BOARD MEMBERS

Founder & President NANCY DERSHAW  

Vice President, Rose Meisner Smith

Rose Meisner Smith, grew up in Philadelphia with her parents, Joseph and Bertha Meisner, both Holocaust survivors, and her sister, Phyllis. Born in Germany after the war, Rose came to the US with her family in 1951 to start a new life of freedom. She spent over 35 years working in the field of marketing and communications. 

Rose and her husband, Smitty (Carl) moved to Boca Raton in October 2006. They have one son, Joel, and two grandchildren, Noah and Gabriel. Rose has been an active member of the Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Assn in Philadelphia and joined NEXT GENERATIONS in 2006. Rose feels honored to be part of NG and is committed to keeping the memories and voices alive of the members of her family whom she never got to know and the millions of others who perished in the Holocaust.

“I believe in the power of good and feel an obligation to educate others about the Holocaust. I’m committed to building bridges of understanding and tolerance so our children and their children can live in a better world.”

Treasurer, Connie Packman

Connie is Past President of The Arlene Dickler Grass Chapter of the American Heart Association and was a board member of the Pennsylvania Heart Association. She moved to Florida 25 years ago and sat on the Advisory Board of Governors of the Boca Raton Resort & Club for 14 years. She also is a Past Board Member of ADL. Her main dedication for the past 12 years is to promote the mission of LEAH (League for Educational Awareness of the Holocaust). LEAH is a nonsectarian not-for profit-organization whose mission is to raise awareness and funds to support and encourage educational efforts for children to help eliminate prejudice and hatred using lessons learned from the Holocaust and other Genocides. Connie was instrumental in helping to found LEAH in 1996 and was fund raising vice president for one year and president for over 9 years. She received the Jerusalem State Modelia Award from the Kenesset of Israel for outstanding leadership in making The March of Remembrance and Hope a reality in 2000.

Secretary, Terri Golden

Terri Golden was born in Bergen Belsen, Germany. Her parents who were Holocaust survivors were anxious to get out of Germany and moved to Montreal, Canada when she was 9 months old. Terri lived in Montreal until 1968 when she married Sam and moved to New York. She attended McGill University in Montreal, and continued her education at Brooklyn College. Terri and Sam have resided in Boynton Beach for 8 years. Terri and Sam have 2 sons and 3 grandchildren. Her mother resides both in Montreal and Florida.

Terri has had a varied business career. Her foreign language skills (Polish, Yiddish, German) led her to work at the Anti- Defamation League in the Department of Catholic-Jewish Relations. She had the opportunity to meet many interesting people of both faiths, including a Monsignor, a child Holocaust survivor who later converted and became a Roman Catholic. He had not forgotten his religious roots. They conversed in Yiddish and had many discussions involving the persecution of Jews. This unique experience and perspective gave her additional insight into the urgent need to keep the lessons of the Holocaust alive for future generations. Terri's career continued in another direction. As a result of her background, Terri has literally been a student of the Holocaust with a particular interest on the horrific emotional price paid by the survivors. Several years ago, Terri and her mother visited the Polish village of Trezbina (near Krakow) where her mother was born and raised. The Aushwitz-Birkenau death camps are indelibly etched in her mind forever. Being a part of the NEXT GENERATIONS organization has opened up another chapter in Terri's life. "There is a bond and commitment among members that is unusual and special," says Terri.

 VP Education, Greta Brewer

Greta Brewer has been an educator of French for more than twenty-five years and has also served as a Court Interpreter for the 15th Circuit Judicial Court in Palm Beach Count for five years. She has been a professional book facilitator for 18 years for various country clubs and charities. Greta got her B.S. in French and is also a NYS and Florida certified teacher of French, Spanish, English and Holocaust studies.

Greta got her Diplome des Hautes Etudes from the Institut de Poitiers in Tours, France, specializing in comparative literature.

She is a published poet. Greta is strongly committed to serving as a catalyst in helping people broaden their scope of vision.

Judi Hannes was born in Portland Oregon and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland with her brother Steve and her parents, both Holocaust survivors. Judi now makes her home in Boynton Beach, Florida. She spent more then 30 years working in the field of health care, primarily in Long Term Care. She received her training as a health information specialist in Baltimore at Sinai Hospital. Judi’s extensive background in marketing, public relations, crisis intervention & management has enabled her to contribute her skills to the growth and development of NEXT GENERATIONS.

Judi is committed to the mission of NEXT GENERATIONS because of her commitment and passion to keeping the voices alive. Her partnership with NEXT GENERATIONS  has given her the opportunity to share her vision of Community Service to survivors.  One of the goals of NG is to identify and engage in opportunities to help the frail, ill, needy and lonely Holocaust Survivors…if not us, who?  Our generation needs to leave its mark in history in a positive way. 

Judi is committed to honoring the memories of the 40 members of her family whose lives were lost in the Holocaust & feels privileged to be a member of this growing organization. “We have an obligation to inspire and create change in the world.”

Jennifer Dershaw Lieberman, Esq., provides legal services to various non-profit organizations. She has an extensive background in and knowledge of Elder Law with which to aid Holocaust survivors. Jennifer D. Lieberman works at the National Pain Institute which she joined in November, 2005 as General Counsel. She has been actively engaged in the health care sector for seven years, both as a health care executive and as a practicing attorney.

Jennifer is a member of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida Bars and concentrates her efforts for the National Pain Institute in the area of corporate and regulatory health care matters, with a particular concentration on physician practice management; managed care issues; regulatory compliance and the operations of Medicare; and other matters affecting the operation of health care providers.

Prior to joining the National Pain Institute, Jennifer was General Counsel of a New York based company specializing in medical products and services.   Prior to her role as General Counsel for her previous company, from 1999 though 2002, Jennifer was an associate at a national, Philadelphia based firm, Fox, Rothschild, O’Brien & Frankel, LLP, specializing in securities and health care law.  During her tenure at Fox, Rothschild, Jennifer also served as an adjunct professor of Business Law at Rider University and as a mentor to its pre-law students.
  
Jennifer’s professional memberships include the American Health Lawyers Association, as well as the Health Law Section of the Florida Bar Association. She also serves as counsel to Ferd & Gladys Alpert Jewish Family and Children’s Services’ guardianship program.  Jennifer has lectured and published various articles on a wide range of corporate and regulatory health care issues.

VP Membership Betty Schultz

Betty Schultz is a high school educator specializing in Advanced Placement Psychology at the Atlantic Technical Center.  Teaching for eighteen years, Betty holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Born in Munich Germany, Betty is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Felix and Minia Krul.  She has resided in Florida for thirty six years, and is married to Joel Schultz an architect and builder in South Florida.  Together they have two lovely daughters, Andrea and Jennifer, and three beautiful grandchildren.

Over the past thirty years, Betty Schultz has been involved in several Jewish organizations, as well as teaching a Holocaust course to High School Hebrew students.  Deeply committed to Holocaust studies, Betty recently traveled to Poland and Germany with The March of the Educators.  As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, she believes it is her responsibility to continue telling the story of the atrocities of the Holocaust, and instill the idea of tolerance of others in insure that history is never repeated.

VP Advertising/Programming Brenda T Wertheim

Brenda Wertheim was born in Manchester, England with the Holocaust at the center of her family's experiences.Her mother, Marie, was also from England while her father, Martin, was born in Brackel, Germany. He was saved from the Nazis by the Kindertransport. Brenda's Bubbie, Margarete, died in Nazi Germany and her Zaide was rounded up and transported from Berlin to Riga Concentration Camp where he was murdered. Brenda's mother was raised in war-torn England by her Bubbie, Basha, who fled Eastern Europe to escape the Pogroms.
    
Given her family's experiences, the importance of Holocaust awareness, Judaism and Zionism was taught to Brenda at an early age. Based on her extensive work in the community through the Manchester Holocaust Survivors Group, she was elected to go to Israel to attend the first conference of the Second Generation. Over the years, through her involvement,  she was introduced to Simon Wiesenthal, Eli Wiesel, Miep Gies, who  hid Anne Frank, and Emilie Schindler who worked with her husband Oscar.

Brenda's success as an entrepreneur, marketing, advertising and business ventures has been driven by the resilience of her parents legacy.

In 2006, Brenda traveled to Germany and Poland with other second generation children and the experience had an incredible impact on her. Says Brenda, "after that trip, I promised my father, I would never forget my legacy as a child of a Holocaust Survivor."  "We are your children, We are here."

When coming to Florida, Brenda's mother, who was visiting saw an article about Nancy Dershaw  a child of two Holocaust survivors and the start of this new organization called NEXT GENERATIONS. It was then, she discovered a vehicle that would allow her passion to make sure her family and the silent six million, were never to be forgotten.  When connecting with other children of second generation, Brenda realized we had a common thread, RESPONSIBILITY. 

As Vice President of Advertising/Programming for NEXT GENERATIONS Brenda has worked vigorously to honor that promise, and to make sure that she continues to keep her family's voice alive.

Advisory Board, Lynne Leavy, LCSW, ACSW, Licensed Psychoanalyst

Lynne received her first Masters Degree at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York in counseling.  She then continued her academic pursuits at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and trained in genetics and child development. Later, Lynne earned an MSW at NYU in Manhattan, New York.  Her passion for learning led her to still further training in psychoanalysis at The Training Institute in Manhattan for a challenging 5 year program.  Lynne became a student of Dr. Judith Kestenburg for 25 years. She studied in depth the connection between child development and the impact of the Holocaust on families who both directly and indirectly experienced this trauma.  Lynne now resides in Boca Raton, Florida with her husband.
 
Since Lynne’s arrival in Florida NEXT GENERATIONS has had the wonderful opportunity of experiencing Lynne’s professional commitment to the Holocaust Survivors and their families. Some of our members have had the opportunity to work with Lynne in a small group format. This ongoing group has just begun its second year.