FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2015
Contact:
Thorin R. Tritter, Ph.D.
Managing Director, FASPE
Phone: 646-437-4037
Email: ttritter@FASPE.info
2015 Fellows Announced for International Ethics Program that Works
with Medical, Law, Journalism, Seminary, and Business Students
New Students to Join 259 Alumni in Program’s Sixth Year; MBA Component Launched
New York, NY − An international program for students in professional schools that is designed to address
contemporary ethical issues through a unique historical context has announced the list of 62 medical, law,
journalism, seminary, and business students (listed below) who will participate in a two-week program this
summer in New York, Germany, and Poland.*
Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE) is predicated upon the power of place –
in particular the first-hand experience of visiting Auschwitz and other historic sites associated with the
Holocaust – where Fellows consider how to apply the lessons of history to the ethical issues they will face in
their professions.
Pre-World War II professionals in Germany were known and respected internationally. Yet, leaders (and
practitioners) in each of the professions, and often the institutions they represented, played a fundamental role in
designing, enabling and/or executing the crimes of Nazi Germany.
Run under the auspices of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, FASPE examines the roles played by
professionals in medicine, law, journalism, business, and the clergy in Nazi Germany; and underscores that the
moral codes governing these essential professions can break down or be distorted with devastating
consequences. “By educating students about the causes of the Holocaust and the power of their chosen
professions, FASPE seeks to instill a sense of professional responsibility for the ethical and moral choices that
the Fellows will make in their careers and in their professional relationships,” said C. David Goldman, founder
of FASPE.
*
The 2015 FASPE Journalism and Business Fellows include both graduate students and recent graduates who are early in their
careers.
“Understanding that their individual voices and actions can positively influence their colleagues, FASPE
Fellows will be a part of a growing cohort of professionals who are invested in raising and sustaining high
ethical standards among all practitioners in their field,” Mr. Goldman noted.
The 2015 program includes a new component that works specifically with MBA students and business
executives in the first five years of their careers. “We are excited to be working with historians, business school
faculty who teach business ethics, and other scholars who work on the professional development of business
executives,” said Thorin R. Tritter, FASPE Managing Director.
The 2015 FASPE Fellows represent a broad range of religious, ethnic and racial backgrounds and were chosen
through a competitive process from among close to 1,000 applicants around the world. FASPE covers all
student expenses, including transatlantic and European travel, food, and lodging.
Over the course of 12 days, Fellows will participate in seminars run by leading scholars who serve as FASPE
faculty, and attend lectures with a range of guest speakers. The program integrates historical, cultural,
philosophical, and literary sources; survivor testimony; and workshops in Berlin, Auschwitz and Krakow.
FASPE has worked with over 250 students using curricula designed in partnership with faculty from Yale
Medical School, Yale Law School, Columbia School of Journalism, and Georgetown University.
FASPE Business, Law, and Journalism Fellows will begin orientation in Berlin on Sunday, May 24, visiting
museums and meeting with a Holocaust survivor. Educational workshops will take place at the House of the
Wannsee Conference, the site where representatives of State and Nazi Party agencies convened in 1942 to
discuss and coordinate plans for the Nazis’ “Final Solution.” FASPE Medical and Seminary Fellows will follow
a similar itinerary, but will begin their orientation on June 14 in New York at the Museum of Jewish Heritage—
A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, before traveling to Berlin. All Fellows then travel to Oświęcim, Poland,
the town the Germans called Auschwitz, where they will work with the distinguished educational staff at the
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Sessions devoted to contemporary ethics take place in seminar rooms at
Auschwitz and at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious universities.
The final leg of the trip will be held in Krakow, Poland, where Fellows will explore the city’s rich Jewish,
Catholic, and Polish history.
Once home, each Fellow will submit a final written essay focused on a contemporary ethical issue chosen by
the Fellow. Select essays will be published in the annual FASPE Journal, which includes essays from Fellows
from all disciplines.
“FASPE is committed to a long-term relationship with the Fellows in order to sustain the ideas raised during the
Fellowships. FASPE fosters an active network of alumni Fellows and provides forums for continuing dialogue
among the Fellows as they move forward in their careers,” added Dr. Tritter. “An annual Alumni Reunion and
Symposium is held each year where Fellows from the most recent Program present their papers and all gather
and discuss the impact of their fellowship experiences and current ethical issues.”
About FASPE
FASPE works under the auspices of the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and
in cooperation with Jagiellonian University, Krakow; the Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz, Berlin; and the
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oświęcim, Poland. To view a video about FASPE, visit www.FASPE.info.
The topics the 2015 FASPE Fellows will study can be found on individual program pages that include more
details about the Medical, Law, Seminary and Journalism programs.
Lead support for FASPE is provided by C. David Goldman, Frederick and Margaret Marino, and the Eder
Family Foundation. FASPE is also supported by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
and other generous donors.
About the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
The Museum’s exhibitions educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the rich tapestry of Jewish life
over the past century—before, during, and after the Holocaust. Current special exhibitions include A Town
Known as Auschwitz: The Life and Death of a Jewish Community and Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury
Modernism, on view beginning on March 31. It is also home to the award-winning Keeping History Center, an
interactive visitor experience, and Andy Goldsworthy’s memorial Garden of Stones. The Museum offers
visitors a vibrant public program schedule in its Edmond J. Safra Hall and receives general operating support
from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
2015 FASPE Fellows
2015 FASPE Medical Fellows
Shannon Allport (U. Penn.)
Jason Batten (Stanford)
Meredith Binford (Yale)
Danielle Bitterman (NYU)
Andrew Huang (Dartmouth)
Samantha Kaplan (Yale)
Aleksandra Olszewski (Harvard)
Victor Roy (Northwestern\Cambridge)
Caitlin Rublee (U. of Wisconsin)
Lisa Schamber (USC)
Robert Smith (U. Penn.)
Kelly Wolenberg (Vanderbilt)
Matthew Young (Harvard)
Margot Zarin-Pass (UCSF)
2015 FASPE Journalism Fellows
Lindsey Anderson (El Paso Times, El Paso, Texas)
Lisa Creamer (WBUR FM, Boston, Mass.)
Jessica Davey-Quantick (Queen's University,
Kingston, Canada)
Kristian Jebsen (NYU)
Alexandra Levine (Columbia)
Joanna Plucinska (Freelance reporter and
photographer, New York, NY)
Krzysztof Sadomski (Jagiellonian University)
Laura Smith (NYU)
Alexa Talamo (Arizona State University)
Katelyn Verstraten (Toronto Star, Toronto, Canada)
Alasdair Wilkins (UNC Chapel Hill)
S. Parker Yesko (UC Berkley)
2015 FASPE Law Fellows
Danielle Abada (Yale)
Louis Fisher (Harvard)
Jana Loeb (UC-Berkeley)
Carla Pierini Losada (Northwestern)
Adam Mendel (U. Penn)
Bib Metsch-Garcia (U. Michigan)
Nick Reaves (UVA)
Rebecca Rosen (UCLA)
Zach Shapiro (Harvard)
Hal Stanton (U. Michigan)
Roxanne Strohmeier (UC Davis)
Mimi Wu (Columbia)
2015 FASPE Business Fellows
Daniel Abel (European School of Management &
Technology)
Elana Berger (MIT)
Liz Bershad (Harvard)
Yodit Beyene (U. Michigan)
Trevor Diffley (Emory)
Julia Dudda (EBS University of Business and Law)
Julia Elkemann (Berlin School of Economics & Law)
Martin Fast (FH Wien University)
Hugo Santillan (Yale)
Jacob Shmukler (UVA)
Anne Steptoe (Duke)
Megan Wong (UC Berkeley)
2015 FASPE Seminary Fellows
Rachel Abdoler (University of Chicago)
Elizabeth Andrasi (George W. Truett Theological
Seminary at Baylor University)
Jawad Bayat (Hartford Seminary)
Ayalon Eliach (Hebrew College)
Katie Escalante (Luther Seminary)
Robert Hyde (Boston College)
Judah Kerbel (Yeshiva University)
Michael LaMarca (Christ the King Seminary)
Eric Martin (Fordham University)
David Stark (Duke Divinity School)
Jaye Starr Boz (Hartford Seminary)
Luke Zerra (Princeton Theological Seminary)
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