Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
I teach World Geography, World History, and US History at Lancaster High School in South Carolina.

How did you get involved with the JFR?
I was nominated by the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust in the Spring of 2021 to participate in the Summer Institute for Teachers.

What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
Speaking with other Fellows, scholars, and JFR leadership during the programs that I have participated in has further solidified my desire to continue my path of Holocaust education.

What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
I participated right after completing my Master’s thesis where I referenced research from many of the scholars who presented at the Summer Institute, so having the opportunity to hear them speak “in person” was truly life-changing.

How do you feel the Lerner fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
I want now, more than ever before, to continue my education, expand my own knowledge, and visit the locations that were so crucial during the Holocaust. I want to then take that knowledge and experience to further build meaningful lessons that I can share with my students and other educators.

Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
The programs that the JFR offer are invaluable. The resources and the scholars that participate are world-renowned and offer unique perspectives on a multitude of Holocaust-related topics.  I am extremely thankful for all learning opportunities provided by the JFR.

Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
I currently serve as Director of Education for the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission (THGAAC), so I work with the public, community organizations, and educators and students of various grades and subjects. In the years before taking this position, I taught all ages, from elementary to college.

How did you get involved with the JFR?
In 2006, when I was a middle school history teacher in Houston, Holocaust Museum Houston generously sent me to summer training with the JFR.

What drew you to the organization and its programming?
The quality and credentials of the scholars involved in the program are so impressive. When I trained in 2006, the presenters included Debórah Dwork, Robert Jan van Pelt, Samuel Kassow, Susan Zuccotti, Henry Feingold, Nechama Tec (whose memoir I had coincidentally just read), and others. You don’t find this level of scholarship in every program out there. Having a scholar like Peter Hayes involved in putting together the JFR reader further testifies to the academic rigor of the program. I also appreciate the efforts that Stanlee and her staff put into staying in touch, and I typically see and catch up with her at a conference each year or so (before the pandemic, at least).

What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
Debórah Dwork’s framing of Poland in the Holocaust brought necessary clarity and balance, and Robert Jan van Pelt’s focus on the implications of language choices in the classroom (i.e., being careful with terms like “extermination” and “factories of death”) was impactful.

What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
Again, I fondly recall how accessible and personable the presenters were when they visited. I remember having lunch with Nechama Tec, and how she made an effort to get to know us and our concerns and goals as educators.

How do you feel the Lerner fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
Learning from and interacting with such outstanding academic figures greatly influenced my teaching. Robert Jan van Pelt’s emphasis on the impact of language played a role in shaping how I approach Holocaust education and later helped motivate me to complete my dissertation on Holocaust distortion in adaptation. As well, some of my connections through JFR have proved interesting in unexpected ways. I traveled to JFR with Wendy Warren, who was then a fellow Houston teacher. These days, Wendy is the Director of Education at one of the four Holocaust museums in Texas, so our paths cross frequently, and we get to put what we learned to use in our collaborations. Moreover, upon completion of the JFR program, I shared a cab to the airport with one of the speakers. She shared that she had just returned (with Stanlee) from Hungary, where they had interviewed the brother of Zsuzsanna Ozsváth; I already had plans for the following week to meet with Zsuzsi, whom I later studied under.