Holocaust Center Staff

The Holocaust Center employs dedicated team members who are passionate about promoting a community free of hatred and injustice.
Each team member has their own area of expertise and would be happy to speak with you.

Holocaust Center Searches for its Next CEO

The Holocaust Center has announced a search for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The services of Sandler Search have been engaged to work with a search committee to lead a national effort to find a CEO with experience in building, curating, and opening institutions similar in size and scope of the new Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity.

Our Team!

Liam Taylor King is currently a student at Rollins College, earning an Honors degree in History. Liam is a member of the Bonner Leaders program at Rollins, through which Liam has volunteered his time at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center. As a campus leader, Liam has served as Chief Justice of the Rollins College Student Government Association and believes in the power of collective activism to create community change.

In the future, Liam hopes to build on his professional skills and activism experience as a law student, and eventually an attorney.

talli headshot

Talli Dippold

CEO

Talli Dippold was the Stan Greenspon Director of Holocaust Education Fellowship Program and the Associate Director of the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Levine-Sklut Judaic Library & Resource Center at Shalom Park.

Talli received a BS in Hospitality Management from the University of New Hampshire and her MS in Genocide and Holocaust Studies from Gratz College. After many years in the hospitality industry, she decided to change her focus and pursue her lifelong passion for Judaism and Holocaust studies. During the past decade, Talli traveled extensively throughout Eastern Europe and participated in numerous educational opportunities including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Belfer Conference, The Prestigious Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers Program, as well as the Hillel International Professionals’ Heritage Study Tour in Poland. She has been an active member of the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust since 2013, an Executive Board Member of the Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO), and a new member of Jewish Heritage North Carolina board.

Talli is a 3G (third-generation Holocaust survivor) as all of her grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and a native of Jerusalem. When she is not working, Talli enjoys traveling with her husband and three children.

Kathy Headshot

Kathy Turner

Vice President, Marketing & Development

Kathy serves as the VP, Development & Marketing, chiefly responsible for all fundraising initiatives, strategic plans and development staff.
She was previously with AdventHealth Foundation for 13 years as Senior Development Officer with primary fundraising responsibility for Celebration Health, AdventHealth Winter Park, the Transplant Institute, Neuroscience Institute and employee giving program. 

Kathy was part of the Health Systems Philanthropy Leadership Group’s Fellowship program through the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy which concluded in a presentation at the AHP International Conference in 2016. She was proud to open the 40,000 square foot Bartch Transplant House on the Orlando campus as well as the Nicholson Pavilion at AdventHealth Winter Park Hospital with 140 private patient rooms. Her focus is on building key relationships and securing major gifts to achieve annual philanthropic goals. 

 She holds a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Ball State University and two master’s degrees from the University of St. Francis in Health Administration and Business Administration. 

Kathy currently serves and volunteers at Grace Church and is member of Central Florida AFP and also a member of National Charity League.  She also has two children, Kamryn and Mason.

Christine Headshot

Christine Beresniova

vice president, education

407-628-0555, x293
cberesniova@holocaustedu.org

Dr. Christine Beresniova is a sociocultural anthropologist specializing in Holocaust education. Most recently, she served as the lead educational developer for the new Certification in Holocaust Pedagogy program at the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center at Queens University in Charlotte. Prior to this work, Dr. Beresniova served in various leadership roles, including Director of Education at J Street, Executive Director of the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust, and Program Coordinator for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s international programs with UNESCO.

She has a Ph.D. in Education Policy from Indiana University and an M.A. in International Education from the George Washington University. She has published articles about education, culture, and public policy in numerous outlets, including European Education, David Magazine, and Tablet. She has received fellowships and grants for her work from institutions such as the Mandel Center for Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Fulbright Association. Her book Holocaust Education in Lithuania: Community, Change, and the Making of Civil Society (Lexington Press, 2017) won a notable mention from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies.

Her passion is designing museum education and professional development seminars for various audiences using primary sources, artifacts, and the voices of those who lived through history.

Talli Dippold is a results-oriented leader known for her innovative thinking. Her responsibilities include strategic planning, policy development and implementation; budgeting and forecasting; communication and collaboration with the board of directors; organizational and team performance; and marketing leadership.
 
The Holocaust and its persecution of European Jews is central to Dippold’s life and career. Prior to joining the Holocaust Center in 2022, Dippold spent seven years as the Director of the Holocaust Education Fellowship Program and associate director of the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. Previously, she served as executive director of Charlotte’s Levine-Sklut Judaic Library & Resource Center.
 
Dippold holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree in genocide and Holocaust Studies from Gratz College, a private Jewish college in Pennsylvania. After many years in the hospitality industry, she shifted her focus to pursue her lifelong passion for Judaism and Holocaust studies.  
 
During the past decade, Dippold has traveled extensively throughout Eastern Europe and participated in numerous educational opportunities. They include the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Belfer Conference, the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers Program, and the Hillel International Professionals’ Heritage Study Tour in Poland. In addition, she has served on the executive board for the Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO), the board of the Jewish Heritage North Carolina, and has been an active member of the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust. She is also a recent graduate of Leadership Orlando (Class 103).
 
A native of Jerusalem, Dippold is a “3G” (third-generation Holocaust survivor), as all of her grandparents are survivors of the Holocaust. 

A veteran fundraising professional focused on building key relationships and securing major gifts to achieve philanthropic goals, Kathy Turner serves as vice president of marketing and development. She is responsible for all fundraising initiatives, strategic marketing and development plans, and development staff.

 
Prior to joining the Holocaust Center in 2019, Turner worked for AdventHealth Foundation for 13 years as senior development officer with primary fundraising responsibility for Celebration Health, AdventHealth Winter Park, the Transplant Institute, Neuroscience Institute, and employee giving programs.
 
Turner participated in the Health Systems Philanthropy Leadership Group’s Fellowship Program through the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), which concluded in a presentation on grateful patient giving at the AHP International Conference in 2016. Her accomplishments include opening the Bartch Transplant House on AdventHealth’s Orlando campus and the Nicholson Pavilion at AdventHealth Winter Park Hospital.
 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Ball State University and two master’s degrees in health administration and business administration from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. Turner currently serves as a volunteer at Grace Church in Maitland and is a member of the Central Florida AFP and also a member of the National Charity League. 

Christine Beresniova, Ph.D., is responsible for overseeing the Holocaust Center’s educational vision including its internationally recognized educational exhibits and programs. As a sociocultural anthropologist specializing in Holocaust education, she uses research-based methods to create innovative educational approaches that help counter the normalization of right-wing nationalism and extremism and combat antisemitism and other forms of prejudice.

 
Dr. Beresniova applies her passion for designing museum education and professional development seminars using primary sources, artifacts, and the voices of those who lived through history to oversee the design of the new exhibition spaces for the Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity. This new state-of-the-art museum will bring Holocaust history to the next generation of learners by providing meaningful stories of Holocaust experiences told through first-person narratives in technologically innovative ways.
 
Prior to joining the Holocaust Center in 2022, Dr. Beresniova served as the lead educational developer for the new Certification in Holocaust Pedagogy program at the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to this work, she served in various leadership roles, including executive director of the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust and the program coordinator for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s international education initiatives.
 

Dr. Beresniova earned a Ph.D. in education policy from Indiana University and a master’s degree in international education from George Washington University. Her published articles about education, culture and public policy appear in numerous outlets, including European Education, David Magazine, and Tablet. She has received fellowships and grants for her work from institutions such as the Mandel Center for Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Fulbright Association. Her 2017 book, Holocaust Education in Lithuania: Community, Change, and the Making of Civil Society, won a notable mention by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies.

Neota Genske

CFO

407-628-0555
ngenske@holocaustedu.org

Neota Genske,

Founder & CEO of Genske & Co.

Neota Genske, MBA is an award-winning businesswoman, philanthropist and speaker. She inspires and empowers clients, associates and audiences to ignite their passion and pursue greatness.

Ms. Genske founded Genske & Co., an accounting and HR firm, based in Orlando, Florida. Genske & Co. is a woman owned, women operated firm that focuses on the individual needs, tribulations and successes of companies and organizations. In 2022 Genske & Co. won Seminole County’s Best Small Business of the Year and in January 2023 won Best Woman Owned Business of Central Florida. In February 2023 Ms. Genske won the Orlando Business Journal’s prestigious 40 Under 40 award.

From 2004 – 2012 Ms. Genske worked in accounting and finance for major nonprofits and publicly traded companies while rising through the ranks of corporate America, ultimately reaching VP, Finance at an international nonprofit.

In 2013 Ms. Genske decided to open Genske & Co. to make her own dreams and dream life become a reality. She became the definition of a hustler entrepreneur with a failure is not an option attitude.

In 2021 Ms. Genske began speaking at national, regional, and local events. She speaks on tenacity, perseverance, and entrepreneurship. She also speaks at chambers and membership organizations on industry changes and thought leadership pertaining to accounting and HR.

Stephen Poynor

Director, education

(407) 628-0555, x283
spoynor@holocaustedu.org
Educational Programs, Professional Development &
Field Trips

Taylor Warner-Valdez

Development Manager

Taylor is the Development Manager at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida.

She holds two bachelor’s degrees in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Dakota Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Azusa Pacific University. She’s received a certificate in Volunteer Management and is currently pursuing a certificate in Nonprofit Management with Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership. 

Taylor is an experienced nonprofit professional committed to diversity, accessibility, and inclusion; focused on elevating voices and increasing opportunity to improve the lives of people across the world. She is an active volunteer with Surfers for Autism, Special Olympics Florida, and The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.

She is honored to be a part of a beautiful never-ending mission and a living narrative of the voices of people who lived through the Holocaust. To honor those we lost, to reflect on the power of stories as a legacy that we will always carry, and as a reminder of why we must stand up to antisemitism and prejudice today. 

Stephen Poynor is the Director of Education at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida.  He helps school districts to implement the Florida mandate for Holocaust Education (F.S. 1003.42) through collaborative teacher training, direct student instruction, and curriculum design. He believes that studying the Holocaust provides an opportunity for educators to inspire critical thinking within students about individual and collective responsibility, the meaning of active citizenship, and the structures and societal norms that can become dangerous for certain groups and society as a whole. Prior to his position at the HMREC, Stephen earned his degree from the University of Central Florida. After 15 years in the private sector, Stephen began his career in education at OCPS where he launched a Holocaust Studies program and contributed his expertise to the Commissioner of Education’s Task Force on Holocaust Education and the creation of the new State of Florida standards for Holocaust Education. 

Taylor is the Development Manager at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida.

She holds two bachelor’s degrees in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Dakota Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Azusa Pacific University. She’s received a certificate in Volunteer Management and is currently pursuing a certificate in Nonprofit Management with Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership. 

Taylor is an experienced nonprofit professional committed to diversity, accessibility, and inclusion; focused on elevating voices and increasing opportunity to improve the lives of people across the world. She is an active volunteer with Surfers for Autism, Special Olympics Florida, and The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.

She is honored to be a part of a beautiful never-ending mission and a living narrative of the voices of people who lived through the Holocaust. To honor those we lost, to reflect on the power of stories as a legacy that we will always carry, and as a reminder of why we must stand up to antisemitism and prejudice today. 

Joel Rose

Public Programs Coordinator

Joel is the Public Programs Coordinator at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida.

 He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Central Florida and is excited to start his masters degree in the next few years. Joel has an extensive background in non-profits as a former VISTA working with a youth education program that aimed to get students involved in STEM through the building and competing of robots.

His passion for education continued as he started to dive into the world of libraries and the ever-changing role they fill within the community. His work within the library system expanded as he was involved in helping create and maintain a community makerspace that was started for the in-house robotics team. The space continued to grow and is now used daily by staff and members of the public for projects both educational and personal.

Joel hopes that his work can lift up the voices of the people who lived through the holocaust and those who face prejudice today. He is excited to bring his dynamic background to the mission of the center and the communities it serves.


 

Alex O'Neill

OCPS District and HMREC Resource Teacher

Theologian and Anthropologist, Author, and Contributor of Caminando en Justicia organization. Alex has a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from the Central University of Florida. (Orlando, FL., 2011). He obtained his master’s degree in Theological Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary. (Orlando, FL., 2018). Currently enrolled in the LACC Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Carribean Studies at Florida International University. Alumni of DVULI (DeVos Urban Leaders Initiative). (Orlando, FL., 2010). Social Science teacher for 12 years. Student Director at First UMC Kissimmee . (Kissimmee, FL., 2017-2019). He is the author of several articles, and editor of Saving For Hope. Married to Kiley O’Neill and father of Hendrix O’Neill.

Russell Stephens

Grant Writer

Russell Stephens comes to
the HMREC team with eight years’ experience in nonprofit development and
management. His attention to detail and love of language sparked his foray into
grant writing while serving as Development Manager for CFCArts; he now serves
as Grant Writer for HMREC and New Generation Theatrical in Orlando and
Significant Productions in the Villages, and also serves as Executive Director
for Independent Musical Productions in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama.

Mr. Stephens earned a B.A.

in Theatre (Musical Theatre emphasis) at the University of Alabama and still
maintains a steady career as an actor, director, and vocalist on top of his
nonprofit work. He has appeared onstage in Central Florida with The Winter Park
Playhouse, Significant Productions, Garden Theatre, Mad Cow Theatre, and
Victory Productions, and his cabaret performances have been featured in venues
including The Winter Park Playhouse, The Abbey, the Blue Bamboo, and online for
PerformerStuff.com. No stranger to the theme park world, Mr. Stephens has
performed in shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and SeaWorld Orlando and
appeared in the opening cast of O Wondrous Night at SeaWorld
San Antonio in 2022. He also serves as the baritone section leader at Park Lake
Presbyterian Church in Orlando, where he is regularly called upon for solos in
major choral works and for special services.

Alyssa Melendez

Marketing and Development Manager

Alyssa serves as the Marketing and Development Manager at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida. Graduating with a degree in Anthropology from the University of South Florida, she actively participated in their Anthropology Club, fostering exploration of diverse cultural perspectives and promoting engaging academic discourse within the field.

Alyssa’s passion for museums, history, and anthropology is further demonstrated by her ongoing commitment to professional development. Currently enrolled in a Museum Applications course, she is set to collaborate on designing a temporary exhibit in celebration of the 50th anniversary of USF’s anthropology department.

With a background as an experienced Marketing Coordinator in both educational and commercial settings, Alyssa’s unique blend of academic and professional experiences equips her with the skills to contribute effectively to the ongoing mission of the center. She integrates her love for museums and anthropology with her marketing expertise, striving to make a meaningful impact in her role.


Ruth Marchwinski

Education
specialist

ruth_marchwinski
Ruth Marchwinski is a retired AP History teacher from Seminole County Public Schools. Being the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Ruth is passionate about sharing her father’s story, as well as, continuing to educate and advocate for Holocaust studies.

Aaron Ellis

Take Action Institute Coordinator

Dr. Aaron Moore Ellis is a scholar, activist, organizer, facilitator, and performing artist. They are excited to work and learn alongside student leaders and community partners at the Take Action Institute. They have a MA in Religion, Ethics & Philosophy, and a PhD in Theatre Studies from Florida State University. They work on embodiment and radical ethics, actively cultivating interdisciplinary approaches to intersectional solidarity and collective liberation.
Lua Hancock

Lua Hancock

sr. consultant
take action institute

(407) 628-0555, x293
lhancock@holocaustedu.org
Take Action Conference 
Content & Curriculum

Dr. Lua Hancock specializes in providing consulting in areas of leadership, change management, conflict resolution, emergency planning and response, assessment, and diversity, equity and inclusion. 

She has worked with various Fortune 500 companies and higher education institutions from diverse sectors to facilitate towards values and goal creation, alignment, and success.  Additionally, she works as a coach to industry leaders assisting them with mindful, equitable and impactful leadership.

Dr. Hancock has more than 25 years of progressive student and academic affairs.  Most recently she served as the Vice President of Campus Life and Student Success at Stetson University.  

Lua has a Bachelor’s of Science from Rollins College in Psychology and African/African American Studies, a Master’s Degree from Nova Southeastern University in Alternative Dispute Resolution and an EdD from NSU in Higher Education Leadership.

 

Lua has two sons who make her laugh every day.

Sam MacKnight

museum lead
sundays