Rachel Fish has been hired to lead the Israel Institute, succeeding Ariel Ilan Roth, who has led the organization as its executive director since it was founded by the Schusterman Family Philanthropies in 2012, the organization announced on Tuesday.

Fish, the co-founder and president of the research nonprofit Boundless, will step down from her current role at the organization. In a letter to stakeholders, the organization said that Fish will “continue to oversee our planned educational offerings and support a thoughtful transition through the end of the calendar year.” Fish will take the helm of the Israel Institute on Aug. 31 with the title of CEO. 

She will remain the director of the President’s Initiative on Antisemitism at Brandeis University, where she serves as an associate research professor at its Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies.

“The Institute has established itself as a leader in advancing rigorous academic engagement with Israel,” Fish said. “I look forward to building on the remarkable foundation that Ari and the Institute team have created and working to deepen and expand understanding of Israel’s history, society and culture at a time when intellectual inquiry is more important than ever.”

The Israel Institute was launched by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies to provide resources to individual academics and institutions of higher learning throughout North America. This includes providing course materials and curricula to North American universities and supporting Israeli academics visiting the United States. According to the organization, since 2015, more than 36,000 students have taken courses supported by the institute. 

“The Israel Institute has transformed the landscape of Israel Studies over the past thirteen years under Ari’s visionary leadership,” Ambassador Dan Shapiro, chair of the Israel Institute’s board of directors, said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for his extraordinary contributions. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Rachel Fish as our CEO. Her deep expertise within higher education and commitment to advancing rigorous academic learning about Israel position her well to lead the Institute into its next era of growth and impact.”