Kobi Chumash was born in Haifa, Israel, and lived there until he was 12 years old. He and his family moved to the city, Rehovot, where they lived until he graduated from high school in 1975. During Kobi's teen years, he was highly involved in the Israeli Scouts Youth Movement -- teaching, training, and motivating children and teens.
As all Israelis, Kobi went to the army at the age of 18, serving seven years in the Israeli Air Force. In 1982 he completed his full-time army service with a rank of Major. While continuing to play an extremely active role in the Army Reserves, he entered Tel Aviv University to study Geography and Political Science. After three years he changed direction and went to the College of Architecture & Design in Tel Aviv. He became an architect and interior designer, founding a small architectural firm with a colleague, specializing in custom-designed homes, restaurants, and offices. During this time Kobi also designed, opened, and managed a restaurant called Samobar Café.
Upon moving to the United States in September 2003 with his American-born wife and two Israeli-born sons, Kobi began applying his experience by sharing his broad knowledge of Israel, his in-depth understanding of the Middle East crisis, and his gift of teaching, communicating, and speaking.
Kobi leads many programs and national speaking engagements. He teaches Hebrew at Colorado College as well as to private students. The courses and seminars that he leads are taught throughout the community as well as through specific organizations such as the Florence Melton Adult Mini School -- A project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Those who have been taught by Kobi and those who have attended Kobi's programs on various topics all agree that he has touched their lives, motivated them to learn and understand more, and that his humor combined with his passion for knowledge make him an extraordinary presenter.
The cross-cultural training programs that Kobi and Sharon do together are intense and filled with fascinating information that most people never knew or had ever thought of. The benefit of having them do this type of program together is that they give a very balanced perspective on all the issues… Kobi, from an Israeli's perspective and Sharon, from an American's perspective having lived in Israel for eight years. Kobi and Sharon have served as consultants for companies such as Tucker International, LLC, an international cross-cultural training firm and Globelink International Services, Inc. through which Kobi has presented for the UCCS Extended Studies Program at Ft. Carson.
Sharon grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado with a European-born father and a mother who was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. With so many relatives living in Mexico, Sharon grew up speaking both English and Spanish.
While attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, she majored in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and Psychology. Throughout her studies at the University, she worked in the Sales and Marketing department at the largest and most popular hotel in Boulder — the Clarion Harvest House Hotel. After five years of experience under her belt in the arena of hotel management, she moved to San Francisco and became a Latin dance instructor, feeding her passion for her roots and her love of music and dance. This moved her to put her skills and experiences to use in a more international market taking her to New York City.
In New York City Sharon found work in hotel management, but now in an international sales and marketing office. This was a great stepping stone to expand her knowledge and feeling for diversity, but it still wasn't enough! She wanted more! This led Sharon to a six-month journey throughout Europe, setting out to learn about other cultures - their customs, and languages. Arriving in Israel, she felt immediately at home -- like a sponge absorbing all the dynamics, foods, customs, and cultures. She felt the magic of the land where so much history had taken place; the land where so many diverse people united to share their cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds.
After giving birth to her first son, she thought about a career change from sales and marketing. Living in such an international hub, with people from all over the world needing to communicate and do business with other people and countries, she recognized their need for learning English and Spanish, as well as their need to gain the cultural knowledge necessary to work with Americans and Latin Americans. After undergoing intensive training on how to teach a language, she found her niche. She established her own business allowing her to incorporate her broad experiences and her gift of teaching others. With her friendly, patient, and encouraging approach, companies and individuals quickly realized she could help them succeed. Her passion for teaching is coupled with the rewarding feeling she gets from seeing people transform from shy, insecure individuals who are afraid to speak, to confident, knowledgeable, assertive individuals able to bridge the cultural gap.