The Language of Deception: Misinformation and Propaganda During the Holocaust and Today

Date: July 7-11, 2025
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
During this five-day seminar, participants will examine how language and images can be used to inform, misinform, lead to deeper truth or perpetuate harmful stereotypes. We will wrestle with how the growing use of AI in communication impacts us today, and explore best practices to help us help our students navigate these challenges.
Meals: Breakfasts, lunches, and some dinners
Professional Development: CEUs available
Field Experiences:
- Weitzman Museum of Jewish American History
- National Constitution Center
- Congregation Mikvah Israel, known as the Synagogue of the American Revolution, the oldest continuous synagogue in the US
Featured Speakers:
- Elaine Culberston – Holocaust educator and child of survivors
In partnership with Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.
Leaders
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Donna Tarney
Donna Tarney is the Education Specialist at the Anne Frank Center at USC, Columbia. Using Anne’s story, she helps university students, school groups, and community organizations prepare themselves to stand up and speak out against hate in all its forms. Donna also facilitates virtual and in person workshops to help people recognize bias and prejudice in their own lives and work toward appreciation of diversity.
Prior to this, Donna was the Education and Outreach Specialist at the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center in Charlotte, NC. In that capacity, Donna created and facilitated Holocaust and human rights programs for schools and community groups throughout North and South Carolina. Donna taught Theology, History, and Holocaust courses for thirteen years at Charlotte Catholic High School, with an emphasis on lessons that would help her students make informed choices to build strong communities.
Donna holds a master’s degree in religious education from Loyola University and earned a Certificate in Holocaust Studies from Georgetown University. She attended TOLI NY in 2014, and has been co-leading our Summer Satellite Program for eight years.
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Kimberly Jones
Kimberly S. Jones is an educator with a mission to transform lives through learning and equity. As the 2023-24 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina State Teacher of the Year, she has made a lasting impact on students, educators, and communities across the state.
For over 19 years, Kimberly has taught high school English and humanities at Chapel Hill High School, engaging students in courses like World Literature and AP African American Studies. Her teaching sparks critical conversations on history, identity, and justice. As a consultant with The Olga Lengyel Institute (TOLI) and a PBS education consultant, she designs culturally relevant lessons to inspire understanding and action.
A Wake Forest University graduate (BA and MAEd), Kimberly channels her education into advocacy, mentoring, and policy work. She has earned accolades like the NC Attorney General’s Dogwood Award and served as Wake Forest’s 2024 Graduate School commencement speaker. Her dynamic teaching empowers students to think critically, embrace empathy, and imagine brighter futures.
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Matthew Good
Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Matthew is the 2024 recipient of the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award from the Intellectual Freedom Round Table of the American Library Association (ALA).
He is the Instructional Technology Librarian at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. In addition, he serves as the librarian for the Educators’ Institute for Human Rights (EIHR) where he evaluates and curates resources on genocide and mass atrocities. Matthew’s essay, When Schools Ban Books, They Silence Diverse Voices, was published as part of Equity Planning for School Leaders Approaches to Student Diversity, Access and Opportunity by McFarland in November 2023. Previously, he worked as a school librarian for over thirteen years.
He is an alum of the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers’ Program, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) Teacher Fellowship (2014-2015), The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights (TOLI) Leadership Institute and a Defiant Requiem Foundation Teaching Ambassador. In 2018, Matthew received a National Education Association Learning and Leadership Grant to travel and study in Rwanda, Africa. He is a member of the American Library Association (ALA) and is on the Intellectual Freedom Round Table and Pennsylvania School Library Association (PSLA) and is on the Intellectual Freedom Task Group.