The Anti-Defamation League’s Mountain States Region hosted the Annual Meeting of ADL’s National Commission in Denver, Colorado from October 15-17, 2015. The program included a festive Gala honoring past ADL National Chair Barry Curtiss-Lusher and his wife Gay for their many contributions to ADL and other local and national organizations.  It was the first Annual Meeting with Jonathan Greenblatt, who succeeded Abe Foxman as National Director in July.

Local and regional experts presented at several sessions over the course of the three-day meeting, including:

• Educator and bullying prevention expert Rosalind Wiseman, who led a thought-provoking interactive discussion about identity-based bullying
• U.S. Air Force Academy Chaplain Randall E. Kitchens, who spoke about religious freedom at the Academy and the impact of the religious respect training program developed by ADL
• Jason Mardsen, Executive Director of the Matthew Shephard Foundation, who shared ideas for how the Foundation and ADL can work together to pass hate crime laws in all 50 states
• Ricardo Martinez, Co-Executive Director of Padres y Jovenes Unidos (Parents and Children United),shared the organization’s work aimed at ending the school to  prison pipeline in Colorado
• Colonel Scott Hernandez, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol, shared his experiences as a participant in ADL’s recent National Counter Terrorism Seminar
• Lisa Grosz, Principal of Murphy Creek P-8 School in Aurora, CO and Corey Jones, ADL A World of Difference® Institute Facilitator, spoke at the Gala about ADL’s anti-bias work

 

A unique highlight was the presentation of an award to Jewish American reggae star Matisyahu who was honored for standing up to bigotry at a recent Spanish music festival. The artist played two songs for the assembled guests.