Your Team for Success

Each client enjoys the benefit of working with one of FreeMind’s multi-disciplinary consulting teams. Each team has the expert skills and experience to support the client through the entire fund raising process. We are not a grant writing organization; but rather a fund raising organization that uses grants as a main tool to maximize our client's fund raising potential.
Our professional team combines extraordinary scientific understanding, innovative business and financial approach and creative writing and presentation skills. FreeMind's team caters to the specific and unique needs of academic and research institutions as well as the life science industry.
Our professional expertise, and years of experience writing and winning govt. grants and contacts have allowed us to re-invent the grant writing process. Our different approach to grants, as a strategic source of funding, and our systematic grant writing process led to an outstanding success rate that will benefit your organization.

Management

Eyal Schmidt - President & CEO

Mr. Schmidt has 20 years of experience in corporate finance. Mr. Schmidt has led FreeMind Consultants to become a leading consultancy firm in the area of finance for hi-tech and life sciences companies. Mr. Schmidt has managed the business activities of FreeMind Consultants since its launch. Mr. Schmidt holds a CPA certification and a Bachelors degree in accounting and economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

eyal@freemindconsultants.com

Ram May-Ron - Vice President

Mr. May-Ron has more than 10 years of experience as a leading strategic analyst both in the business and political sectors. He has led a strategic consultancy firm and has served as a top strategy advisor to several international organizations and elected political figures. Mr. May-Ron serves on the board of directors for several companies and has a wide range of experience in marketing and business development. Mr. May-Ron holds an MEI (Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, International Business Management) from Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology. He also holds a Masters in International Relations, focusing on strategic decision making processes from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, winning the International Relations Department’s academic excellence scholarship.

ram@freemindconsultants.com

Ariel Shatz - Vice President

Mr. Shatz has over 15 years of consulting experience in marketing, sales and business development. He is the focal point of a networking team that specializes in accompanying technology companies that wish to penetrate and expand into new markets. Mr. Shatz has vast experience in identifying opportunities and creating collaborations between companies, research institutes, service providers and other entities in the areas of hi-tech and life sciences. Mr. Shatz holds a Bachelors degree in psychology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

ariel@freemindconsultants.com

Ron Ben-Tsvi - Vice President, Professional Services

Mr. Ben-Tsvi has a wide range of experience in business consultancy and in developing financing strategies for high growth companies. He has led hundreds of companies to successful grant applications, allowing them to significantly expand their R&D activities, obtaining funding from the NIH, the Israeli Chief Scientist’s Office (CSO) and various bi-national funds. Mr. Ben-Tsvi has over 10 years of experience in the areas of finance, hi-tech & life sciences fields, working with both companies and academic institutions. Mr. Ben-Tsvi holds a CPA certification and a Bachelors degree in accounting and economics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

ron@freemindconsultants.com

Strategic team

Dr. Merav Geva – Chief Analyst & Director of Professional Services

Dr. Merav Geva leads FreeMind professional department in her role as Chief Life Sciences Analyst and Director of Professional Services. Dr. Geva has been with FreeMind for over 4 years and was involved directly in the writing of over 200 applications to the NIH, NSF, DOD and other govt. and private funding agencies. As Chief Analyst Dr. Geva identifies funding opportunities for a wide range of clients, academic and industrial alike, and defines funding strategies and priorities, vis-à-vis institute and agency requirements. Dr. Geva also leads FreeMind's grant writing team and her responsibilities include reviewing projects and applications for scientific and technical components, networking and communicating with agency personnel. Dr. Geva received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. Dr. Geva was a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Prof. Ron Wetzel at the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, researching amyloid and neurodegenerative disease. Dr. Geva is the recipient of many awards and honors and has authored and co-authored 11 publications.

Dr. James Scheirer – Senior Advisor – NIH Affairs

Dr. James Schreirer is the former NIH Deputy Director of the Division of Extramural Affairs of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and former Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Dean for Clinical Research and Associate Professor of Surgery at UMDMJ. He is a veteran researcher with over 30 years of experience in the bio-science field and over 20 years experience at the NIH and is an expert on reviewing proposals prior to NIH, foundation or agency submission and has developed an extensive network of contacts within the NIH system. He has held numerous positions at the NIH, as Chief in the Review Branch of the NHLBI, as Chief of Contracts, Clinical Trials and Training Review Section of the NHLBI, Scientific Review Administrator of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and NHLBI and as a Grant Associate in the Center of Scientific Review.

Dr. Orna Harel- Senior Analyst

Dr. Orna Harel serves as a Senior Analyst at FreeMind’s Professional Department. As Senior Analyst, Dr. Harel is involved in the strategic assessment of FreeMind’s clients’ research and development activities, restructuring these activities into fundable projects, and the identification of relevant funding opportunities. Her task is to identify suitable funding opportunities that will not only assist our clients to fund their R&D work but also will benefit their long term strategic plans and will maximize possible funding opportunities. Dr. Harel spent over five years as a researcher at the NIH and has worked on many applications, directed also at the DOD, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and other funding agencies. She completed her Postdoctoral work at the NIH, Laboratory of Environmental Gene Regulation, Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Harel received her Ph.D in Molecular Microbiology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Since 2005, Dr. Harel has been teaching Life Sciences, Cellular Biology at the Faculty of Science and Science Education, University of Haifa, Israel. Dr. Harel is a Senior Investigator at the Faculty. Dr. Harel is the recipient of many awards and has authored and co-authored 11 publications.

Senior writers

Joel Knopf, MSc.

Ron Littman, MSc.

Rebecca Rich, MSc.

Gabriel Arad, MSc.

Ayal Ronen MSc.

Jonathan Vaisman

Guy Harchen