On the Issues Episode 142: Yossef Ben-Meir

Today’s guest is Yossef Ben-Meir, co-founder and president of the High Atlas Foundation, a Moroccan-US nongovernment organization dedicated to sustainable development. In this episode, Alon and Yossef discuss sustainable development in Morocco and the role the High Atlas Foundation has played in development. Particularly, they discuss the importance of water infrastructure in uplifting everyday Moroccans, the environmental and societal implications of planting millions of trees across Morocco, and the critical importance of community participation in establishing development projects which will benefit local communities.

Originally broadcast April 7, 2026

Full bio
Yossef Ben-Meir is co-founder and president of the High Atlas Foundation, a Moroccan-U.S. nongovernment organization dedicated to sustainable development. In Morocco, he was also a Peace Corps Volunteer (1993-95), Associate Peace Corps Director (1998-99), Research Fellow at the American Institute of Maghreb Studies (2003-4), and Assistant Professor at Al Akhawayn University at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities (2009-2010). Dr. Ben-Meir holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of New Mexico (2009) where he also taught, an MA in international development from Clark University (1997), and a BA in economics from New York University (1991).