Talli Dippold To Lead Innovative Holocaust Museum for Hope and Humanity in Orlando, Florida

The Charlotte Jewish News August 2022

By Rabbi Judy Schindler

After seven years at Queens University working to establish its Jewish Life Program and six years partnering to create the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center, Talli Dippold has accepted a new position as chief executive officer for the Holocaust Museum for Hope and Humanity in Orlando, Florida.

Founded in 1981 by Holocaust survivor and local philanthropist Tess Wise, the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida opened the museum in 1986 using exhibits and proactive community outreach initiatives to teach the lessons of the Holocaust. Over the course of the next few years, the existing museum will transform from its humble venue into the Holocaust Museum of Hope and Humanity, a new 43,000-square-foot lakefront museum in downtown Orlando and the first-ever built from the ground up in partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation.

Internationally renowned and award-winning architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners is overseeing the building design and will collaborate with museum experts Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), Dr. Stephen D. Smith of Memory Workers, and Carolynne Harris Consulting on the interior design and overall guest experience, joining forces to create a first-of-its-kind museum. Crafted predominantly around survivor testimonies, 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.

Dippold’s new chapter builds upon her exceptional work at Queens University. On her first day on the job in January 2015, Dippold established Queens Hillel. As a result of her tireless nurturing of the program, Queens evolved from including one self-identified Jewish student in 2015 to 26 Jewish students engaged with Hillel today.

As a result of the immense generosity of Stan Greenspon, in 2016 Dippold partnered to create the Stan Greenspon Center at Queens University. Through her six years as the center’s associate director, hundreds of

teachers have engaged in professional development, thousands of students have participated in Holocaust and human rights educational programs, and an equal number of community members have been educated through social justice initiatives, including teach-ins and community arts, advocacy, and educational events.

Additionally, in the fall of 2022, Dippold was named the Stan Greenspon director of Holocaust Education Fellowship Program as she developed a new Certificate in Holocaust Pedagogy (CHP) that will kick off in September. The instructional program will lead educators from the classroom and community through the skills of historical examination and interpretation, guiding them to ask questions and think critically about why the Holocaust happened, what it means for learners today, and how we can engage others in our schools and communities to do the same.

The Stan Greenspon Center has embarked on a national search for Dippold’s successor. About her time at the Greenspon Center, Dippold says, “When we dreamt up the concept nine years ago, I could never have imagined the impact that the Greenspon

Center would have on the community. Rabbi Judy Schindler and I, scribbling on napkins at a local Panera Bread, envisioned a center that would educate, inspire, and transform lives and our community. Everything we accomplished was made possible by Stan’s generosity and vision. I am proud of what we have created and am confident that the Center’s next chapter will be transformative. Our critical work is desperately needed, and the seeds we have planted over the past decade with our network of generous supporters and capable community partners will continue to bear impressive fruit.”