Team
Racheli Kreisberg, Ph.D., MBA
Racheli Kreisberg, Ph.D., MBA, is a professional genealogist and the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Genealogy Geolocation Initiative (SWIGGI), an innovative platform that combines family-tree reconstruction, archival research, geospatial mapping, and interoperable search tools to reconnect pre-war Jewish communities and preserve Holocaust memory.
Simon Wiesenthal, after whom the initiative is named, was her grandfather, a personal connection that deeply informs her commitment to remembrance, historical reconstruction, and Jewish family history.
Over nearly three decades, she has developed heritage tours, educational programs, and international collaborations, including initiatives co-developed with the Austrian Parliament, and has advanced public engagement in remembrance through technology-enabled storytelling and community-level historical reconstruction.
For founding SWIGGI, she was awarded the Gold Decoration of Merit of the Republic of Austria.
Yossi Beck, MA
Yossi Beck, MA, has been involved in genealogy research for over 25 years, focusing on Dutch Jewry. His interest in this field started with his efforts to research and commemorate the dozens of family members of his mother who were murdered in the Holocaust. The results of this research can be found on the https://beck.org.il website.
Yossi has been programming in PHP and JavaScript for 25 years and is co-programmer of the HuMo-gen genealogy program that is also used for presenting the genealogy section of the SWIGGI project.
He possesses:
- Extensive experience in the planning, development and programming of dynamic websites and server-side applications, database management and user interface (UI) optimization.
- In-depth knowledge of the Google maps API and experience in the use of Geographic Information System applications, in particular QGIS, with emphasis on matching historic maps with present day mapping services.
- Longstanding experience in genealogical research and an extensive network of fellow genealogists and genealogical societies.
- Academic qualification in business administration and experience in management of large organizations.