The St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum is making great strides toward creating a world-class facility for our community and the region. At this time, an internal change is taking place and Donald (Don) Hannon has elected to step down as Interim Executive Director.

“This is the key time to have the niche, subject matter experts on site to work with the highly qualified staff assembled to make sure all the goals and hopes of this Museum are in place for a grand re-opening,” said Hannon. “It has been my extreme honor and privilege to work with all and get the project on the right footings to move forward.”

Hannon will be working to transition his duties to Gallagher & Associates in the coming weeks.

Gallagher & Associates, the premiere, internationally recognized firm of designers who have been on this project since inception, will continue in its important role and add those experts needed to complete this project for a grand re-opening in the summer of 2022.

Most recently, Gallagher & Associates finished and opened the 60,000-square-foot, $96 million U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs during this recent COVID environment.

“Don has been with the Jewish Federation of St. Louis (Federation) for nearly seven years and in that time, he has held many roles before he took on the role of Interim Executive Director, said Brian Herstig, President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Herstig went on to say, “We appreciate all of Don’s hard work in not only this project but also his other roles at Federation.”

Herstig will be the liaison between Gallagher & Associates and the project to make sure the goals are moving forward to creating a world-class facility for the region and beyond.

For 25 years, the Museum has shared the stories of the survivors and this Museum is committed to continue along that path by creating a new, state-of-the art place to learn about those stories.

The Museum will become a regional destination for people to learn the history of the Holocaust and related issues that still exist today. Through interactive exhibitions, programming, and self-reflection, visitors will explore how bias affects their daily lives and the lives of others. Lessons from the Holocaust show how stereotypes can turn to prejudice, violence and, in the most extreme cases, genocide.

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The St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, a department of Jewish Federation of St. Louis, is dedicated to using the history and lessons of the Holocaust to reject hatred, promote understanding, and inspire change. The museum currently provides virtual educational programming as it undergoes a $21 million expansion. The new world-class institution will open in mid-2022. Learn more at StlHolocaustMuseum.org.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

*Please note the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Museum and Jewish Federation of St. Louis offices are closed beginning at 3PM on Monday 9/20 thru Wednesday, 9/22 for the first two days of Sukkot.  Our offices will reopen at 8:30am on Thursday, 9/21.

Sam March
Author: Sam March