On September 14, 2022, supporters from across the Midwest Region came together to reaffirm their resolve to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust shape the way forward.
We heard about the Museum's Americans and the Holocaust Initiative, the impact of our traveling exhibitions, and honored long-time Museum supporters, Loren and Howard Friend, with the National Leadership Award. Our featured speakers, Anne Applebaum and Dr. Edna Friedberg, gave historical context to the war in Ukraine and explained why the Museum’s work to reach global audiences is so urgent today.
Featured Guests
Honoring
- Howard and Loren Friend
Dedicated Museum supporters, the Friends have hosted fundraising events at their home, served as corporate co-chairs for the 2009 Chicago Luncheon, and traveled with the Museum on multiple occasions, including visits to Eastern Europe and Rwanda.
They are both active in their community of Glencoe, Illinois, and beyond. Howard is a board member of Am Shalom Temple, Jewish United Fund, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Loren is on the women’s board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and volunteers for Jewish Family Services and WITS (Working in the Schools). Loren and Howard have been married for 47 years and have two children and five grandchildren.
Speakers
- Anne Applebaum
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, journalist, and staff writer for The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum examines the challenges and opportunities of global political and economic change through the lenses of world history and the contemporary political landscape. View her work (external link).
From Syrian refugees to Putin’s disinformation narratives, from the EU and the European financial crises to responding to terrorism, from solutions to transition-government corruption to political populists’ game-changing campaign language, Applebaum provides both background and up-to-the-minute insights that are vital to understanding the risks and opportunities of today’s world political and economic climate. Anne’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Gulag: A History is about the Soviet concentration camps. Her book, Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine, is the winner of her second Duff Cooper Prize and the 28th Lionel Gelber Prize 2018. In it, Anne proves what many suspected: Stalin set out to destroy the Ukrainian peasantry. Her other books include Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1946, Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe, and Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism. She is a senior fellow of International Affairs and Agora Fellow in Residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. Photo: Rahil Ahmad
- Edna Friedberg
Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Dr. Edna Friedberg is a Museum historian and senior program curator, and the host of the popular Facebook Live series. She joined the staff of the Museum in 1999 and served as the historian for the multingual online Holocaust Encyclopedia and as director of its Wexner Learning Center. She also curated a special exhibition on the legacy of the Nuremberg trials and postwar justice. Dr. Friedberg regularly speaks to audiences across the country, and her essays connecting Holocaust history with social, cultural, and political issues today have appeared in publications including The Atlantic, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and The Forward.
Event Leadership
- Priscilla and Steven Kersten
Priscilla is president of the Square One Foundation, a private family foundation rooted in Tikkun Olam and social justice, with a focus on access to social and economic opportunity for all Chicagoans and strengthening our democratic institutions. She is a former member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council at the appointment of President Barack Obama and currently serves on the board of Debate It Forward and the advisory council of UChicago Charter School. In addition, she has served on a variety of boards, including the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Chicago Public Media, and was immediate past chair of the UChicago Women’s Board.
Steven is the owner and president of two manufacturing companies in Chicago, WaterSaver Faucet Co. and Guardian Equipment Inc. He is also an investor in industrial and office properties in the Chicago metropolitan area and has been a member and chair of several organizations and boards promoting manufacturing and workforce development. Steven is a member of World Business Chicago, the Commercial Club, and the Economic Club of Chicago and has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago since 2006. He currently serves on the Executive, Investment, and Institutional Capacity Committees. Priscilla and Steven have three children, Sam, Benjamin, and Allie.
Vice Chairs
Janet and Steven Anixter Gila Bronner and Dr. Craig Deligdish Suzanne and Lee Miller JoAnn Silva
Corporate Chair
Brian Price, Mesirow
Honorary Chairs
Governor JB Pritzker Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot
Program Agenda
Event Schedule
In-Person Attendees
11 a.m. Registration
11:30 a.m. In-person program and lunch begins with remarks from Governor JB Pritzker, Motzi, and recognition of former Chicago luncheon chairs and honorees
Noon: Program and event live stream begins
1 p.m. Book signing with Anne Applebaum
Virtual Attendees
Noon: Live stream of program begins
Event Sponsors
Event Sponsors Gifts as of September 9, 2022
$100,000 or more Anonymous Bluhm Family Charitable Foundation Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation The Crown and Goodman Families Judy and Abel Friedman Toby and Jeff Herr Priscilla and Steven Kersten The Malkin Family The Michael P. Polsky Family The Sidley Austin Foundation
$50,000–$99,999 The Lester and Edward Anixter Family Foundation Loren and Howard Friend GCM Grosvenor Carylon, Julius and Marcie Hemmelstein Foundation Kovler Family Foundation Ann Wolk Krouse, in memory of Paul C. Krouse and Amy Krouse Rosenthal Suzanne and Lee Miller Sandra and Michael Perlow Cari and Michael J. Sacks Jamie Diamond Schwartz and David Schwartz Kim and Perry Shwachman Fern and Manfred Steinfeld, Michael Steinfeld Family, Paul Steinfeld Family, Jill and Tim Cunniff Family Kathy Hess Tallering and Ken Tallering
$25,000–$49,999 Leadership Circle (gifts of $25,000+)
Anonymous Abt Family Foundation Rebecca and Dmitry Balyasny Judy and Howard B. Bernick Meredith Bluhm-Wolf and Bill Wolf Robert and Leslie Mitchel Bond Jacolyn and John Bucksbaum Bernice and Benjamin B. Cohen and Family Rita and Seymour Cohen Cynthia Elkins Foundation Laurie and Phillip Gerber Diane and Hal Gershowitz, Lisa and Larry Kite, Barbara and Daniel Kite, Jill and Bill Friedman, Amy and Andy Lask, Jennifer and Michael Gershowitz Families Danielle Rudas Goodman and Jordan Goodman Sheila and Joseph Gutman and Family Harris Family Foundation—Linda and Bill Friend, Pam Szokol, Caryn and King Harris, Stephanie and John Harris Houlihan Lokey Carol and Bill Kaplan/Senior Lifestyle Jill and Jory Katlin Risa, Harvey, Susan, Ronald, and Dana Lambert Family Livney Family Foundation Lauren and Todd Lustbader Jill and Paul Meister Mesirow Financial Robert R. Nathan Philanthropic Fund Northern Trust Linda and Richard Price and Family Arlen and Elaine Rubin Elise Sacks, in loving memory of Lee Sacks Karyn and Bill Silverstein Takiff Family Foundation Tina and Joseph Wolf Janna and Sheffield Wolk Zell Family Foundation
$15,000–$24,999 ALECKO Capital/Alex Pissios Associated Agencies Inc./Herz and Schrayer Families Blitstein Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Norman Bobins, The Robert Thomas Bobins Foundation Marlene Breslow-Blitstein and Berle Blitstein Marcy and Greg Carlin Carol and Douglas Cohen DLA Piper US LLP EMA Electromechanics, LLC Larry and Barbara Field and Family Karen and Jim Frank Dr. Carolyn Friend-Weiner and Dr. James Weiner Michelle and Corey Harris Jeffrey and Penny Hecktman and Family HMB Legal Counsel Carol and Ed Kaplan Lindsay and Gregg Kaplan Family Beth and Mark Kaufmann Andrea Kott and Mark Levine Bernard and Helen Kozloff Family Foundation, Denise Kozloff and Mr. David Gross, Dr. Mark Kozloff and Mrs. Gale Kozloff, Dana and Craig Sanders Laser Family Foundation Fifi and Ron Levin/Barbara and Ira Eichner Phyllis Levin in memory of Myron (Mike) Levin Elaine and Donald Levinson John and Serena Liew Family Fund Jodi and Paul Loeb and Family Carol Maxon Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management—The Baldwin Marcovici Group Andy and Nancy Mills The Perlman Family Foundation, founded by Louis and Anita Perlman Stacey and Brian Price Richard and Karen Reisin Jason B. Rosenthal and Family—In Memory of Amy Krouse Rosenthal Susan and Alan Sebulsky Jill and Rob Selati Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation The Sheba Foundation Smart Family Foundation Linda and Alan Swimmer Weinberg Family In loving memory of Hilda and Otto Wolf—Sandy and Bruce Wall and Brenda Wolf and Fred Siegman
Media Sponsors
Midwest Regional Office
The Midwest Regional Office serves Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York (upstate), North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Find out more about past programs and how to contact us.
Thank You to Our National and Regional Partners and Donors
Risa K. Lambert was dedicated to the Museum from its inception and involved many of her friends in supporting this historic venture. As a fitting tribute, her family and friends generously named the annual Chicago luncheon, this year to be held virtually and include the whole midwest region, in her memory.