Founder & President Emeritus NANCY DERSHAW 

Nancy Dershaw a native of Philadelphia, holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from Temple University and a master’s degree in Holocaust and Genocide studies from West Chester University.  Her eclectic educational background is also reflected in her business and professional endeavors.

Nancy's entrepreneurial achievements include the development of a chain of video rental stores, as well as a successful career in the men's clothing industry.  Nancy's position as President and founder of various business ventures is a testament to her personal success, proving with hard work and determination one can achieve their ultimate goals, a legacy that was taught to her by her parents.

Nancy has been intensely involved in Holocaust related issues and organizations for the past 20 years.  She has been both a founder and participant in numerous children of Holocaust organizations. In 2000 she co founded CJHSA, an organization children of Jewish Holocaust survivors in Philadelphia.

In 2002, Nancy moved to South Florida and once again began the creation of an organization of children of Holocaust survivors.  Today, NEXT GENERATIONS, with Nancy as it's president, serves as a voice for those who can no longer speak.

Nancy is proud to serve on the advisory board of the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at Florida Atlantic University. The Center presents cutting-edge training and resources to teachers involved in Holocaust and genocide education.

She sat on the board of both JCRC and The Holocaust Advisory Committee. She was an interviewer of survivors for Steven Spielberg’s Holocaust Visual History Project. She has been a member of many diverse Holocaust speakers bureaus and has lectured and made presentations to university’s, high school, middle schools, community and religious groups, and at public events. 

Nancy lives in Boca Raton with her husband Barry.   Both her parents’ were Holocaust survivors.  Her mother lives in Hallandale, Florida and Philadelphia.

Nancy's father passed away in 1995 leaving a legacy that she will pass on to her children and grandchildren. The promise to help educate future generations by preserving the memories of the past, making sure that our parents’ messages are carried forward and keep the voicesalive.

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.”

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.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish" Proverbs 29:18

Helen Frankel

Helen Frankel is the eldest daughter of two holocaust survivors. Herman, Helen's father, was a prisoner of Auschwitz. Her mother, Evelyn spent 2 years hiding in the woods of Poland as a young girl. Helen's parents, who met in the U.S. after the war purchased a chicken farm in Spring Valley N.Y. where Helen was born. The family later moved to Paterson N.J. where her sister Harriet was born.

Helen attended American University in Washington, D. C. and graduated with her degree in Psychology. Helen and husband Cris have been married 29 years. They owned Helen's Handbags, a chain of women's accessories stores, in the Washington DC area for 14 years. In 1991 they moved to Florida to be closer to her parents.

Helen, now a travel agent, also continues to work with her husband Cris in their financial services business. Helen's son Ryan, 23, lives in Gainesville Florida and her daughter Jamie is a student at Florida State University.

After meeting Nancy Dershaw, founder and President of NEXT GENERATIONS, Helen is committed to the organization and its future growth.

Judi Hannes

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.”

Betty Schultz, VP of Membership

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.

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.

Stacy Dershaw Huttman, is a Speech and Language Pathologist with the Palm Beach County School District serving severely emotionally disturbed children. She is originally from Philadelphia where she worked at Frankfort Hospital rehabilitating geriatric patients. Stacy is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and lives in Boca Raton, FL with her husband Jeffrey.

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.

Jennifer Dershaw Lieberman, Esq. 

Jennifer 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.