Meet the Board Members

Sarah Heim is a litigation lawyer based in Burlington, Vermont. She is a former ARSP volunteer at the memorial in Dachau. She began mentoring ARSP volunteers in New York and is the current chair of the Board of Friends of ARSP.

Sara Paasche-Orlow is a rabbi and chaplain living in Newton MA. She and her family have a deep connection to ARSP, as Franz v. Hammerstein, an ARSP founder, was her beloved great uncle. She served as the Director of Spiritual Care at Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston where 17 years ago with Franz’s 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 Registrar at Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, near Chicago. She is a former ARSP volunteer at the Neuengamme memorial and worked with the elderly Jewish/Survivor community in Hamburg, Germany

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.

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.

Dr. Mary Jo Fink is a medical doctor and teacher at Columbia University where she continues to work with students, in particular with asylum applicants. Dr. Fink is a longtime supporter and host family in the New York area. She serves on the board as treasurer.

Ralf Wiedemann is an immigration lawyer and the Honorary Consul of Germany in Philadelphia. He has advised ARSP volunteers for many years on Visa issues and provided legal services.

Bob Byrne
Bob Byrne is the Director of Operations at PIHN (Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network). Bob has closely worked with and supervised our ARSP volunteers for the past years.

Claus Petersen is connected to Luigi Toscano’s „Lest we forget“ and helps Toscano exhibit portraits of Holocaust survivors in open-air exhibits. Claus and his wife Laura have been a trusted “host family” to many ARSP volunteers and active in the Philly community.