Academic trips have their own shape: educational goals, a faculty lead or student trek committee setting the brief months in advance, and a cohort whose energy and attention sometimes need pacing differently from a regular tour group.
I work to those constraints and build the itinerary together with you to make sure we’re meeting all your objectives.
Programmes I’ve guided
Since 2014 I’ve guided MBA treks for The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Berkeley Haas School of Business; travelled with student groups from Yale School of Management, MIT Sloan and more.
I’ve also worked with policy schools like the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and The Fletcher School at Tufts.
For several of these programmes I’ve led the annual trip multiple years in a row.
How I work with trip leaders
For most of these trips the overall programme is shaped by the trek committee or an agency they’re working with; I contribute ideas and input where it helps.
My job is the ground game: delivering the plan we’ve agreed, adapting when the day throws up surprises (and it always does), and making sure the guiding stays focused on what the trip leaders want the cohort to take away.
Why these groups tend to work with me
I share their terms of reference. Years before guiding I read Hebrew and Israeli Studies at Cambridge (BA, MA), then worked in marketing at P&G, then across Israeli tech (Wix, Artlist, Guesty); cohorts arriving with both academic approaches and business questions are familiar ground.
English is my mother tongue, and the register of an MBA classroom or a faculty seminar isn’t far from my own. And these cohorts often want a guide who’ll hold the multiple narratives carefully (Israeli, Palestinian, Druze, Bedouin, ultra-orthodox, secular) without flattening them or taking a side.
Tour examples
Fletcher School, five years running
I’ve led the international affairs programme for The Fletcher School (Tufts) five years in a row. The group’s normally internationally diverse and the brief is a deep-dive on the political questions: Israel/Palestine, Gaza, the borders with Lebanon and Syria; and the internal complexity of Israeli society (ultra-orthodox, the Arab citizens of Israel, the Ethiopian community, the Druze). Across the programme we also fit in the traditional sites and a few nights of Tel Aviv at full volume (good food, good music).
A Wharton MBA programme across Jordan, Israel and Turkey
A multi-country MBA programme covering Jordan, Israel and Turkey over a couple of weeks. I guided the Israel leg; in Jordan and Turkey I coordinated the programme for the team, briefing and managing the local guides. The programme leaned heavily on meetings with local startups and industry; we also made room for the sites and a few nights out.
What faculty and trek leaders say
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“Fifth year running our 50-student policy trek.”
It was a great pleasure and honor to have Samuel return for the fifth year to guide our annual policy trek, a delegation of 50 graduate students from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, throughout Israel.
As one of the trek leaders, Sam did an excellent job at studying our itinerary and carefully weaving stories, multiple narratives and, when applicable, anecdotes into every stop on our tour. It is clear that Sam takes great pains to give a balanced and even-handed account of highly complex and contested sites in Israel.
Sam certainly knows how to work a crowd to maintain good morale and vibes on long tour dates, often providing some comic relief with his corny "Dad" jokes and sharing some of his favorite Israeli songs accompanied by group dances on a charter bus. Sam made our trek experience deeply informative and memorable. This experience will undoubtedly remain with me and my colleagues for years to come.
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“Expert and personable at once.”
When working with Samuel on the trip’s agenda, I was impressed by his dedication to tailor a trip that will meet our group’s unique characteristics.
Samuel delivered the content in the most interesting, interactive and unique way, keeping our attendees present and attentive to his explanations. The history of Israel can be long, confusing and hard to relate to, especially when many of the participants have never heard about these stories prior to the trip. Samuel’s unique guiding style led our group to be constantly engaged with the material and remember the stories long after we left the country.
Samuel is very good at walking the line between being an expert on a subject matter and being friendly and personal. In between giving commentary on the landscape seen from the bus, preparing for the next landmark on the agenda and ensuring we have lunch waiting for us when we get off the bus, Samuel made sure to connect with our attendees on a personal level. By the end of the trip, all our attendees felt like Samuel was “one of the crew” and expressed hope to meet again in the future.
Samuel is a very personable man. Friendly and professional, he has good interpersonal skills that lead him to work well with the partners and suppliers throughout the trip. Building rapport while expecting high output, Samuel led our group to have a great experience with the bus driver, hotel staff and restaurants management throughout the trip.
In closing, the experience with Samuel during our trip surpassed all my expectations. Samuel’s unique personality, quality of delivery and willingness to “jump in” to our group’s culture made our trip unforgettable. I believe he would be a tremendous asset to any group visiting Israel.
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“The best guide they’d ever had, and I’m booking next year.”
Even though it’s been almost a month since we finished the Wharton Israel Trek, I keep on getting emails and calls from the trekkers about the wonderful time they had on the trek. I know I thanked you several times now, but now that the survey results are in, it seems that a large part of the reason these people are thanking me is you :)
People have told us that you were the best tour guide they ever had; the biggest compliment came from one of the participants, when she told me that she’s planning to send her parents to Israel, and to make sure you show them around.
You were great, and I’m already booking you for next year’s trek :)
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“Kept students engaged – from history to politics and business.”
Samuel was not only a knowledgeable tour guide, he has a great sense of humor and kept students engaged and interested in everything from ancient to modern history, politics, religion, economics, and business – just what you would hope in a first class Israeli tour guide. I recommend him without hesitation!
