Michal Hagbi was born and raised in Israel by immigrant parents from Yemen. After completing high school, she began working with special needs children in Tiberias. In 1992, she arrived to the United States and worked in various jobs in the field of physical therapy. After the birth of her first child, she began a search for an orthodox school with a strong sense of community and values. This is how she found Emek! After her son left the Emek Nursery, she began attending child development classes at Valley College and worked as a teacher's aid at Emek. In 2004, she began working as a teacher and has been here since.