Q: I understand you are new to the ADL.  What did you do before this?

A: I was a trial lawyer in Denver for 25 years.  I loved it; it was an exciting and fabulous career.  I did a lot of very exciting work and tried to make a real difference for my clients, helping different types of people in many ways. After 25 years, however, I thought it was time for me to do something which had a greater impact in addressing issues of critical importance to our community.

Q: What are you doing for the ADL?

A: I am the Mountain States Regional Director, responsible for the activities of the organization in Colorado and Wyoming.  We do a wide variety of things, perhaps best explained on our website: www.adl.org.  The ADL's mission is to "stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all citizens alike."

ADL fights anti-Semitism, hatred and bigotry wherever it occurs.  We receive calls frequently from people who have been discriminated against because of their race, age, gender or religion, in the workplace, schools or elsewhere. We provide assistance to these people and offer help in resolving their problem.  Sometimes we refer them to lawyers who files claims on their behalf.   We sponsor a seminar called Confronting Anti-Semitism to people throughout our community.
ADL is very involved in issues concerning the separation of church and state, including prayer in schools and vouchers, which right now are very active in our country because of recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts. The ADL believes it is a fundamental principle, upon which our democracy has been successfully based, to keep religion and government separate.

The ADL is very active in monitoring the activities of extremist and hate groups to make sure we are aware of, and shining light on, what they are doing   Groups active in our region include neo-Nazis, skin heads, white-supremacists and other groups which espouse anti-Semitic, racist and bigoted messages. We work very closely to monitor the activities of these groups and then we work with law enforcement to help make sure they have all the information they need to effectively enforce the laws. 

The ADL works with the schools in our region. Our A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE INSTITUTE goes into elementary, middle and high schools to offer a number of different programs to both teachers and students.  For example, ADL has created entire curricula that we teach to teachers to help them use anti-bias methodologies and examples in their teachings.  ADL also has a Peer Training program which trains students to become leaders among their peers in promoting diversity, understanding, and respect, and working against bias and prejudice in their schools.  In addition, ADL provides training to police officers throughout the State of Colorado on hate crimes and anti-biased police work.

We also sponsor the Governor's Annual Holocaust Remembrance Program, where Colorado's Governor leads a community-wide program in which we commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.  ADL remains very active in the community to make sure the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten.

ADL is a strong advocate for Israel and its right to exist. We educate, write, speak, promote and produce literature, and are very active in the support of Israel.