Judith Tydor Baumel-Schwartz is the Director of the Arnold and Leona Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research, the Abraham and Edita Spiegel Family Professor in Holocaust Research, the Rabbi Pynchas Brener Professor in Research on the Holocaust of European Jewry, Professor, the Israel and Golda Koschitsky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. She is the author of numerous books and articles and specializes in topics pertaining to gender, Jewish religious life, the Holocaust, memory, State of Israel, the United States, and commemoration.
Hana Bor (Ph.D.) is a professor at the College of Liberal Arts at Towson University. Her studies focus on educational leadership, group dynamics, Non-profit management, diversity and cultural studies, Holocaust education, and mergers in higher education. She is the graduate program director of the Leadership in Jewish education and communal services, two post Baccalaureate certificates, and the accelerated BA/MA program. Currently, she is a co-editing a book entitled: “Enhancing Dignity, Democracy, and Diversity in Higher Education: Global Ideas and Practices in Challenging Times” to be published by Routledge publication in 2022.
Rachel Deblinger (PhD) is the Director of the Modern Endangered Archives Program at the UCLA Library, the Co-Director of the Digital Jewish Studies Initiative at UC Santa Cruz, and the Founding Director of the UC Santa Cruz Digital Scholarship Commons. She received her Ph.D. in History from UCLA. Her research interest includes topics related to the transmission of knowledge about the Holocaust, media technology, and the efforts of Jewish communal organizations that allow survivor narratives to be collected, preserved, and viewed.
Jessica Fink began her career as an educator at the University of Florida, where she received her degree in Elementary Education (and became a devoted Gator fan). She continued her education at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Master’s in Elementary Education. After moving to New York City, Jessica spent her days teaching at a Manhattan elementary school and her evenings completing a Master’s program in Library Science at The Pratt Institute. Shortly after earning her second Master’s degree, Jessica and her husband moved to Baltimore to start a family. She is now enjoying her sixth year as librarian of the Center for Jewish Education and loves to read, run and spend time with her family in her free time!
Azrikam Ganot is an Israeli born teacher and business owner, son of Holocaust survivors, activist focused on commemorating the Holocaust and the memory of the Novogridk community.
Joyce Garczynski is the Assistant University Librarian for Development & Communications at Towson University’s Albert S. Cook Library in Maryland. In this role she teaches journalism students about the research process, manages her library’s social media and fundraising efforts. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Maryland, College Park and has a Master’s in Communication from the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to becoming a librarian, Joyce was a Project Coordinator and Research Assistant at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Joyce received the 2019 Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries for her excellence in teaching and service to the profession.
Lauren Granite (PhD) has over 12 years of teaching experience teaching Jewish History at universities, day schools, and congregational schools. She is currently the director of U.S. education programs at Centropa. Since joining the Centropa team in 2010, Dr. Granite has run workshops and seminars in Jewish education, mentored educators, has written lessons and developed numerous projects.
Daniel Heß has been an educator for over a decade teaching history and social studies at the Friedrich-Rueckert-Gymnasium. He served as project manager for the “Forget-Me-Not” exhibit which depicts The fate of Jewish children from the former districts of Haßfurt, Hofheim and Ebern during the National Socialist period.
Tamar Ketko (PhD) is a Historian and a Philosopher of Education. Her studies focus on issues regarding Collective Memory, Holocaust, WWII resistance, Nazi Education, National Identities, Ethics in Higher Education, and Moral Values of multicultural societies. She is the Head of the Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences at the Kibbutzim College of Education. Her books (Hebrew) include Separating Memories from Stones – the Holocaust “Haggadah” (2010) Tel-Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publication; Ice Creatures – The Nazi Education System (2017) Tel-Aviv: Resling Publication. Some of her recent articles include, “Not victims: the image of Jews in World War II.”(2017) Jewish Culture and History, (18)2: 274-290; “Teaching in Times of Conflict.” (2019) The International Journal of Diverse Identities 19(1): 1-14; “Janusz Korczak’s visits to Palestine in 1934 and 1936.” (2020) Jewish Culture and History, 21(4): 359-372.
A native Baltimorian, Sonia Kozlovsky graduated from UMBC and the Baltimore Hebrew College with degrees in both History and Jewish History. She began her professional career as a librarian at the Baltimore Hebrew College, and subsequently wrote a chapter about its history in the book, Jewish American Voluntary Organizations, edited by Michael N. Dubkowski. For the past 37 years, she has been the librarian at Krieger Schechter Day School. In addition, she is the Community Librarian for the Center for Jewish Education in Baltimore. Sonia enjoys reading, gardening, hiking, cooking and spending time with her family.
Amy McDonald is a teacher at Shades Valley High School, in Birmingham, Alabama, where she currently teaches U.S. History and Holocaust Studies. She received a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and a Masters of Education in Secondary Social Science from the University of Montevallo. She is also the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Honor Flight Birmingham. Amy is a Teacher Fellow of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and an author of two Holocaust books.
Jeffrey Parker serves as the program coordinator in Education Initiatives at the Levine Institute for Holocaust Education in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Before working at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jeffrey taught high school English for 20 years. Currently, he works with educators and future teachers helping provide the best practices to prepare them for addressing the Holocaust in their classrooms. Jeffrey’s focus of his research is Holocaust Education, and his publications include the article “When Teaching the Holocaust, Heed These Three Recommendations.”
Marisa Shultz is the School Program Coordinator at the Jewish Museum of Maryland (JMM) in Baltimore. At the Museum, Marisa designs professional development opportunities for teachers and education professionals and leads programs for students on a wide variety of topics, including the Holocaust, immigration, Maryland history, and Judaism. She is a proud graduate of Gettysburg College and member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Marisa is a 2022 Friedman Fellow with Na’aleh and served as a 2020-2021 Teacher Fellow with the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies. Marisa would love to hear from you about your experiences teaching about the Holocaust and how she can support you and your students!
Ashley Todd-Diaz (PhD) is Assistant University Librarian for Special Collections and University Archives at Towson University. She also teaches as an adjunct professor of archival studies in Emporia State University’s Master of Library and Information Science and Drexel’s College of Computing and Informatics. Her research interests include teaching with primary sources, archives as organizations, and perceptions of archives. She holds a Ph.D. from Emporia State University’s School of Library and Information Management, an MSIS with a concentration in Archives and Records Administration from SUNY at Albany, and an MA in English and American Literature from New York University.
Levi Israel Ufferfilge was born in Minden, Westphalia. He studied Yiddish and Jewish studies and received his doctorate. He is currently the headmaster at Masorti Elementary School of the Jewish International School. Levi has recently published his book Not Without my Kippah!. He has a very large following on social media platforms where he discusses his experience as a visible Jew in Germany.
Lori Weintrob (PhD) is the founding director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center and is a history professor. She has taught courses on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust; Art, Theater, Film, and the Holocaust; France and the Francophone world; leadership studies; global cinema; and immigration history. At the Holocaust Center, Dr. Weintrob has co-curated exhibits, co-authored plays, co-edited documentaries and articles, and lead multiple projects.