Meet the Board Members

Sarah Heim is a litigation lawyer based in Burlington, Vermont. She is a former ARSP volunteer at the Memorial site in Dachau. She began mentoring ARSP volunteers in New York and is still connected with ARSP. Until 2024, Sarah was the chair of the Board of Friends of ARSP.

Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow is the Executive Director of Northeastern Hillel in Boston. She and her family have a deep connection to ARSP, as Franz von Hammerstein, an ARSP founder, was her beloved great uncle. She served as the Director of Spiritual Care at Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston for 17 years ago with Franz’ help she established it as a project partner, worked closely with volunteers, and most recently served as a host family .

From 2012 until 2014 I worked with the Protestant Church of Reconciliation as a volunteer for ARSP at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. I learned so much and was honored to hear the stories of former prisoners. The rise of neo-Nazi and other extreme right-wing groups puts anyone who is different from them or who thinks differently from them at risk. That is why it is important to me to advocate for ARSP. We must keep the truth about what happened alive and that is done with education and with service to others.”

Emily Mohney is the Collections Manager and Registrar at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) in Chicago. She is a former ARSP volunteer at the Neuengamme memorial and worked with the elderly Jewish/Survivor community in Hamburg, Germany. She serves on the Board as Treasurer.

Ellen Lederman and her husband Richard have nurtured our volunteers for many years. Her professional career as an occupational therapist involved working with people from various socioeconomic , cultural and religious backgrounds and a variety of physical and psychological disabilities. She lives in the Washington DC area and continues to invite ARSP volunteers every year to her Synagogue.

Dr. Eckhardt Johanning is a medical doctor and public health specialist. Dr. Johanning was one of the first German ARSP volunteers in the US in the early 1970s where he volunteered for the Farmer’s Union. He continues to support ARSP because he is convinced that the young generation needs service opportunities to develop and themselves stand up against antisemitism and social injustice.

Dr. Mary Jo Fink is a medical doctor. Until her retirement, she was a teacher at Columbia University where she continued to work with students, in particular with asylum applicants. Dr. Fink is a longtime supporter and host family in the New York area. For many years, she served on the Board as treasurer.

Ralf Wiedemann is an Immigration Attorney at Law Office of Ralf D. Wiedemann LLC and the Honorary Consul of Germany in Philadelphia. He has advised ARSP volunteers for many years on Visa issues and provides legal services.

Bob Byrne is the Executive Director of Family Promise Philadelphia (formerly Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network). Before that, he was the Director of Operations and in that capacity, has closely worked with and supervised our ARSP volunteers for many years.

Casey is a Marketing and Communications Specialist at the Pennsylvania Center for the Book at Penn State University. Casey graduated from the Penn State in the spring of 2023 with her Master of Art’s degree in Anthropology and Bachelor of Art’s degrees in Anthropology, History, Jewish Studies, and Middle East Studies. From 2023-2024, she completed the ASF International Germany Program at the Memorial in Neuengamme, Germany. She lives in State College, PA.