SAN FRANCISCO—The inaugural GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program is well underway. After a rigorous selection process, a group of highly qualified secondary-level educators from fourteen U.S. states has been selected.
Education Director Sara Cohan led the first meeting of the 2022 GenEd Teacher Fellows. The educators introduced themselves and discussed their inspiration and path to becoming teachers and their interest in teaching about genocide.
The group will embark on a 10-day intensive professional development program in Armenia in July, based at the Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute. Upon their return to the U.S., the GenEd Teacher Fellows will carry out their professional development activities for other teachers.
The GenEd Teacher Fellows have a wide range of backgrounds and strong credentials, not only including years of teaching, but also experiences like working with the U.S. Fullbright Program, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Holocaust Museum, or creating curricula for school districts, consulting for state departments of education, teaching Advanced Placement courses, and other valuable expertise.
Considering each teacher instructs up to 100 new students yearly, and each GenEd Teacher Fellow will train a group of other educators, the GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program will significantly impact the expansion of genocide education.
“I’m so gratified to see the number and caliber of educators who applied for the first GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program,” said GenEd Education Director Sara Cohan. “Meeting our newly selected GenEd Teacher Fellows via Zoom has deepened our confidence that these educators are truly committed to genocide education and will make the most out of our institute in Yerevan and our future collaboration.”
Meet the GenEd Fellow Teachers:
Justin Bilton is an English teacher at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School where he has created a Genocide Studies course, facilitated a genocide studies exhibition, and has authored articles on genocide studies featured in The Atlantic and The Hechinger Report. Bilton has also trained other teachers in the implementation of English curriculum.
Eric Bowers is a teacher at Penn High School located in Mishawaka, Indiana, which has an enrollment of 4,000 students. Holding degrees in Social Studies Education and. History, Bowers currently teaches AP European History and AP U.S. History, the Model UN Sponsor, the Social Studies Academic Coach, and advises the Armenian Club.
Amanda Coven is the Director of Education at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education where she facilitates professional development for educators. She will be attending the GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program as a special guest on behalf of the museum. Coven helped draft Oregon’s genocide education law and works with the State Department of Education on its implementation.
George Dalbo teaches AP World History, World History, and a Genocide and Human Rights elective course at Clinton Community High School, in Clinton, Wisconsin. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Social Studies Education and Human Rights at the University of Minnesota and served as the coordinator for his district’s implementation of the Holocaust and Genocide education and Indigenous
education laws.
Jessica DePamphilis is an English teacher at Watertown High School in Watertown, Massachusetts. She’s enrolled in a doctorate of education program at Northeastern University. With deep roots in the Watertown community, she has been teaching about the Armenian Genocide through English literature for seven years.
Kevin Dockery teaches AP European History, AP World History, and AP US Government and Politics at Fred J. Page High School in Franklin, Tennessee, where he also serves as Social Studies Department Chair as well as sponsor of the school’s Model United Nations advisor and Youth in Government advisor.
Kerri Flynn has been teaching about human rights and genocide for 24 years and has created a Human Rights and Genocide course at her school, Washington High School near St. Louis, Missouri. She developed curriculum and teaches a course on Human Rights and Genocide. Kerri says she’s looking forward to learning about the Armenian Genocide from Armenians.
Rob Hadley is a Teacher Trainer in Bethel, Alaska, training native Alaskans interested in education. An educator for more than 20 years, he was a 2001 U.S. Holocaust Museum Fellow, has consulted for the USC Shoah Foundation, and served on the Board of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center. He holds a Master’s Degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
Mary Johnson, Ph.D., began her teaching career as a Peace Corps Volunteer Teacher in Northern Nigeria. From 1983 – 2020, she was the Senior Historian for Facing History and Ourselves, facilitating seminars and workshops, writing curricula, and conducting research. Currently, she is an affiliate and adjunct professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University.
Jackie Kemper teaches social studies at the Christian School of York, in York, Pennsylvania. An educator for 26 years, she now teaches Honors World History, Holocaust Literature, Honors Modern 20th Century, and a WW2/Holocaust elective. She has a Master’s degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, has created three courses on genocide. She also serves on the Teacher’s Advisory Council for Penn State’s Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Initiative.
Jeffrey Lewis teaches high school history and psychology in Stonington, Connecticut, including the course Modern World History: Government, Nationalism, Human Rights & Globalization. A passionate believer in global education, Jeff participated in the Goethe-Institut’s Transatlantic Outreach Program in 2019. He also has coached competitive interscholastic debates.
Manny Lopez is completing his 30th year in public education. He teaches and chairs the Social Studies department at Alisal High in Salinas, California. He has taught all secondary social studies courses and has led curriculum and staff development projects. Lopez has participated in study tours including those hosted by Fulbright-Hays in Morrocco and China, and by the National Endowment for the Humanities in South Africa.
Sigrud Olsen teaches at Sprague High School in Salem, Oregon. Since meeting a genocide survivor in 1978, she has been teaching about historical and current genocides and includes novels, poetry, art, and witness testimony in her curriculum. She has participated in numerous national and international teaching seminars, including the World Affairs Council seminar on Russia and the former Soviet States.
Amy Perkins is a 20 year veteran Social Studies teacher currently at Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan. She frequently travels overseas, increasing her understanding of history through first-hand experiences that she incorporates in her classroom teaching, and recently created an exchange program between her students and peers in Germany.
Kelly Rosati has been teaching history for 22 years at Stone Bridge High School in Loudoun County, Virginia. In 2017 she traveled to Rwanda to study the history of Rwanda, the Rwandan Genocide, and the state of Rwanda today. She holds a Masters in Education as well as a Masters in Educational Leadership with a concentration on History.
Allison Weller is the Social Studies Chairperson at Copiague Middle School in Copiague, New York, and has been named Female Teacher of the Year there multiple times. She has presented multiple sessions at the annual conferences of the National Council for the Social Studies and serves on the New York State Council for the Social Studies’ Human Rights Committee.
GenEd’s working partnership with the Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute has progressed as we prepare for the upcoming phase of the GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program in Armenia in July. AGMI scholars will speak to the GenEd Teacher Fellows on topics of research there, including memorialization of genocide, exemplified by the Armenian Genocide Monument adjacent to the AGMI facility, where the Teacher Fellows will engage in morning workshops and gain insight into the museum’s operations and invaluable artifacts and historical materials.
