Raya Strauss Ben Dror was born in Nahariya in the Western Galilee to Dr Richard & Hilde Strauss who chose to come to the land of Israel as Zionists & pioneers and were among the founders of the the northest point in Israel - Nahariya.
They started as farmers with two cows in their back yard and developed it to become Strauss Food Industries - one of the biggest food concerns in Israel which became a worldwide organization. Raya shared the ownership of Strauss together with her brother Michael, and was part of the senior management team, until she decided to leave it in 2005. Raya is now the co-President of Strauss Investments Ltd. along with her brother Michael and she devotes all of her time to social action in Israel.

Raya has been supporting for many years some of the main social activities in the country – such as:

1. Beit Hashanti – a home for runaway youth

2. Aharay – Israel's leading youth leadership program

3. The Galilee Medical center – the main hospital in the north

4. Keshet Eilon – the best violin masterclasses in the world which are located on the Lebanese border in the Western Galilee

5. The Kibbutz Dance Company – one of the top 10 modern dance groups in the world which operates from the international dance village in the Western Galilee

And many more activities

In 2014, Raya founded and heads "The Spirit of the Galilee", an innovative initiative of approx. 200 volunteers from the Western Galilee from all religions, working together to boost all aspects of quality of life.

As part of it, Raya also founded and heads the philanthropic initiative "Treasures of the Galilee", aimed at leaping the tourism industry in the Western Galilee. In 5 years of action tourism to the region has doubled thanks to this initiative, creating numerous jobs and income to the region

Raya is a strong believer in taking action in the social world, and focuses most of her energy in developing the Western Galilee