In this episode of Yalla, Let's Go!, Erica and Abbey sit down with Jillian Goldberg — olah from Cincinnati, former CRO of Israeli automotive cybersecurity startup EcoMotion, Teach For America alum, powerlifter, and Israeli Ninja Warrior contestant — for a wide-ranging, deeply honest conversation about reinvention, belonging, and building an unlikely life in Israel.

Jillian came to Israel for a one-year master's degree at Tel Aviv University and never left. She joined her professor's startup as its first non-technical employee, grew into the global CRO, and quietly built and sold cyber products to the U.S. Army — all while becoming a powerlifter with Israeli national records, competing on Ninja Warrior, and playing on the national flag football team. After October 7th, she jumped into crisis communications for hostage families, working closely with the U.S. government before anyone had heard of the Hostage Forum.

Also in the episode:

• From inner-city Dallas classrooms (Teach For America) to Israeli cybersecurity startup CRO
• Building and selling U.S. Army cyber products from Tel Aviv — before defense was sexy
• October 7th hostage communications: doing the work before the Hostage Forum existed
• Israeli Ninja Warrior: competing on a course she'd never seen before
• Marrying into an Ashkenazi-Mizrahi family: Ariel, Ladino, and trial by fire
• Why Israel gave her opportunities America never would — and what she still misses

This is a bold, funny, and deeply personal conversation about reinvention, resilience, and the life you build when you show up with everything you've got.

Subscribe for more conversations with people who live, work, build, and stay in Israel.

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