Public Program Offerings

Now more than ever, factual and appropriate genocide education is vital for our schools and communities. The RI Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission offers our programming to public libraries and community organizations throughout the year, giving Rhode Island organizations a chance to bring in speakers at any time, scheduling them throughout their yearly calendars. These programs are offered at no cost. 

A list of available public programs appears below. For more information or to schedule any of these offerings, please contact the Commission at rihgec@gmail.com or call 401-636-4799.

Anne Ejnes taught fifth to eighth grade students over thirty-eight years in the classroom. She served on a curriculum task-force to help gather resources on the Holocaust and other genocides after the original legislation was passed in 2016 and currently serves on the Rhode Island Holocaust and Genocide Commission. 

• Exploring The Holocaust and Genocide Education Law and Why It Is Necessary - In July 2016, Governor Gina Raimondo signed into law legislation requiring Holocaust and Genocide education in Rhode Island’s secondary schools, starting in the 2017-18 academic year. In August 2021, Governor Dan McKee signed legislation to create a permanent commission on Genocide and Holocaust education. Learn about the history of these bills and how the Rhode Island Commission on Genocide and Holocaust Education is working to support educators in teaching these topics. Also hear how one former middle school teacher approached these topics with her students. Listen to why it is so important that all high schools and middle schools in Rhode Island should be teaching the lessons of the world’s genocides. 

Len Newman has consulted with schools nationally and internationally for more than 25 years on how they can better meet the needs of students with special learning needs and those for whom English is a second language. His classrooms have been featured in numerous periodicals and in the books Third Space and A Reason to Read: Linking Literacy and the Arts. In 2000, Len was a Fulbright Scholar to Brazil. He has continued to offer classes and workshops there since then. 

• Bearing Witness: Who Will Tell Their Stories - As the son of Holocaust Survivors, Len feels a keen responsibility to bear witness to the lives of the six million Jewish men, women and children who were killed in the Holocaust. For the past 25 years, he has been telling his parents’ stories in schools and libraries throughout the United States and abroad. He tells their stories to encourage people to stand for social justice. Len was a Commissioner on the Rhode Island Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission since its inception. His work on the Commission was keenly focused on developing ways to support educators in teaching this area of study. He will discuss the work of the Commission and its history as part of his presentation. 

Kannyka Pouk is a Director of Programs at the Center for Southeast Asians. In her role at CSEA, she oversees many programs that focus on providing various social services. She is also a member of the RI Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission.

• Surviving the Cambodian Civil War: Kannyka’s Story - Kannyka was born in Cambodia during the Civil War and came to the United States in the early eighties as a war refugee with her family. She will share her experiences as a child of civil war survivors. Kannyka will share personal stories of her parents' experiences. These experiences have shaped her own life and impacted her work and desire to help others. 

Tara Seger, GenEd Teacher Fellow (2024), Genocide Educator of the Year for Rhode Island (2023) and Susan B. Wilson Civic Education Award recipient for 2024, will share invaluable insights from her recent fellowship in Armenia with the Genocide Education Project. 

• Understanding How Propaganda Contributed to the Armenian Genocide - This session will deepen your understanding of historical and ongoing hardships for Armenians. Tara will discuss takeaways from her recent fellowship in Armenia with the Genocide Education Project. She will also lead you through a conversation centered around how propaganda contributed to the Armenian Genocide, including the various types of propaganda that validated the Turks in their decision to perpetrate the murder of 1.5 million Armenians in the Genocide. Further, she will discuss Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide as well as the ongoing confl ict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

Barbara Wahlberg has been a Holocaust and Genocide educator for over 30 years, a retired ELA teacher in Cranston Public Schools, a long-time board member of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, a 2002 USHMM Teaching Fellow and received the 2018 Genocide Educator of the Year Award for Rhode Island. She has served on the Rhode Island Commission on Holocaust and Genocide Education since its inception in 2021. Barbara offers two programs:

• The Ten Stages of Genocide and How Antisemitism Became an Effective Tool of the Nazis - This 75 minute presentation will explore the 10 Stages of Genocide, as defined by the organization Genocide Watch, the origin of the term genocide, as coined by Raphael Lemkin, and the history of antisemitism through the centuries and up to the 20th century and Nazi Europe.

• America and the Holocaust: Jim Crow Laws, Eugenics, and the March Toward Genocide in Nazi-Occupied Europe - This 75 minute presentation provides a case study examining Nazi Germany and the United States during the 1930s, at a time when racism and eugenics were enshrined in law and practice. We will examine the national and historical contexts in which racism manifested in the two countries, and explore how the pseudoscience of eugenics as well as concerns about "racial purity" found its way into the laws of the United States and Nazi Germany.

Victoria Atamian Waterman is a lifelong Rhode Islander, Armenian-American storyteller, author, and speaker who draws inspiration from the quirky multi-lingual immigrant home in which she was raised with her grandparents, survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Her empowerment of today’s women and girls makes her voice ideal for telling the little-known stories of yesterday’s women leaders. Her TEDxTalk, “Today’s Girls are Tomorrow’s Leaders,” has been seen by thousands of viewers. Who She Left Behind is her first historical fiction and award-winning novel. Pauline Getzoyan is the chair of the RI Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission and co-chair of the RI Branch of the Genocide Education Project.

• Who She Left Behind - Victoria shares her book, Who She Left Behind, a generational story of survival, love, and motherhood in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. Based on the author’s own family history, this historical fiction novel explores the deeply emotional lives of its characters, spanning multiple time periods—from the waning days of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 to the Armenian neighborhoods of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the 1990s. This conversation will shed light on the often-overlooked stories of the brave and resilient women who became the foundation of rebuilt communities after the Armenian Genocide. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about a poignant and compelling narrative of strength, legacy, and remembrance.

Dr. David Weed is a retired clinical psychologist who now coordinates the Sowams Heritage Area Project in East Bay Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts. Dr. Weed is also a member of the RI Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission.

• Indigenous Genocide in New England - Dr. Weed is available to present either a 30-minute PowerPoint talk to older (middle and high school) groups or a 15-minute illustrated talk to younger (grades 4 and 5) groups. The talk covers the definition of genocide, unintentional genocide, genocide through war, and cultural genocide of Indigenous people in New England from the 1600s to the present day. The goal is to help students understand how Indigenous people have been affected by genocide and how they are recovering from these practices today.

Dr. Michael Xiarhos is a teacher at Pilgrim High School and a professor at Salve Regina University. He has a master's in Modern European History and a doctorate in Humanities and Philosophy. Dr. Xiarhos is a 2023 Genocide Education Project Teacher Fellow and was the 2023 Rhode Island Genocide Educator of the Year. He also serves as a board member of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center and is a Teacher Leader for Echoes and Reflections and the ADL.

• Denialism and the Post-Truth World: ChatGPT Is Just the Beginning - As we navigate through an increasingly complex and ever changing digital landscape, the threat of genocide denialism looms larger than ever, fueled jointly by existing bigotry and now also by the rapid advancements in generative A.I. technologies. This presentation will explore how generative A.I. can unwittingly propagate false narratives, undermining objective truth and leading to a dangerous environment where misinformation flourishes. This presentation will also consider the unintended consequences of technological innovation and consider to what extent we should hold the creators accountable for their creations. It is crucial that we confront these issues head-on, recognizing that denying the past not only disrespects the victims but also threatens the integrity of our collective memory.