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
Our Team!
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 Turner
Vice President, Marketing & Development
(407) 628-0555 x285
kturner@holocaustedu.org
Capital Campaign, Sponsorships, Planned Giving, Major Gifts, Donations
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. She also has two children, Kamryn and Mason.
Christine Beresniova
vice president, education
407-628-0555, ext. 293
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.
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, Florida.
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 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.
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.
Stacey Weiss
Special Projects Coordinator/Office Manager
407-628-0555 ext 284
sweiss@holocaustedu.org
Alex O'Neill
OCPS District and HMREC Resource Teacher
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.
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.
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.
407.628.0555 ext 263
rmarchwinski@holocaustedu.org
Education & Field Trips
Ruth Marchwinski
Education
specialist
Aaron Ellis
Take Action Institute Coordinator
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.
