Derek Saker is a seasoned marketing and communications professional, a story-teller and a uniquely global citizen.
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While South African by birth, he has lived and worked in diverse communities including in South Africa, the U.K. Israel, and the United States – a citizen of 3 of 4.
This life experience, in being exposed to many different peoples, communities and cultures, has provided him with both a breadth of life stories and experiences, as well as an acute sense of understanding and respect of diverse opinions and perspectives.
For 12 years, Derek had the privilege to serve as the Director of Marketing and Communications for Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services in New York, the largest Jewish social service agency outside of Israel.
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He has always been passionate about story-telling and as part of his many responsibilities at Ohel, was the creative force in ground-breaking and many award-winning Ohel video productions. These films brought to the fore, individual and communal challenges that were more often ignored or denied. From suicide to divorce, domestic violence to foster care, these productions were powerful stories told with sensitivity and respect and always provided hope through proactive intervention.
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While at Ohel, Derek also launched the acclaimed Podcast series, Listen for a Change – where he interviewed and shared incredible life stories of individuals who had overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges in their lives.
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For the immediate last years, Derek has served as the CEO of JWed.com, one of the most successful online Jewish dating for marriage services, which he co-founded. With nearly 4,000 resulting JWed marriages to date, Derek has spoken in many communities across the world, telling the story of JWed and Jewish dating, and providing guidance and strength to singles still looking for their bashert/soulmate. In the early years of what was then Frumster.com, Derek produced a number of promotional videos that went viral and which can be seen here.
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Always thinking ‘out-the-box’ - with the current Israel-Gaza conflict and a son in the IDF, he launched an international support group for parents of IDF soldiers and the accompanying parentsbeyahad.org initiative in-which he reached out to well-known individuals throughout the Jewish world, and secured over 100 personal video messages of support to parents with children on the front lines.
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REALWorks Productions is a venture that fulfills a long-time mission of his to authenticate the Jewish story and Jewish experience to a worldwide audience - through uniquely original and entertaining film and stage productions. This especially at this seminal time in Jewish history.
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Derek is an Advisory Board Member of the National Jewish Assembly (NJA) – an organization in the U.K. that is vigorously active in confronting antisemitism, promoting Jewish life and defending Israel.