30th Anniversary Western Region Tribute Event

He has made Holocaust justice and memory a major part of his career. During the Carter Administration, Ambassador Eizenstat recommended a President’s Commission on the Holocaust chaired by Elie Wiesel and helped draft the legislation authorizing creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In the Clinton Administration, he served as Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State on Holocaust-Era Issues and, during the Obama Administration, as Special Advisor to Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry on Holocaust-Era Issues, negotiating major recoveries from foreign corporations and governments on behalf of survivors and families of victims. As Special Negotiator for the Jewish Claims Conference since 2009, he has negotiated additional compensation and social services for survivors, with an increasing emphasis on Holocaust memory and lessons. He is currently Special Adviser to Secretary of State Blinken on Holocaust Issues. He chairs the board of the Defiant Requiem Foundation, honoring the memory of the musicians and artists at the Theresienstadt concentration camp. He has received eight honorary doctorates and more than 75 awards, including the Museum’s highest honor, the Elie Wiesel Award, as well as honors from the governments of France (Legion of Honor), Germany, Austria, Belgium, Israel, and the United States. He has authored three books, including Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor & the Unfinished Business of World War II. He is a Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which created the Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat Chair of Modern Jewish History, and of Harvard Law School.

Robert was previously with Spectrum News 1 SoCal as a member of their original talent team, launching the network and introducing audiences to their unique brand of hyperlocal news. He served as co-anchor of Your Morning on Spectrum News 1 and host of The SoCal Scene. Known for his infectious energy, authenticity, and relatability, he is committed to expanding the consciousness of the human collective through the craft of storytelling. Robert’s work uplifts, inspires, and educates through his unique ability to connect with interview subjects and viewers.

While with Spectrum News 1, he covered some of the biggest local and national news stories, including the inauguration of President Joe Biden, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd. Additionally, he covered the 2019 Los Angeles teachers’ strike, Saugus High School shooting in the Santa Clarita community, and the Ridgecrest earthquake. He also reported on the deaths of Rep. John Lewis, George H. W. Bush, Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle. In 2022, he was awarded Broadcast Journalist of the Year at the 14th annual National Arts & Entertainment Awards, presented by the Los Angeles Press Club.

A Southern California native, Robert was born and raised in Inglewood. He is a graduate of Loyola High School of Los Angeles, and matriculated to Loyola Marymount University, where he earned his BA in English and MA in Educational Studies focused in human development and counseling.

Prior to his career in television, he spent 11 years as a teacher, counselor, administrator, and consultant, serving a broad array of educational needs. Robert’s career in education led him to serve the needs of diverse populations, from at-risk and severely emotionally and psychologically challenged students to those learning the English language, minority college students, and adults within the corporate sector.

A lover of people, song, dance, and the arts, he believes that life is more fulfilling when we choose to be happy and let that which we are most passionate about be our compass.

Amy and Mort, natives of the Bay Area, have been active in the Jewish community locally and nationally. They have each served as president of the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay.

Amy was the first female president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), from 2002 through 2004, and then served as the national chair of AIPAC. She currently serves on the Endowment Committee of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund and is president of ISRAEL21c.

Morton is the chairman of Friedkin Property Group, specializing in real estate investment and development. He previously served as the national vice chair and regional chair of United Jewish Appeal and was a long-time board member of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, or JDC.

Lou and Kelly operate their family office and business activities through Lexington Commercial Holdings and Lexington Ventures, LLC, their private family holdings and investment companies.

Lou began his professional career as a co-founder of International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). ILFC leased commercial aircraft to airlines worldwide. Lou served as ILFC's executive vice president and a member of its board of directors from 1973 to 1995, when he stepped down to pursue a strong personal interest in commercial real estate development.

More recently, Lou has been devoted to the management of his family investments, which include holdings in public and private equities, managed portfolios, and select venture capital and startup opportunities.

Kelly and Lou devote much of their spare time to their family, their "diversified family farm," and a number of charities that reflect their individual interests.

Lou served 12 years as a member of the board of trustees of the Mayo Clinic and is currently an emeritus trustee. He was a member of the board of directors of the Scripps Research Institute, a presidential appointee to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council when the Museum opened in Washington, DC., and currently serves on the board of advisors of the Reagan UCLA Hospital in Westwood, California.

Through the Gonda Family Foundation and the Gonda Arts & Education Foundation, Kelly and Lou support projects in the fields of medicine, education, arts, and conservation.

Lou and his sisters are co-trustees of the Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Foundation, which was established by his parents in 1988 and is responsible for major projects at medical centers in the United States and Israel.

Lou and Kelly live on their equestrian farm in Thousand Oaks, California, where Lou breeds an endangered California Heritage horse that dates to the Spanish Colonial era, and Kelly raises dairy goats and formulates ideas that result in the production of various artisanal goat milk products.

In addition to supporting her parents’ philanthropic pursuits, she is a founder of Seven Arrows Elementary School in Pacific Palisades, California. Other causes she supports include environmental justice, reproductive rights, children and poverty, international medical emergency response, and cancer care.

Lorena is an avid hiker, traveler, and polyglot. She has two adult daughters who had the privilege of knowing and loving their remarkable grandparents, “Anyu and Apu.”

As a young woman growing up in Beverly Hills, California, Lucy realized her life was quite “cushy,” compared to many who did not have such luck. After graduating with a master’s degree in 1978, Lucy became one of the first dance movement therapists working in Los Angeles at various clinics and institutions for over 20 years. Her forte was working with at-risk children and schizophrenic adults.

From the age of 28, after taking an unfortunate fall down a concrete flight of stairs, Lucy became a passionate researcher and avid user of all complementary and alternative medicine. In 1998 she created the operating foundation Center for Integrative Health, Medicine and Research in Santa Monica, California. During the four years of its existence, she provided grants and funds to many “like-minded” non-profits and developed rich educational programs.

In 2001, Lucy gave a sizable financial boost to the fledgling Integrative Health Department at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

After closing the foundation, Lucy continued her private philanthropy. She now has the great honor to support various projects within great institutions and hospitals in Los Angeles. These include medical research in colon cancer, proper navigation and one-to-one care of cancer patients, careful triaging of homeless walk-in patients, and installing proper protocols for palliative and hospice care. She proudly supports the Gonda and Mayo buildings that her father helped to create at the Mayo Clinic.

Lucy is incredibly proud to be honored by the Museum and considers it a blessing and spiritual kudos to her amazing parents who were so very proud of the Museum.