MAITLAND, Fla. (June 1, 2022) – Following a national search, The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida (HMREC) has named Talli Dippold, a dynamic educator and community builder with nearly 15 years of leadership experience in Holocaust education, as its new Chief Executive Officer. She will start in that role on July 1, taking over from interim CEO Shelley Lauten.
“Talli’s knowledge of Holocaust education, teaching experience and personal ties to the Holocaust clearly demonstrate her alignment with our Center’s mission, vision and goals making her a unique candidate and the perfect fit to lead our organization now and in the future,” said Monte Starr, president of the HMREC Board of Directors.
Dippold is currently the Director of Holocaust Education Fellowship Program and Associate Director of the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center at Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the Levine-Sklut Judaic Library & Resource Center at Shalom Park, where she led a task force that established the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center. Dippold is a proven leader and respected voice in the Holocaust education community who has undertaken the role of envisioning and building an organization from the ground up.
Dippold has a personal connection to USC Shoah Foundation, as all of her grandparents are Holocaust survivors and are part of the more than 56,000 survivors who have their video testimonies in USC Shoah Foundation’s visual history archive.
Dippold, who was born in Israel, began her career in hospitality management and public relations, advancing in organizations including Four Seasons Hotels before pivoting in pursuit of her true calling, Holocaust education. She quickly proved herself as a dynamic and persuasive leader, working with the Governor of North Carolina to enact the Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act mandating statewide Holocaust education. Dippold is a key advisor to the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust in developing and improving curriculum for North Carolina schools. Her skills as a storyteller and community builder have allowed Dippold to effectively shape education policy discussions, connect with donors and educators and oversee the development of educational teams. Since 2019, Dippold has been an executive board member of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, where she is planning their 35th Annual International Conference this year. She has also been a board member of the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust since 2015. In April she served as the keynote speaker at the official State of North Carolina Holocaust Commemoration. In recent years, Dippold has traveled extensively throughout Eastern Europe, participating in high-profile programs including the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers’ Program and the Centropa Summer Academy.
Dippold holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s in Holocaust and genocide studies from Gratz College, where she graduated as valedictorian and received the Philip G. Solomon Prize for Holocaust studies.
“I am thrilled to be joining the remarkable team at The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida,” said Dippold. “In this role, I am committed to ensuring the use of survivor testimonies and new digital resources as essential tools to engender empathy and to inspire future generations to be alert to the lessons of history. I look forward to working with the Orlando community and leading the Center’s teams in our mission of building a just and caring community free of antisemitism and all forms of prejudice and bigotry.”
The Board engaged national search firm Sandler Search to assist with finding its next CEO. Several significant candidates emerged during the highly competitive search process. Dippold’s proven leadership ability in Holocaust education, and commitment to the Center’s mission and ability to lead a growing team were key to her becoming the top candidate.
In her new role, Dippold will help oversee the construction of the new Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity, which will be a landmark lakefront structure in downtown Orlando. Its centerpiece will be luminous at night as a literal beacon of hope and humanity for the local community and to welcome Orlando’s millions of annual visitors.
The Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity will be the world’s first-ever Holocaust museum designed around survivor and witness testimonies. It marks the first time USC Shoah Foundation—established by Steven Spielberg in 1994 and a world leader in testimony-based research, education, and interactive experiences—has teamed with a Holocaust museum to design and implement a ground-up and permanent museum-wide exhibition.
“The Center also wants to thank Shelley Lauten for her service as interim CEO, where she oversaw the Center through important milestones including the first-ever Take Action Institute conference in January, many other special events and programs, and the unveiling of the latest conceptual museum design in April,” said Starr.
Lauten, a longtime Disney executive, community leader and former CEO of the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, played an important role in maintaining the strong bonds the Center has with the broader Orlando community
“Talli is a visionary leader who has the perfect blend of life experiences and talent needed to implement the audacious goal of building a world-class, iconic museum focused on the personal stories of Holocaust survivors,” said Lauten. “We warmly welcome her to Central Florida and I look forward to supporting her in any way she needs as she acclimates to her new role and new community.”
About Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida and Holocaust Museum of Hope & Humanity
Founded in 1981 as a series of conferences on the Holocaust and its contemporary meaning, the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida opened its current museum in 1986, founded by Holocaust Survivor and local philanthropist, Tess Wise. Located in Maitland, just outside Orlando, the Holocaust Center attracts visitors from around the world. Its mission is to use the history and lessons of the Holocaust to build a just and caring community free of antisemitism and all forms of prejudice and bigotry. The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center will transform into the Holocaust Museum of Hope & Humanity, a lakefront museum in Downtown Orlando and the first-ever built from the ground up in partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation. To learn more about the Holocaust Center, visit www.holocaustedu.org.
