DALLAS (January 27, 2021) – The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum (Museum) is pleased to announce the appointment of nine newly elected members to the Museum’s Board of Directors for 2021 and a new Board Chair. These additions will bring diverse points of view and professional expertise to aid the Museum and further its mission to teach the history of the Holocaust and advance human rights to combat prejudice, hatred, and indifference.
Mark Zilbermann was elected Board Chair. He has been associated with Brandt Engineering and the Brandt Companies, LLC, since 1976, serving as CEO from 1995-2016 and Chairman since 2016. Zilbermann is a distinguished leader of the Dallas and larger Jewish community, serving with distinction on the boards of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, Temple Emanu-El Foundation, the southwest region for the AJC, Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, St. Mark’s School of Texas, and serving as co-chair of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council of Dallas and the St. Mark’s School Alumni Board. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum since 2017.
In September 2019, the Museum officially opened the doors to its brand new, 55,000-square-foot location in Dallas’ West End Historical District, featuring a state-of-the-art 250-seat Cinemark Theater, four permanent exhibition wings, digitized testimonies of Holocaust Survivors, and a futuristic Dimensions in Testimony℠ Theater allowing visitors to ask questions that prompt real-time responses from holographic survivors of the Holocaust – one of only two such theaters in the world.
Despite having closed for five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Museum was able to convert its programs and tours into virtual experiences for Members, students, teachers, and the general public. With programs more accessible than ever before, the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum has spread its mission even further, reaching a broader national and international audience participants from across the country and the globe. Since reopening in August 2020, the Museum has safely welcomed guests at 25% capacity Wednesdays through Sundays. The Museum has also reached 30,636 individuals since March 2020, including through 133 virtual public programs and 214 programs geared towards students.
“We have been fortunate to be able to adapt the programs our Members and supporters have come to expect,” says Museum President and CEO Mary Pat Higgins. “With the guidance and insight of our new Board Chair, Mark Zilbermann, and our new Board Members, we look forward to continuing to make our virtual programs and offerings accessible to all.”
“Now, more than ever, we are seeing the critical need for fact-based education about the Holocaust and the ramifications of unchecked hatred. The Museum continues to have a great, positive impact on students and the community, both in-person and virtually,” notes new Board Chair Mark Zilbermann. “I am honored to serve as Board Chair of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum during this pivotal time.”
Newly appointed Board Members:
Jarrod Bassman
Partner at KPMG LLP
Bassman serves as the Global Lead Partner for Walmart and Trinity Industries at KPMG LLP. He most recently served as the US Risk Consulting Markets Leader and Global Network Leader for the IA & SOAS Strategic Sourcing Network and has substantial experience across the full life cycle of risk management services. Bassman is an active volunteer, serving on the Audit and Ethics and Risk and Controls Committees for the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, the Accounting Advisory Board for SMU, the Membership Committee for Dallas Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Development Committee for the Dallas Zoo, and the Board of Lakehill Preparatory School.
Neisha Strambler-Butler
Senior Vice President of Total Rewards at McKesson
Strambler-Butler leads Compensation, Executive Compensation, Benefits and the HR Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Centers of Expertise for McKesson globally. She is a seasoned HR leader with over 25 years of experience. Prior to McKesson, she served as Vice President of Total Rewards and Shared Services for American Airlines. Strambler-Butler resides in Dallas/Fort Worth with her family. She serves on the advisory board of Project Unity, is a founding member of the Texas Women’s Foundation Village Giving Circle and has previously served on the board of the Red Cross.
Ronit Ilan
Community Volunteer
Ilan earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Tel Aviv University. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Art and Technology from UT Dallas. In addition, she earned a certificate in Computer Science from Tel Aviv University while she was serving in one of the computer units in the Israeli Air Force. Ilan and her husband, Haviv, moved to Plano in 2007 when Haviv’s company was bought by Texas Instruments and he became a TI executive. Ilan started volunteering immediately, and she volunteers for the PTA, the National Charity League (NCL), the Young Men’s Service League, the Tzofim, the Israeli Scouts, and The Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, where she works with Café Israel, an initiative to connect the Israeli community, the Women’s Philanthropy Board, and she has organized and chaired the Yom HaZikaron Ceremony on behalf of the Jewish Federation for the past eight years.
Larry Mondry
Corporate Executive
Mondry is a seasoned executive who has focused most of his career in the retail and high-tech sectors. He has spent over 20 years as a CEO, serving as CEO for the following companies: Stream Gas and Electric, a Dallas based provider of electricity and gas to more than 500,000 homes and businesses; CSK Auto, a 1,200 store auto parts chain with annual revenues of nearly $2 billion annually; CompUSA, a 250-store chain of computer stores, serving as senior executive and ultimately CEO of the chain. Mondry continues to serve on the boards of several smaller, private, and nonprofit companies.
Cindy Moskowitz
Certified Professional Coach
Moskowitz focuses on non-profit leadership and facilitates retreats and meetings for a variety of Jewish and non-Jewish agencies, helping boards fulfill their roles and responsibilities to further their organizations mission. She served as Board Chair for the Jewish Federation of Dallas and has significant synagogue experience as part of a founding group of her current 550-member congregation, Anshai Torah, where she served as its president and chaired their capital campaign to build a new sanctuary. Moskowitz currently serves as chair of the Jewish community Relations Council. She is an AIPAC key contact for a member of Congress, on the National Women’s Philanthropy board of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), and chair of trusteeship on Legacy Senior Communities board.
Steven Raab
Chairman of The InSource Group
Raab began his technical career at IBM, where he held various line and staff management positions over a period of 17 years. He also has been the founder and President of his own custom home building company, Executive Vice President of Real Estate and Real Estate Lending for Champion Savings & Loan, and EVP of Real Time Financial Systems, Inc among other endeavors. Raab is the past President and member of the Board of The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, past Board Chair and a two-time member of the Board of Social Venture Partners Dallas, past board member of Social Venture Partners International and currently serves on the board and Executive Committee of the Central Eurasia Leadership Academy (CELA).
Katherine Perot Reeves
Director of the Perot Foundation
Reeves is a founding donor and advisory board member of Perot Museum of Nature and Science; former Dallas Museum of Art Junior Associates Board Chair and An Affair of the Art Ball Chair; Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas – Gertrude Shelburne Volunteer of the Year 2006; Planned Parenthood of Great Texas 2021 Luncheon Co-Chair; Turtle Creek Recovery Center, Board Member 2006-2011; Sweetheart Ball member benefitting Southwestern Medical Center 2013 to present; and an Episcopal School of Dallas parent volunteer. She personally donates to North Texas Food Bank’s programs and serves as an active board member, volunteer, and tour guide of NTFB’s distribution center. In 2013, Reeves received the NTFB Board Leadership Award and in 2014 she was honored as Outstanding Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Greater Dallas Chapter.
Hernan Saenz
Leader of the Global Performance Improvement Practice
In addition to his client work, Saenz is a member of Bain & Company’s Board of Directors, including its Strategy, M&A, and DEI Committees. He also serves on the firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and is the founder of the Latinos at Bain (LATBA) group, an affinity network that focuses on the recruitment, development, and retention of top Latino business talent. In 2011, he was named to Consulting Magazine’s annual “Top 25 Consultants“ global list in recognition of his work with clients across industries. Outside of work, Saenz serves as a member of the leadership council of the SC Johnson College of Business (Cornell), where he is also a visiting senior lecturer in the Department of Management and Organizations. Saenz is a member of the Executive Board of the SMU Cox School of Business; a member of the Board of Directors for the SMU Tate lecture series; a member of the Dallas Citizens Council; and a trustee of the Dallas Theater Center.
Sam Susser
Chairman of Susser Bank Holdings and Corpus Christi Athletic Club
From 1988 to 2014, Susser led the growth of their family business, Susser Holdings Corporation, from a five-store operation to a $6.7 billion enterprise that was a member of the Fortune 500 and employed 12,000 team members. Additionally, Susser serves as Chair of the Development Board at the University of Texas, Co-Chair of the Governmental Relations Committee and as a member of the Membership and the Executive Committee of the MD Anderson Board of Visitors, and a Director of the Board of Southwestern Medical Foundation. He also serves as Chairman of the Governor’s University Research, Secretary/Board member of Citizens for Judicial Excellence in Texas, Secretary/Board member of Texas 2036, and a Board member and Past Chair of the Driscoll Children’s Hospital System in South Texas.
About the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
The mission of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is to teach the history of the Holocaust and advance human rights to combat prejudice, hatred, and indifference. Initially conceived in 1977 by local Holocaust Survivors, the institution now resides in a brand-new facility in Dallas’ Historic West End where visitors experience a deeper immersion into human and civil rights, their centrality to our democracy, and their vital importance in preventing events like those of the Holocaust from happening again. The 55,000-square-foot permanent home covers three floors, and the main exhibition includes four wings: Orientation Wing, Holocaust / Shoah Wing, Human Rights Wing, and Pivot to America Wing. Please visit DHHRM.org or call (214) 741-7500 for more details.