At a time of escalating violent antisemitism amid a larger climate of hatred, Holocaust education and its lessons have never been more relevant.
On June 10, 2021, national Next Generation members came together for a conversation with Holocaust survivor Irene Weiss, Rachel Brown, an expert on dangerous speech, and Peter Alexander, co-anchor of Weekend Today, to explore the consequences of unchecked hate and antisemitism and the opportunities to counter them with education.
Watch the 2021 National Next Generation Virtual Event below.
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Featured Guests
Featured Guests

Former Fellow, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Rachel Brown is a dynamic force who speaks to the power of communication—how it can divide and how it can unite. For the past decade, she has focused on using communication to prevent violent conflict. After her 2014 fellowship with the Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center, Rachel authored Defusing Hate: A Strategic Communication Guide to Counteract Dangerous Speech. She previously founded and ran Sisi ni Amani-Kenya (SNA-K), a Kenyan NGO that pioneered new strategies to build local capacity for peacebuilding and civic engagement
Rachel is the founder and executive director of Over Zero, a non-profit organization that emerged out of the work of SNA-K. Over Zero partners with community leaders, civil society, and researchers to use the power of communication to prevent and rise above identity-based violence and other forms of group-targeted harm. Programming is focused on the United States, central Europe, and east Africa, as well as engagement with the wider atrocity prevention field. In May 2020, the organization produced Counteracting Dangerous Narratives in the Time of COVID-19: A Guide for the United States.

Irene Fogel Weiss was born in November 1930 in Bótrágy, Czechoslovakia (now Ukraine). Bótrágy came under Axis rule in 1939. Jews were barred from attending school, their businesses were confiscated, and thousands of Jewish men had to join Hungarian forced labor brigades. In April 1944, Hungarian authorities moved Bótrágy’s Jewish residents into the Munkács ghetto and shaved the heads of all girls under the age of 16. Irene’s mother gave her a scarf to wear, which probably saved her life after they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau because it made her look older.
Her mother, three younger siblings, and older brother were killed upon arrival. Irene and one sister were selected for forced labor. In January 1945, they were marched to Ravensbrück and then transported to the Neustadt-Glewe subcamp. One day during roll call, the SS separated Irene’s sister from the group, deeming her too weak to work. Irene joined her sister. They waited for a transport truck to Ravensbrück, where there were gas chambers, but the transport never arrived. Soviet troops soon liberated the camp. The sisters immigrated to New York in 1947. Irene became a teacher and now volunteers at the Museum.
Moderator

Emmy Award-winning journalist Peter Alexander is the co-anchor of Weekend Today and chief White House correspondent for NBC News, covering all aspects of the Biden administration. His reporting appears across all platforms of NBC News and MSNBC, including NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Today, Meet the Press, Dateline, and NBCNews.com.
Alexander was assigned to cover the White House for NBC News in 2012. Previously, he led the network’s on-the-ground coverage of the 2012 Republican presidential race, reporting from the trail on GOP nominee Mitt Romney through Election Day. His reporting earned him recognition as one of Politico’s “10 Breakout Reporters of 2012.”
Since arriving at NBC News in 2004, Alexander has covered numerous international stories—from Iraq’s historic 2005 election to the death of Osama bin Laden. He interviewed then-Cuban president Fidel Castro during Hurricane Ivan in 2005. In addition to his news responsibilities, he has also served as an NBC Sports host and covered the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Event Leadership
Chairs





Event Committee
Becky and Marc Altman
Morgan Anker
Erin and Sam Ankin
Tracy and Howard Ankin
Danielle and Jon Auerbach
Hillary and Alex Behar
Michael and Mollie Berenbom
Alisa and Adam Bergstein
Carly and Scott Bernstein
Michelle Bernstein
Blake and Joey Breslow
David Catanzarite
Ben Davis
Danielle Weinberg Dixon
Laura and Adam Docks
Jared Dubnow
Adam Edlin
Lonnie Edlin
Reanna Edlin
Erica and Brad Emanuel
Alex Entratter
Nick Epstein
Julia Feinstein and Markus Weiss
Allison and Brian Feltzin
Jennifer Flanagan
Dena and Zach Fox
Adam Friedland
Jessica and Seth Friedman
Nina Friend
Jackie and Josh Gerber
Marina and Morris Gershengorin
Susan Gold
Will Goldstick
Jordan Goodman and Danielle Rudas Goodman
Lily Goodman
Alexis and Spencer Gordon
Felicia Edlin Gordon
Melissa and Benjamin Gottesman
Laura and Matt Gray
Aliza Gross
Laura and Matt Gray
Jordyn and Jordan Gross
Jodi and Adam Gruber
Melissa Grund Sarnoff and David Sarnoff
Angela Gutman
Carlee and Danny Gutman
Johanna and Brian Gutman
Michael Gutman and Mari Weiss
Angela Gutman
Michelle and Corey Harris
Allison and Scott Helberg
Ashley and Ryan Heller
Amanda and Jason Hirsh
Julie and Ben Hockenberg
Lynn Horowitz
Miriam and Jesse Izak
Heather Karatz
Faylyn and Danny Kaufman
Molly Bett Kovler
Jen Lask
Blake Lasky
Jonah Lazowski
Ilana Ron Levey
Nicole Pines Lieberman and Avi Lieberman
Allison Lindemann
Sam Lipson and Abigail Weiss
Emma Lipstone
Samuel Lissner
Christopher McCannell
Abe Mazliach
Kacey and Alec Ofsevit
Michael Oxman and Doug Winkelstein
Rebekah Parker and David Wilansky
Dr. Jonathan Pomeraniec and Ms. Danielle Chelminsky
Stacey and Brian Price
Sarah and Eric Rosand
Danielle and Bryan Rosenberg
Jennifer and Martin Rossen
Jason Rotter
Drew Tye Ruby-Howe
Jessica and David Ruttenberg
Sara and Nat Sager
Stacey and Marc Saiontz
Erika Saleski and Todd Lieberman
Lauren Sandberg and Jacob Lewis
Dana and Craig Sanders
Heather Sandoval
Melissa Grund Sarnoff and David Sarnoff
Alison Schaffer
Caren Schiffman and Todd Cohen
Erin Searle-Proud
Robin Shapiro
Zach Sheck
Heather and Ben Sher
Alexis Shklar
Jim Siegel
Donald S. Silberman
Dana and Seth Singerman
Lee Solomon
Rachel and Stephen Sotoloff
Brian Spencer
Stefanie and Jordan Stein
Melanie and Morry Steinbach
Ian Steinberg
Staci and Ari Studnitzer
Lisa and Alex Tarshis
Lauren and Aaron Tucker
Ali Unger and Jake Grabiner
Stefanie Pessis Weil and Rick Weil
Samantha Weinberg
Benjamin and Irene Weintraub
James B. Wiggins, Jr.
Franny and Michael Zucker
Program Agenda
REGIONAL WELCOME REMARKS
Mid-Atlantic Region Event Chairs: Johanna Arenaza and Alex Brill
Midwest Region Event Chairs: Katie and J. R. Berger
Northeast Region Event Chairs: Kylie and Benjamin Bass
Southeast Region Event Chairs: Stacey Petito Nowack
Western Region Event Chairs: Richard and Jennifer Devinki
WE REMEMBER THROUGH THE WORDS OF WITNESSES
Reading by Ben Gorvine
Reflections from Holocaust Survivor Irene Weiss, Introduced by Her Grandson Ben Gorvine
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE: DIFFUSING HATE SPEECH
A Conversation with Peter Alexander, Chief White House Correspondent and Co-anchor of Weekend Today, and Rachel Brown, Founder and Executive Director, Over Zero
THE RISE OF ANTISEMITISM
Sara J. Bloomfield, Museum Director
WHAT YOU DO MATTERS
Museum Voices: Naomi Kikoler, Mina Abdelmalak, Edna Friedberg, and Robert Williams
The Museum’s Midwest Teen Committee Chairs: Cooper Wallman and Stephen Knobel
Event Chairs: Johanna Arenaza and Alex Brill, Katie and J. R. Berger, Kylie and Benjamin Bass, Richard and Jennifer Devinki, and Stacey Petito Nowack
Regional Office Voices: Courtney Campbell Bernstein, Griselle Lima, Sindy Lugerner, Renee Rotter, and Robert Tanen
FROM GENERATION TO THE NEXT GENERATION: PLEDGE TO THE FUTURE
All Program Speakers
Event Sponsors
Gifts as of June 21, 2021
Gifts of $50,000 or more
The Crown and Goodman Families
Richard and Jennifer Devinki, Jonathan and Regina Fink, Sam Devinki and Mary Stahl
Stacey and Marc Saiontz
Jamie Diamond Schwartz and David Schwartz
Gifts of $25,000–$49,999
Katie and J. R. Berger
Danielle Rudas Goodman and Jordan Goodman
Robert R. Nathan Philanthropic Fund
Gifts of $15,000–$24,999
Johanna Arenaza and Alex Brill
Kylie and Benjamin Bass
Carlee and Danny Gutman, Johanna and Brian Gutman, Michael Gutman, and Angela Gutman
Michelle and Corey Harris
Magellan Development Group
Tucker Family Foundation
Gifts of $10,000–$14,999
@Properties/Emily Sachs Wong and Thad Wong
Bergstein Family Foundation
Denise and Scott Davis
Allison and Brian Feltzin/Sheffield Asset Management
Katie Krouse Froelich and Brian Saltzman
Hecktman Family Foundation
Loewenberg Charitable Foundation
Staci and Ari Studnitzer
Gifts of $5,000–$9,999
Erin and Sam Ankin
Tracy and Howard Ankin
Matthew Astrachan, Alexander Chudnoff, Paul Glickman, and Mitchell Konsker
Merilyn and Loren Berenbom
Laura and Adam Docks
Adam D. Friedland
Laura and Matt Gray
Illinois Auto Truck—The Stein Family
Faylyn and Danny Kaufman
Julie and Reuben Kopel
Ashley and Ken Lebovic
Kacey and Alec Ofsevit
Stacey and Brian Price
Becca and Robby Rutkoff
Melissa Grund Sarnoff and David Sarnoff
Heather and Ben Sher
Donald S. Silberman
Anna and Danny Simon
Dana and Seth Singerman
Melanie and Morry Steinbach
Stefanie Pessis Weil and Rick Weil
Francesca and Michael Zucker

Next Generation
A dedicated community of emerging philanthropists and leaders, the Next Generation supports the Museum through outreach and fundraising events. Find out more about these dynamic groups and how to join.