Holocaust Center Hires GC Director Of Development

Silvana LaFerlita Gullo

The Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County, located on the 246 acre Welwyn Preserve in Glen Cove, is happy to announce its plans for 2007. The Center is moving forward with a 2.5 million dollar investment to address our historic building's renovation needs, as well as to create a permanent museum-quality Holocaust exhibit for Long Island and the metropolitan area. To insure the success of this critical mission, we have engaged the help of Silvana LaFerlita Gullo, a resident of Garden City and a well-known non-profit professional recognized for her work with the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island.

Silvana successfully led the Ronald McDonald House through a $5 million dollar expansion project completed in 2005 more than doubling the size of the facility. Her fourteen years with the House affords her a working knowledge of three major renovation projects and the growth of the organization both in size and budget. Her expertise in both the operations and fundraising side of non-profit leadership will lend itself well to the Holocaust Center's expansion plans.

The Center has become the leading educational resource for the community through its Holocaust and Tolerance programs. The Center also hosts Long Island's largest collection of literature on the subject. The new historical exhibit will provide visitors with detailed video presentations on every aspect of the Holocaust, and survivor testimony will be a featured part of the experience. The Center's goal for this year includes an increase in the number of Tolerance Workshops which we offer to schools at no cost, the expansion of adult programs, and the launch of the U.S. Holocaust Museum's "Law Enforcement & Society: Lessons of the Holocaust" training to the Law Enforcement agencies of Nassau County. These are vigorous goals that the Board of Directors, led by Howard Maier, is confident can be achieved.

"I had the privilege of witnessing the change that occurs in students when participating in the Center's Tolerance Workshops. As a mother of two teenagers who have always been taught at home the importance of standing up for what is right, I can tell you that peer pressure presents a challenge for our children The testimony of survivors who were young people themselves when their world was torn apart by prejudice and hate breaks through the clutter and reaches the children in a way that we as parents can not. I was so deeply impressed with the Center's educational programs that I knew I could be passionate about helping the Center further its causes," Silvana said. "As a Catholic sitting in on the sessions, I realized that the Holocaust lessons have nothing to do with religion, race, or ethnicity, but have everything to do with acceptance, respect and tolerance. I am proud to be involved with such a worthwhile organization whose programs will inevitably affect our community and children in an important way."

The community is welcome to visit the Center and witness first hand a Tolerance Workshop in action. To learn more about the Center, or for a list of ways in which you might be able to help, please call the Center at (516) 571-8044 or e-mail silvanagullo@holocaust-nassau.org.