorial board of The International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, which is published in the US and circulated internationally. Under university and government auspices, she has initiated and led a wide range of educational workshops in Israel. She has organized, chaired and given keynote addresses at numerous international conferences, educational seminars, congresses and scientific committees throughout the world on the subject of child protection and welfare, presenting papers and leading research and training projects on family, children, pornography, drugs, alcoholism and other subject related to child abuse.

In 1996 Dr. Zimrin was selected to be the professional head of the Israeli Mission to the United Nations General Assembly. In 1997 she served as an advisor in the multi-lateral framework of the Middle East peace talks. Dr. Zimrin has published four books and is the author of numerous articles appearing in professional journals throughout the United States, Europe and Israel.

Dr. Zimrin has received public recognition multiple times for her exceptional career, including the Henrietta Szold Prize in 1980 for “exceptional contributions to Israeli society;” the Israel President’s Award in 1989 for Volunteer Work; the Distinguished Career Award in 1996 from the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, which cited her remarkable achievements in Israel and her worldwide contributions to the field; and, most recently, in April of 2000, the Tel Aviv University Board of Governors’ Annual Award for her pioneering work for the protection of children in Israel.

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