Our Team
Eric Rubin
Eric Rubin > Chairman of the Board of Directors
Eric serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of P3 Israel. He is a Zionist who is very active in pro-Israel advocacy. Eric is passionate about Israel and fighting anti-Semitism around the world. In addition to P3 Israel, Eric is a Board Member and the Executive Director of Together Vouch For Each Other U.S., an Arab-Israeli nonprofit organization; the President, CEO, and a Board Member of Uncommon Charitable Impact, a 501(c)(3) donor-advised fund; a Board member of the Baltimore Zionist District; and the Executive Director of Project Max which is a partnership between the Maccabi World Union and Sighteer that is creating a community that cares about sports, fighting intolerance, promoting equal opportunities, and the history of Jewish Sports.
Eric joins P3 Israel with experience in both financial services and non-profit organizations. He has over 30 years’ experience working with Registered Investment Advisors, Financial Planners, and Broker Dealers. Eric’s financial services’ experience includes large multinational corporations as well as boutique asset management firms, including in his capacity as co-founder and President of a mutual fund company that managed over $1 billion in assets.
Eric first visited Israel in 1986 and fell in love with his ancestral homeland. He and his wife are looking forward to making Aliyah someday. Eric is married, has one son, and resides in Owings Mills, MD.
Lea Ann & Billy Hirth
Lea Ann Hirth > Secretary and Co-Founder
Lea Ann has been involved with Israel since 2012 and loves all of the relationships that have been established over the years! Her heart is to bless, serve and support Israel and the Jewish people through P3 Israel and provide those same opportunities for others as well. She has been on staff at her church for over 20 years and serves as Director of Community Ministries, helping serve the homeless and other needs in the local community. She enjoys healthy cooking and eating and her favorite place to travel is to the mountains! Both her and her husband Billy consider it a great privilege to be able to work together for the sake of Israel.
Billy Hirth > Executive Director And Co-Founder
Billy is a retired veteran firefighter of 24 years and previously served as Chief of Operations for a non-profit that brought American firefighters to Israel in times of need. He served as a firefighter in Israel during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 and Operation Fire and Water in 2016. He has also worked with IDF National Rescue Unit. He enjoys playing drums and scuba diving.
Rachel & Barrett Shaw
Rachel Shaw > Director of Operational Support
In addition to being the Director of Operation Support, Rachel oversees the P3 Special Needs groups and serves on the Executive Committee.
Rachel has worked in Special Education for 9 years as well as coaching several sports in Special Olympics. She is currently the Office Manager for her family’s landscaping company. In 2017, she along with her husband had the opportunity to go on a tour of Israel where they fell in love with the land and people. They returned in 2019 to stay on a kibbutz where they had the privilege of working alongside the residents.
It is her desire to work hand in hand with the Jewish people to cultivate relationships, provide support and learn from each other.
Barrett Shaw > Board of Directors, Treasurer
Barrett has been a Corrections Officer for 16 years and has an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Tarrant County College where he also graduated from the Police Academy. He worked at the Tarrant County Sheriff’s office for four years. He still currently works in law enforcement for a different agency where he has been for over 12 years.
Barrett first visited Israel in 1997 as a 17 year old and immediately fell in love with its people, culture, and history. He has made multiple return trips for both vacation and for volunteer projects. It is his dream to travel to Israel as many times as he possibly can to continue to learn from, befriend and help Israel and all of its people.
Tsvia & Philip Barnea
Tsvia Barnea > P3 israel Operational Support, Israel
Tsvia was born on Kibbutz Bet Ha’Emek and has lived her entire life there. Her mother was from the UK and her father, from Hungary, was one of the original founders of Bet Ha’Emek in 1949. Over the years, she has been a Hebrew teacher for new immigrants during her army service, worked in the kibbutz cotton fields identifying harmful insects, and was the Head Cook in the kibbutz communal kitchen/dining room. For the past 25+ years she has worked in a commercial greenhouse specializing in geraniums and fruit trees. Tsvia’s hobbies include reading, cooking, crossword and logic puzzles and travel. She brings her unique Israeli point of view to P3 Israel’s mission.
Philip Barnea > P3 Israel Director of Operations, Israel
Philip was born in the UK and came to Israel on the third day of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He originally lived on a kibbutz in the Golan Heights but, after meeting Tsvia, went to live on her kibbutz where they have remained ever since. Philip was a teacher in the local kibbutz grade school for 10 years and then moved on to the regional high school where he taught computer skills and graphics and was head of the Computer Department for 25 years. His hobbies include Sci-Fi, gardening, making unhealthy food (bread, cakes, chocolates, ice cream) and travel. He is passionate about P3’s mission to develop a new channel to grow relationships between Israel and the US through “boots on the ground” activities and the building of direct, personal relationships between people and communities.
Tsvia and Philip live in Kibbutz Bet Ha’Emek in the Western Galilee and have 4 children and 9 grandchildren.