Shai Reshef

Shai Reshef is an American-Israeli businessperson and academic administrator. He is the founder and president of the University of the People the first American non-profit, tuition-free accredited online university.

Education and early career
Reshef earned an M.A. in Chinese Politics from the University of Michigan.

From 1989 to 2005, he was chairman of the Kidum Group. Reshef also chaired Laureate Education from 2001 to 2004, the first online university outside the United States.

In January 2009, Reshef founded the University of the People. Since that time, he has been university president.

Awards and recognition
In 2009 Reshef was included in Fast Company’s list of "100 Most Creative People in Business". He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Open University He was included in OneWorld's list of "People of 2009". He was awarded an Ashoka fellowship; joined UN-GAID as a High-level Adviser; granted membership in the Clinton Global Initiative; granted an RSA Fellowship; selected by The Huffington Post as the Ultimate Game Changer in Education; nominated as one of Wired Magazine’s 50 People Changing the World and selected as a Top Global Thinker by Foreign Policy Magazine.

In 2023, Reshef received the Yidan Prize for Educational Development, described by Education Week as the "Nobel Prize of education".

Reshef’s TED Talk and Nas Daily videos about the UoPeople have over 30 million views combined.

Personal life
Reshef is married to artist Rotem Reshef and has four children.