During the pandemic, the JFCS Holocaust Center never waned from its mission to remember, research, document, and educate about the Holocaust. In fact, it has increased accessibility and access to students, educators, and the community through adapting its offerings. From pivoting the William J. Lowenberg Speakers Bureau into virtual settings to addressing the increase in hate and antisemitism by engaging districts in holistic professional development with the Confronting Antisemitism series, the Holocaust Center is meeting the needs of those it serves. The best way to continue addressing the needs of our community is to gain direct insight from those in the field. It is with this in mind that the Educator Leadership Council was born.
The Educator Leadership Council’s mission is to unify a group of educators together to network while acting as expert advisors for the JFCS Holocaust Center on classroom settings, content knowledge, and school (teacher, student, administration) needs.
The JFCS Holocaust Center is proud to announce the inaugural 2021-22 Educator Leadership Council:
- Rabbi Michelle Greenberg, The Nueva School
- Suzy Kisch, Orinda Intermediate School
- Kayla Kissling, Mill Valley Middle School
- Hilary Levine, Holocaust Educational Consultant
- Jim McGarry, St. Francis High School
- Stephanie McGraw, The Athenian School
- Allison McManis, Envision Education
- Frank Perez, San Benito High School
- DJ Shelton, Palo Alto Senior High School
- Christina Tang, Galileo Academy of Science & Technology
- Tosha Tillotson, Diocese of Sacramento
- Hannah Wagner, The Bay School
These 12 amazing educators have a broad range of backgrounds, strengths, and experiences. From middle to high school, administrators to clergy, and private to public, the council is as representative as possible of the diverse schooling environments in North and Central California.
In the first meeting, these educators provided their invaluable expertise. The council explored a variety of topics, teaching staff about best practices of professional development, providing feedback on how our current offerings could better consider the needs of schools and educators, and investigating pedagogy and practices in introducing the Holocaust as a topic into schools at varying levels and ages.
The Holocaust Center looks forward to continuing understanding the needs of educators and schools, and working alongside this inspiring group of professionals in the coming months.
For questions about the Educator Leadership Council, please contact Andrea Struve at [email protected]
