Talli Dippold’s Mission: MAKE HATE HISTORY

She’s been on the job as CEO of The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida less than a year, but Talli Dippold has already made her mark in the community speaking about vital educational programs, participating in crucial conversations, leading a critical social movement, and sharing the vision for the organization’s future museum all in an effort to combat hate and enhance understanding.

TALLI’S EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE, PARTICULARLY IN EDUCATION, includes most recently serving as 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.

She has learned the lessons of the Holocaust all too well — all four of her grandparents were survivors of the horrific atrocities. “Even though all four of them were Holocaust survivors, no one talked about it. It was just a thing that we were aware of, but we never heard stories from them. We just knew that we didn’t have extended family. They didn’t have parents or siblings,” Talli says.

It wasn’t until years later when the grandkids started asking questions, that some of the blanks slowly filled in. “My grandmother finally told us she had left testimony with the Shoah Foundation, Steven Spielberg’s project at the University of Southern California. [More than 56,000 survivors have their video testimonies in USC Shoah Foundation’s visual history archive.] Then we started doing our own digging. As happens frequently with Holocaust survivors, they don’t really talk to their children about it, but once the grandchildren start to ask, they will open up,” she explains.

Talli believes this is because the children of survivors don’t want to bring up anything painful for their parents. “One of my grandfathers wrote a memoir, which helped us piece together the puzzle. But it was not because they were eager to speak about it. My mother was named after a sister my grandfather lost. She said they [the parents] have already gone through so much, they wanted to be easy children,” she adds.

Even without the knowledge of her grandparents’ story, she feels she would have ended up in this field in some capacity. “My passion comes from understanding what it's like to experience trauma.

Many of us have grandparents who had past traumatic experiences, whether it is war, poverty or race issues they don't want to talk about,” she says.

The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center was founded in 1981 as the Holocaust Project of Valencia Community College and just as Talli was coming into the role, the Center’s founder and champion Tess Wise — a Holocaust survivor — passed away in October 2022 at the age of 99.

“It’s been a phenomenal 11-month period because this organization was so well known in the community and well-established. It was easy to step into the role even during the leadership transition. I could say I’m here and I’m here for the long run. The reason it’s been so easy is because Tess wrote the mission statement that is so universal, so timeless. Her desire to use the lessons of the Holocaust to fight all forms of hate is relevant. Many organizations have had to readjust their mission or change the way they do things. We have not had to. Our 35-year legacy is stronger than ever,” Talli says.

And perhaps that’s because in this current cycle of divisiveness with pronounced hateful speech and actions, education, understanding and conversations are the key to bringing people together. “A lot of the hatred is being fueled by online platforms. It used to be if you had something to say, it was face to face. But now there is this entire underbelly that not only allows people to be anonymous but also to find other like-minded people. People turn to these platforms when they are disgruntled, when there are economic challenges, and when they feel democratic ideals are being challenged. Our mission is more relevant than ever,” she explains.

Talli sees education as the primary impetus for change – and that begins with school children. “We have the UpStanders program [a bullying prevention initiative] for them. We also want to help the educators. This summer we have a teachers’ institute to help educators find the best resources for their students. Even further, what we are hearing from the community is how to control how our children are using social media. As a society we are going to have to address some of these challenges,” she shares.

Talli is also overseeing the construction of the new 44,500-square-foot Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity on a prime lakefront site — South Ivanhoe Boulevard where the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce was headquartered. The City of Orlando was instrumental in the process of bringing this massive project to life. The museum will be designed around the stories of survivors to engage, teach and empower. The museum is partnering with the USC Shoah Foundation because of the shared mission to tell the story of the Holocaust through the voices of those who lived it.

“We are looking forward to the new museum being more centrally located for better access for students as well as tourists and community members. Downtown Orlando is an incredible gateway to culture, and we feel like we will be a wonderful addition to what already exists. We will always use the Holocaust as the lens through which we view other genocides and historic moments. And everything will be engaging and interactive — we are really building a museum for the next generation. The biggest challenge in building a new museum is operating the existing one — finding the balance between the need to be relevant in the moment and in the future. We want to resonate and be cutting edge years from now, but we are here to address the challenges of today,” she adds.

Visit holocaust-edu.org.

beauty body&spirit

Mindful Minerals

After experiencing the healing properties of the Dead Sea when she lived in Jordan, Melissa Sweiss — Mindful Minerals CEO — sought to formulate naturally enriched skin care products without harmful chemicals and additives by using raw minerals from that sea. A full line of transdermal items for face and body (balms, creams, masks, butters, ointments, soaps and serums) are designed to address a variety of issues including dryness, aging, dullness, irritation, and even pain. As a regular participant at the Spa Invitational fundraiser for Grace Medical Home, Florida-based Mindful Minerals has many local fans who can now find merchandise at Just Breathe Salt Therapy Wellness Spa in Winter Park. mindfulminerals.com