On May 7th, 2014 in Los Angeles, Memorial Library teachers Michelle Sadrena Clark and Corey Harbaugh were both publicly acknowledged by President Obama. Michelle spoke at a USC Shoah Foundation gala where President Obama received an Ambassador for Humanity award. Corey was featured in a video at the event attended by approximately 1300 people including founder Steven Spielberg and celebrities such as Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Barbara Streisand. In his acceptance speech, President Obama quoted both teachers, noting Michelle’s powerful statement in which she describes turning Holocaust “testimony into tools that can be used by scholars and students around the world.” Obama also acknowledged Corey’s assertion that “the Holocaust has entered into our DNA.” Michelle who teaches in San Diego participated in the Memorial Library Summer Seminar in 2013. Corey, a Teacher Fellow of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a Co-Director of the Third Coast Writing Project at Western Michigan University, began his work with the Library in 2009 and has been a satellite seminar leader in Michigan since 2011. Both teachers are Master Teachers in the Shoah Foundation Visual History Project.
Obama’s speech at the event can be viewed here
Press featuring Michelle at the event can be viewed here and here
Press featuring Corey in a video at the event can be viewed here