She didn’t know it at the time, but Sheila Aharoni’s journey to Georgia Tech originated in her grandfather’s fragrant orange groves in Israel. Aharoni, B.S. Industrial Management ‘79, was born in Israel to a family that deeply valued education and perseverance.
“My father was a scientist, and my mother was a schoolteacher,” she shared. “We didn’t have a lot of means, but we were raised with a strong sense of purpose and community.”
When her father received a scholarship to study in the U.S., the family moved to Wisconsin, then Cleveland, and eventually settled in New Jersey. They had always planned to move back to Israel, but at some point, her parents decided the U.S. would be a better place to raise their children.
With plans to study architecture firmly set in mind, her family and high school teachers recommended Georgia Tech. “My family in Israel knew of Georgia Tech,” she said. “It was a very respected school internationally.” Aharoni followed their advice and was admitted in the fall of 1976.
After demanding study sessions in the architecture program that rolled from day to night to day again, Aharoni realized it wasn’t a match and that she needed to pivot. She soon switched her major to Industrial Management, and the impact has been lifelong.
To this day, she can still hear the voice of one of her favorite management professors, Dr. Phil Adler, ringing out in the classroom. For the first time at Georgia Tech, she started to see her interests and natural gifts align with her studies, and she began having “fun.” But it would be far more than just fun; her education at Georgia Tech would lead to more opportunities than she could have imagined.
“The Industrial Management major really broadened my thinking,” Aharoni said. “I was the daughter of a scientist and a teacher, so business wasn’t familiar to me. Tech gave me a foundation that served me well for the rest of my career. Even 20 years after graduation, the Georgia Tech name helped me land the jobs I wanted. It’s a great school, and I still respect it very much.”
After graduating early in December of 1979, Aharoni was hired by GE in Atlanta and began a dynamic career that spanned multiple industries and geographies. “I worked in four different GE businesses, including motors, plastics, IT services, and GE Capital,” she said. “They were looking for engineers with commercial skills, and my degree was seen as a great fit.”
Eventually, Aharoni’s curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit led her to the startup world, specifically Israeli startups in the Bay Area. “I wanted to bridge my background – my understanding of Israeli culture and language – with the American business world,” she explained. “It also helped me retain the language and culture of my childhood. I’d speak Hebrew in staff meetings and work with Israeli clients. It was a way to stay connected.”
Aharoni thrived in the fast-paced, resource-constrained startup environment. “I loved the idea of having a blank piece of paper with a goal at the bottom and figuring it out,” she said. “In a startup, you have to do more for yourself, but you can also make a much bigger impact.”
Now retired from her paid career – which spanned eight industries, including cybersecurity, cloud computing, security services, and wide area communication systems – Aharoni is channeling her energy into causes that matter deeply to her. She serves as board president of HomeRise, a San Francisco nonprofit that provides housing for the formerly unhoused and works to mentor early-stage founders through UC Berkeley’s startup incubator.
“I wanted to do more strategic volunteering and use my business skills to make a real impact,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to see people living on the streets. This work helps me give back to the city I love. Both service opportunities are ways to use my brain and give in areas where I think I can contribute.”
