Judy Levis Krug Boca Raton Virtual Jewish Film Festival

Shared Legacies Free Q & A Recorded with Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D., Lori Berman, Shirley Johnson, Nik Harris, Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates, Fred Ferber & Director Dr. Shari Rogers

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Panel discussion with Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D., Lori Berman, Shirley Johnson, Nik Harris, Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates, Fred Ferber and Director / Writer of Shared Legacies Dr. Shari Rogers


Sponsored By Dana Egert and Marilyn Weissglass


Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D.

Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D., is a widely acclaimed speaker who brings humor, current political insights, and historical background to his presentations. In addition to giving talks nationally and at The Smithsonian Institute, Professor Nurnberger has appeared as an analyst on television and radio programs. He has also spoken internationally and on a number of cruises. He has given presentations on a wide range of historical and political topics at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at FAU. Professor Nurnberger taught at Georgetown University for 38 years and was named Professor of the Year by the Graduate School of Liberal Studies in 2003.


State Senator Lori Berman

Lori has been a life-long resident of Florida. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tufts University, received her law degree from George Washington University, and received her LLM in Estate Planning from the University of Miami. Lori served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010- 2018. She was then elected to the Florida Senate in April 2018 and subsequently re-elected in November 2020. She currently serves as the Democratic Caucus’s Policy Chair and was appointed to serve on the following committees for the 2020-2022 term: Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government, Education, Transportation, Finance & Tax and Ethics & Elections. Lori has fought tirelessly to expand quality and access to healthcare, invest in renewable energy and environmental preservation, strengthen our public education system, and secure equitable rights and opportunities for women in Florida.


Deputy Vice Mayor Shirley Johnson

Shirley Johnson was elected to the Delray Beach City Commission on March 14, 2017. Born in Savannah, GA, she grew up in Delray Beach and has always lived in the Northwest section of the City. She graduated from Howard University with a BA in Government/Political Science. Mrs. Johnson spent 26 years with the International Business Machines Corp (IBM) in various administrative positions. Her last assignments were as Administration Manager and Systems Analyst. These posts were in the IBM Washington, Maryland and Virginia Metro areas. She retired to Delray Beach and another career of Community Activism/Organization. She helped to organize the Paradise Heights Homeowners Association (served as President for three years), MADDs, worked with several after-school youth mentoring programs, helped conduct Voter Rights Restoration workshops, voter registration drives since 2004 and, most recently, was a volunteer assistant to teachers at the Full Service Center School. Her continuing desire is to always help to better the lives of her fellow residents. It has always been her lifetime goal to serve all the community of Delray.


Shenika “Nik” Harris

Shenika “Nik” Harris (pronouns: she/they), is a queer gender non-conforming attorney, activist, and speaker. She is a native of Tallahassee, Florida and obtained her undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University and law degree from Florida State University. Nik is Vice-Chair of the Human Rights Campaign National Board of Governors. She also serves on the boards of Ruth’s List and IGNITE Women’s Services. She is Vice-President of the Broward County and statewide LGBTQ Democratic Caucus, and is a BIG in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Pride Program. In 2019 she was appointed as the LGBTQ Consumer Advocate to Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner, Nikki Fried. This is the first position of its kind to a member of the Florida Cabinet. Nik is an award-winning Toastmaster and speaks across the country in support of equality. She also conducts training on diversity, equity, and inclusion.


Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates

Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates has served Temple Beth El since 2002. Rabbi Mates coordinates our congregation’s vibrant adult education and enrichment effort. This includes a variety of targeted learning programs for doctors and health-care workers, as well as “Project Nuremberg,” a continuing education program for attorneys that attracts hundreds of attorneys and world famous speakers annually, and through which she has built a partnership with Lynn University and the South Palm Beach County Bar. Rabbi Mates guides our adult b’nai mitzvah program, and teaches a wide variety of courses for adults and children. She is a participant in the Kathleen Brush Women in Executive Leadership program at Florida Atlantic University. She is an ardent Zionist, blessed to be in Israel many times as part of her fellowship with the Shalom Hartman Institute and her involvement with AIPAC.


Fred Ferber (Holocaust Survivor in Film)

Fred Ferber was born in 1930 in Swietchlowice, Poland in 1930. In 1933, the Ferber family re-located to Chorzow, Poland and then on to Kraków, Poland ca. 1936. Following the German invasion, the Ferbers were forced into the Kraków Ghetto located in Podgorze. In 1943, the family was rounded-up and sent to the Płaszów forced labor camp on the outskirts of Kraków. While in Płaszów, Fred's father was murdered by the camp's Kommandant, Amon Goethe. Fred worked in the metal and fabric shops in the camp while his mother worked in a labor detail. Fred's brother was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where he was murdered by the Nazis. Fred was separated from his mother when he was transferred with a number of other prisoners to the Mauthausen forced labor camp in Austria. From there, he was transferred to Gusen II and then to Gunskirchen (both sub-camps of Mauthausen). He was liberated by the American Army in May 1945. Following liberation and a short stay in a Displaced Persons Camp where he recuperated from typhus and dysentery, he returned to Poland to find his family. He was reunited with his mother in Sopot, Poland. After finding his mother and learning the fate of his brother, he moved around Europe until the late 1940s, when he immigrated to America. While in America, Fred stayed in an orphanage in San Francisco while attending school and college.


Director and Writer - Shared Legacies - Dr. Shari L. Rogers

Dr. Shari L. Rogers is a licensed clinical psychologist and social activist whose work encompasses movie production, writing, educational programing, curriculum development and public speaking. She is the Co-Executive Producer of Eli Inspiring Future Generations, a PBS documentary examining the impact of Holocaust survivor Eliezer Ayalon, a Yad Vashem tour guide from Israel, and his inspiration to make positive change in the world. She has also been published in Friendship and Faith, The Wisdom of Women Creating Alliances for Peace.


Shari is the president and founder of Spill The Honey, a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) organization committed to promoting human dignity, as well as advancing public knowledge of the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement. Through programs, sponsored initiatives, and strategic partnerships, Spill The Honey advances cultural tolerance, draws attention to contemporary injustices, and encourages young people to become compassionate, global citizens. Spill The Honey has sponsored many community events, bringing both Jewish and African American community high schools together to work on an ongoing joint educational program. To date, over 2,000 high school students have been involved in Spill The Honey programs. Shari also serves as a trustee of the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy (ISGAP).