Rhonda Fink-Whitman is a veteran TV and radio personality

as well as an award-winning screenwriter, longtime Jewish educator, Holocaust education advocate, and the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. She is the author of 94 Maidens, inspired by the true events of how her mother and grandmother survived the Holocaust, and also the lighthearted romantic comedy, Mrs. Graceland.

Rhonda is the director, producer, and host of “The Mandate Video” on YouTube which helped convince PA legislators in 2014 to enact a law requiring Holocaust and Genocide education in public, charter, and cyber schools in the Commonwealth. Her work in PA paved the way for other states to mandate Holocaust and genocide education. Since Rhonda’s video went viral, and with her support and guidance, states including MI, RI, KY, CT, OR, TX, CO, DE, NH, AR, WI, ME, and AZ have been added to that impressive list. Rhonda has been credited with starting the domino effect of renewed interest in mandating Holocaust education and has helped increase the number of mandated states from five, when she first got involved, to 19 and counting.

Rhonda has received both Congressional and State recognition for her work and her commitment to Holocaust education, the B’nai B’rith Educators Unit Hatikvah Circle of Hope Youth Services Award, and certificates of appreciation from several chapters of Hadassah. She serves on the board of the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center for which she facilitates survivor programs. Presently, hard at work on her first Holocaust-themed graphic novel, Rhonda also instructs classes at Painting with a Twist and still fills in as a religious school teacher where she specializes in presenting lessons of the Holocaust. She has been a USO volunteer, and during the COVID-19 pandemic delivered weekly meals to the needy. Rhonda loves the simple things in life like a strong cup of tea in the morning and an ocean view any time of day.

Phil Holtje earned his Master’s Degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from West Chester University in 2010 and was the Education Director at the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center from 2010-

2015. During his tenure, Phil expanded the number of Holocaust education programs for schools by 1,100% from 42 to 540, ultimately reaching more than 150,000 students in the Delaware Valley. He recruited more than 30 Holocaust Survivors, Liberators, and Resistors to share their testimonies

and led the initiative to videotape testimonies that had not previously been recorded. In 2012 he was a guest lecturer at Temple University. In 2014 he was a Mary L. Seifert Cultural Series lecturer at Clarion University. And in 2015 he was the Keynote Speaker at the Centennial Philadelphia Armenian

Genocide Walk, commemorating the 100 year anniversary of that genocide. Since 2015, his passion for Holocaust education and ensuring the testimonies and lessons learned from this period are not forgotten has persisted. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Holocaust Awareness Museum and is the past Chairperson of the Communications Committee. Currently, he is the Mitzvah Food Program Associate and helps operate five food pantries in the Greater Philadelphia area serving 1,900 families per month, including Holocaust Survivors.