Our Team

Louise Heilbron - Educator

An ex teacher Louise has worked for many years as a free-lance educator for the Holocaust Education Trust.

She has also worked at the Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum where her project for the Fellowship programme was to set up workshop sessions at a number of synagogues for pupils in year 9 and above.

She was awarded an honorary Master’s Degree by Middlesex University for her work in Holocaust Education.

Lydia Safir - Educator

Lydia qualified as a secondary school teacher in 1971 and taught History up to A level from 1971 – 2007 in various institutions.

She was Head of History for 18 years and then Head of Careers in charge of university applications at Copthall School in Mill Hill.

She been a Holocaust Educator on a freelance basis at the Imperial War Museum since 2007 and has worked on our HMD Workshops since 2010.

Laura Fox - Educator

Laura Fox is an artist and educator who lives and works in London.

She has an MA in Art Education from UCL and also a Certificate in Counselling using Arta IATeE.

A member of Finchley Reform Synagogue, she has trained with the Holocaust Education Trust to be a Holocaust Educator and joined our team in 2023.

Irene Kay – Workshop Presenter

Irene Kay is a retired teacher who has been involved with the HMD workshops since 2013.

She was Clore Shalom Primary School’s founding head, and served there from September 1998 to August 2012. She was involved in the introductions of a pioneering module for Primary age pupils on Holocaust Education.

She was a Founding Governor and Vice Chair of Governors of the Jewish Community Secondary Scholl (JCoSS) during the exciting period before the school opened in 2010.

Marian Cohen - Workshop Presenter

As a professional Jewish educator Marian Cohen has been studying and teaching about the Holocaust for over 30 years.

She has studied at Yad Vashem Holocaust Education Centre in Jerusalem and the UCL Holocaust Centre in London.

She is currently Director of Education at Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue, the largest Reform synagogue in Europe, and has a Fellowship in Jewish educational leadership.

Sylvia Sheridan – HMD Events Organiser

Sylvia has been involved with the HMD educational workshops since 2017, when she took over the role of Events Coordinator from Louise Heilbron, and she is resposible for all the organisation, administration and fundraising for the workshops.

Before she retired, she was the administrator of a residential home for elderly people for 30 years. She was also the part time head-teacher of the religion school at a local reform synagogue for 22 years and holds an Advanced Diploma in Jewish Education from the institute of Education, UCL for this post.

Catherine Reuben - Community Liaison

Catherine's parents came to England from Germany in the 1930s.

She grew up in Yorkshire and is a retired university teacher, specialising in French literature and language.

She has a lifelong involvement in education and now ten children grandchildren on whom to practise.

Fred Weil - IT

Fred is a second generation immigrant whose parents fled Czechoslovakia following the Nazi invasion in 1939. He has been involved with Holocaust education since 2015, both as a helper and as a presenter, telling the story of his grandmother, who was murdered in Theresienstadt. He has presented this story at synagogues and conferences in the UK and in Prague as well as at our HMD workshops.

As a retired IT consultant, he has taken over that role for our workshops and is a crucial part of our team.