Where are you from?
Boca Raton, Florida
Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
Loggers’ Run Middle School, Holocaust and Genocide Studies
How did you get involved with the JFR?
I have always taught something about the Holocaust in all my years of teaching. In the school year 2018-19, I was assigned to teach Holocaust and Genocide studies for high school in a middle school setting and advanced students. It was then that I knew I would need to strengthen my knowledge base and JFR seemed the perfect organization to help me do just that.
What drew you to the organization and its programming?
I had the opportunity to spend time at Columbia a few summers ago, and the experience was truly impactful for me. I got to hear from outstanding speakers like Doris Bergin, Peter Hayes, Roman Kent and more. These experiences truly influenced me and helped me to create a course for my students. I also got to see Peter Hayes in Palm Beach that same year along with Stanlee Stahl. When the opportunity came to travel on the Summer Institute in July 2019 I jumped on the chance because I knew the history covered and sites visited would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Getting to have Professor Robert Jan van Pelt along was just the icing on the cake.
What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
The most compelling thing I learned in my time with JFR was about the bystanders. On the July 2019 trip, we visited many sites and were made aware of the neighbors right next to the camps and other facilities who just minded their own business. Most remained bystanders instead of standing up for the Jewish people and others.
What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
I have many favorite memories, but when I think about it, I feel very lucky to have gotten to hear Roman Kent describe the events his family went through during the war. His descriptions were so vivid, and it was heartbreaking to even hear him talk about how difficult it was for him to lose his pet dog which for a child especially is so hurtful.
Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
JFR has impacted my life both personally and professionally. Personally I have developed lifelong friendships (I am sure Bradd Weinberg and I will never forget racing through the airports to make flights that summer). In Palm Beach County the JFR Fellows have collaborated with Insight for Education and are now offering in service programs to teachers in the district.
Where are you from?
Pensacola, Florida
Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
Ransom Middle School in Cantonment, Florida, 6th grade US History, 7th grade Civics, and 8th grade World History.
How did you get involved with the JFR?
I’ve attended workshops and seminars with the Gulf Coast for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, and Don offered to sponsor me to attend JFR, and it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up!
What drew you to the organization and its programming?
I have a few friends who attended JFR before me and expressed just how top notch JFR’s organization and programming are, and I am always down to learn new things.
What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
It was all so good; I don’t think just one thing stands out – what’s intriguing to me are the medical experiments and the grappling with the morality of them all.
What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
The best part of JFR programming, aside from all the newfound knowledge, is meeting and collaborating with like-minded colleagues from around the world.
How do you feel the fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
I feel like a more well-rounded person and teacher with resources and connections to help me in just about any way I can ask for.
Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
Keep learning – always. And be kind.
Where are you from?
I was born in Chicago, but currently live in the southwestern suburbs of the city with my husband, Matt, and our daughters, Ellie & Lucy. I am a graduate of Marquette University (BA) and Tiffin University (MA). I am currently completing my doctoral work in Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Gratz College, where I am finishing my second year of courses. I have served on the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center’s Educator Advisory Committee since 2016, and have been doing volunteer work for Yahad In-Unum since the fall of 2020.
Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
I have been teaching high school for nearly fifteen years. My current school, Oswego East High School, a diverse suburban school, has been home to me for the past six years. I teach Honors World History, Modern World History, Ancient History, and AP Seminar.I am proud to live in a state where Holocaust Education is a state-mandate. I am also fortunate to be able to share survivor testimony with my students each year! This year on Yom HaShoah, I will be hosting a virtual experience with my students. We are fortunate to be in community with survivor, Estelle Glaser Laughlin.
How did you get involved with the JFR?
In 2017 I was nominated to attend the JFR Summer Institute, but had to defer as I was traveling to Japan that summer to meet with survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The following year in 2018, I was fortunate to be nominated by the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center for a second time, as an Irena Sendler Fellow.My nomination meant that I would be spending a week in New York and learning from some of the foremost scholars, historians, and survivors and no doubt this would be the opportunity of a lifetime! This opportunity would bring me to New York City for my first time and allow me to earn my place among the Alfred Lerner fellows.
What drew you to the organization and its programming?
Becoming a fellow would open additional doors for me– to attend the JFR Advanced Seminar (see you there in 2022!) and even travel to Europe to learn more at specific locations and scholars like Robert van Pelt (!). Between the Claims Conference and JFR, I also knew that I would be able to network with other teachers both domestically and foreign because of the caliber of programming. At my session I met some wonderful new friends from Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania.
Becoming part of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous as a fellow meant that I would be able to continue learning, sharing, and teaching from an even greater caliber of information and testimony than I had previously been exposed to. In 2018, I had the opportunity to meet and learn from folks like Peter Hayes, Edward Westermann, and Daniel Greene. This event was the catalyst for me to begin my doctoral work.
What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
During the seminar, I was able to pick the brains of my academic idols and learn about emerging topics within the field, like the Holocaust in the East. One of the most important revelations I had during this time had to do with the information that related to the Holocaust in the East. Even as a seasoned teacher and avid student of IHMEC, I found myself thinking, Whoa…I have only been teaching half of the story?! I realized then, that indeed I still have so much more to learn and teach my students.The information presented at the Summer Institute further connected to subsequent training from Yahad In-Unum the following January. I was very fortunate to have this introduction to the Holocaust in the East, and felt that much more prepared!
What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
Hands down meeting Roman Kent and having an incredible conversation with him. When Mr. Kent had spoken at the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, he said that “We don’t want our children’s future to be our past”. I told Mr. Kent how I have shared his speech every year since, and that I promised to continue doing so. It was an incredible experience!! The photo below is one that I keep prominently on my bookcase in the classroom. I love when my students ask about Mr. Kent.
How do you feel the fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
Attending JFR’s Summer Institute set my on a trajectory to learn and grow more as an educator within Holocaust and Genocide Studies. I am still in regular contact with the friends I made as well as with some of the scholars!The investment of time, education, and collaborative discussions with like-minded folks was and continues to be a gift that continues giving. The amount of information I came home with and was able to update and adapt my own teaching curriculum was substantial.
Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
I honestly feel that if it had not been for my experience with JFR and becoming a Fellow I would not have made the commitment to further my education. I feel indebted to JRF for the connections, knowledge, and experience I gained during that summer. I would attend every year if I could!”
Where are you from?
I grew up in a small rural town in central Alabama, and now live with my husband and children in Chelsea, Alabama.
Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
I currently teach in the Shelby County School system, where I specialize in History, Civics, and English as a Second Language for Middle and High School students. I am passionately dedicated to spreading Holocaust education to students in all parts of Alabama.
How did you get involved with the JFR?
The study of the Holocaust has been of interest to me for most of my life, beginning with my father who was an amateur World War II Historian. Following graduate school, my teaching mentor connected me with the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center, which is a JFR “Center of Excellence.” The BHEC encouraged my studies and ignited a desire in me to want to delve deeper into the Holocaust. After doing several local and national conferences, it was the BHEC who recommended the JFR as a way to enrich my Holocaust Education studies. I became an Alfred Lerner Fellow in 2018.
What drew you to the organization and its programming?
What initially drew me to the JFR was the compassionate nature of their mission and that their learning opportunities featured the brightest minds in Holocaust scholarship and learning. I knew that in order for me to grow as an educator, I had to ally myself with the JFR, which has inspired, enlightened, educated, and poured so much into me. Combined with the generosity of the JFR and their professionalism, I could not have learned in a more supportive and uplifting organization. Their commitment to celebrating and honoring moral courage is a message that has resonated greatly with me.
What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
My most compelling takeaway as an Alfred Lerner Fellow was more a concept than any one specific event or idea. I had always viewed the Holocaust from the perspective of the great evil committed against humanity. What I found in my studies was a new focus; that of the greatness of the human spirit, and the courage of the righteous who stood up.
What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
My favorite moment at the Alfred Lerner Fellowship at Columbia University was getting to sit down and spend time with Roman Kent. Mr. Kent is a man who I have long followed and admired. Hearing him speak, share his life experiences, and emote in such an authentic way moved me to tears, but also helped deepen my knowledge of survivor experiences. At the JFR Advance Seminar I attended in 2019, I have two favorite memories. First, I enjoyed getting to speak at length with Professor Christopher Browning, a Holocaust professor and author who I have avidly followed for many years. Getting to dialogue with him about his thoughts on units of study I was working on at the time lit a new fire in me and gave me the courage to step up my own content study and, thereby, add some new reflective questioning to my high school Holocaust unit. Secondly, I enjoyed the camaraderie and fellowship with all of the other Lerner Fellows, many of us keep in touch via social media. It is so valuable to have others who are similarly situated in teaching the same content and do not ever mind helping you with concepts, methods, or ideas for imparting the Holocaust to our students.
How do you feel the fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
The fellowship has impacted both my life and career tremendously. It opened my eyes to the plight of those that suffered throughout history, and those who suffer in today’s world. It has made me a worldlier thinker. Despite whatever differences we may have, we are all human beings and worthy of humanity. In terms of career, I feel now more confident in my knowledge, and my ability to pass on that knowledge to my students. There would have been a time in my life that I would have shied away from opportunities to speak to large groups, invite guest speakers, or design my own units of study. The JFR has given me a boldness of spirit to know that I CAN handle those tasks because I have, most importantly, the knowledge, and if I lack the knowledge, I know who to ask for help. It also gave me the confidence in myself to continue pursuing opportunities to expand my knowledge for both myself and my students.
Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
I would like to express my most profound respect for the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous Board of Directors, Executive Director Stanlee Stahl, and the entire staff for all they do and will continue to do for the teachers and other Holocaust professions. Their contributions are seen, valued, and appreciated. May they be blessed for their hard work!