Sanja Seferovic Drnovsek, Director of the Bosnian American Genocide Institute and Education Center, was appointed as one of nine members of the llinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission by governor Pat Quinn

(Chicago, IL) — April 12, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today appointed nine individuals to serve on the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission.
“We must never forget the atrocities and horrors of the Holocaust,” said Quinn. “This commission will increase awareness of the Holocaust and other past genocides to make sure that ‘never again’ is not a meaningless slogan.”
Quinn last year signed legislation, House Bill 6059, creating the commission. The panel will work with public and private organizations in planning and developing awareness programs.
Additionally, the commissioners will work with Holocaust and other genocide survivors, concentration camp liberators, scholars and religious leaders who will to share knowledge with students, participate in seminars, and develop educational curriculum.
The governor’s appointees include:
Adam Braun, Office of Governor Pat Quinn
Gregory Bedian, Ubiquiti Networks
Noreen Brand, Illinois Holocaust Museum Education Center
Daniel Cohen, Northwestern University
Sanja Drnovsek, Aspira Haugan Middle School
Sonia Edelman, Houghton Mifflin
Fritzie Fritzshall, Illinois Holocaust Museum Education Center
Richard Hirschhaut, Illinois Holocaust Museum Education Center
Leon Lim, Chicago Public Schools
Other commission members, among others, include lawmakers: State Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) and State Rep. Sidney Mathias (R-Buffalo Grove).
Members of the commission are unpaid and serve four-year terms.

OFFICE OF GOVERNOR PAT QUINN NEWS

Newly-Appointed Members of the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission Adam Braun of Chicago is the deputy director for the Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs. A grandson of Holocaust survivors, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Jewish History from the Jewish Theological Seminary and is a graduate of Columbia University and Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Daniel Cohen of Chicago earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where as part of his dissertation, he designed the education and training program of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. He currently teaches and researches the Holocaust and its aftermath, as well as how institutions educate others about the Holocaust and other genocides.
Fritzie Fritzshall of Buffalo Grove is a Holocaust survivor and a longtime community leader who currently serves as president-elect of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. She is also involved with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Jewish United Fund.
Gregory Bredian of Arlington Heights is the co-founder of the Genocide Education Network of Illinois, which organizes teaching seminars about genocide issues in the social sciences. He has spent over 30 years as an activist raising awareness of the Holocaust, and genocides in Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur.
Leon Lim of Chicago is a survivor of the Killing Fields in Cambodia and an anti-genocide activist. He teaches mathematics in the Chicago Public Schools.
Noreen Brand of Northfield is the director of education at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center and has served on the Advisory Board of the Cambodian Association of Illinois, as well as many national education and social science organizations.
Richard Hirschhaut of Deefield is the executive director of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center and has previously worked as a senior staff member of the Anti-Defamation League.
Sanja Drnovsek of Chicago is a middle school teacher who serves as president of the Bosnian-American Genocide Institute. She previously served as the Refugee Resettlement Program Director of Catholic Charities Chicago, which assisted victims of genocide from Bosnia and Rwanda.
Sonia Edelman of Buffalo Grove is a former middle school teacher and the daughter of Holocaust survivors. She is an instructor at the Anshe Tikvah synagogue and is a supervisor at the Houghton Mifflin educational company.