Noa Notrika began developing the strengths and skills that she brings to her new role as Manager of JEWISHcolorado’s Israel & Overseas Center (I&OC) in the city where she grew up—Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem is a unique place with so many different demographics,” Notrika says. “I was raised with many points of view in a place that gave a lot of space for different opinions of the world. I think this is part of my identity.”
Notrika’s open-minded view of the world around her was reinforced further by 13 years of education at Keshet School in Jerusalem. Add to that a year of volunteering, two years doing an unusual form of service with the IDF, a degree in social work and criminology, and a professional stint recruiting and developing young leaders in Israel, and you have someone who feels uniquely qualified for her role managing the I&OC.
“Israel is a story that can only be told with many stories,” Notrika says. “Our mission at the Israel & Overseas Center is to tell a variety of stories from multiple viewpoints, communicating the complexity of modern Israel.”
Roots in many perspectives
Notrika frequently uses the word “lucky” to describe her journey to her new position. She and her husband Yuval came to the United States from Israel in January 2024 and consider themselves lucky to have landed in “the beautiful city of Boulder,” where her husband is working on a post-doctoral degree in hydrology at CU.
From the moment she arrived in the U.S., Notrika was determined to find a professional position in Colorado even though she was able to continue working at her job in Israel remotely. It was important for her to get out of the house and be part of the local culture.
“I feel so lucky to have found a position that goes back to my roots, understanding different perspectives in one workplace,” she says. “This job also gives me an amazing opportunity to get to know the Jewish community here and the deep connections between Colorado and Israel.”
Notrika’s roots go back to her Kindergarten to 12th-grade years at Keshet, a school that embraces religious and secular students.
“Attending Keshet School meant learning about different communities,” she says. “It meant understanding more than just one perspective on the world.”
After graduating, she spent a gap year volunteering with disadvantaged communities in Jaffa. She went on to serve in the IDF in a position that, she says, “even people in Israel don’t know about.”
Her job was to counsel IDF soldiers who had come from circumstances that made military service so difficult for them that they deserted and were imprisoned. It was, she says, like “being a social worker in the army.”
“Day to day, I would sit with these prisoners and interview them to hear the difficult stories of their lives,” she says. “After I understood their experiences and perspective, I would evaluate what kind of program and skills would help them fulfill their IDF duties and find a path for them to be part of Israel’s society.”
Her work in the IDF prompted Notrika to study social work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. While in school, she worked as an administrative assistant for a top-rated law firm, and she managed recruitment for LEAD, an elite leadership training program designed to develop the next generation of Israeli leaders.
“Everything these youth have been doing since they were teenagers is for social impact and to be leaders in their community,” she says. “LEAD puts them on a path of innovation and strategic thinking so that they can impact the world on a larger scale.”
When Notrika arrived in the United States, she looked for jobs within Jewish organizations. When she found the position with the Israel & Overseas Center at JEWISHcolorado, “It brought together so many things I have done before.”
“Working on operational duties, managing projects, interacting with the community, developing the relationship with Ramat HaNegev, supporting the Shlichim program, and bringing my knowledge about Israel—these were all roles that used skills I had,” she says. “But this was also an amazing opportunity to learn about new things.”
The story of the Israel & Overseas Center
For Notrika, it was challenging to leave Israel after the 2023 Hamas terrorist attack.
“It was extremely difficult because I know that people I care about are in a very hard situation,” she says. “But even though I am far away, I feel that I can have an impact.”
In her new role, Notrika’s impact can be felt in the programs under the umbrella of the Israel & Overseas Center—the Shlichim and Shinshinim, the Joyce Zeff Israel Study Tour, other mission trips including the Public Officials Mission Trip, the Ramat HaNegev partnership, and special events. These programs run smoothly with their own unique leaders. Notrika sees her primary role to be one of a communicator. She has restarted the Israel & Overseas Center newsletter after a period on hiatus.
“We inform people about specific Israel-related news and activities and what we are doing at the Israel & Overseas Center,” she says. “Particularly in the past year, it has been important to share our impact and show the many connections we have in Israel through our partnerships and lay leaders.”
Since restarting the newsletter, Notrika says she has already seen the impact with people who are eager to connect with JEWISHcolorado. She wants to emphasize that the newsletter does more than tell the story of the I&OC. It also shares stories with many viewpoints, fulfilling a worldview that she can trace back many years to her time as a Kindergartner at Keshet.