Ami Dar

Ami Dar (עמי דר; born January 7, 1961) is the founder and executive director of Idealist.org.

Early life
Dar was born January 7, 1961, in Jerusalem, the eldest of three children, to a schoolteacher mother and diplomat father. He grew up in Peru and Mexico, and it was in Mexico City where he first became aware of the contrast of wealth and poverty around him, which started him on a path of dedication to social justice.

In 1976, Dar and his family returned to Israel and from 1979 to 1982, he completed his mandatory service as a paratrooper.

Career
In 1988, Dar joined Aladdin Knowledge Systems, a software company based in Tel Aviv. From 1988 to 1992 he served as the international marketing manager. In 1992, he was named president and he relocated to New York City to establish their North American branch.

Idealist.org
By 1995 he had founded an early iteration of Idealist, The Contact Center Network sponsored meeting spaces in several communities where people could connect with neighbors who might share interests and ideas for local action. In 1996 Dar began calling the online network Idealist.org