Vilnius – Lithuania

IRENA VEISAITE

Professor Irena Veisaite was born in Lithuania. She took an MA in German Language and Literature at Lomonosov State University in Moscow and a PhD at the University of Leningrad. By profession she is a philologist and theatre critic. She has taught world literature and the history of theatre at the Vilnius Pedagogical University; she is the author of over 200 articles, the co-author of some textbooks, and the editor of books mainly connected with theatre.

Professor Irena Veisaite has in 1990 together with Professor C. Kudaba initiated the Open Society Fund – Lithuania (OSFL). She was the vice chair of the board from 1990 to 1993 and the chair of  the OSF-L  board  from 1993 to 2000. She was the Chair of the Board of Founders of the Open Society Fund-Lithuania (OSF-L)from 2000 to 2002. She was also a member of the Open Society Institute main board in Budapest, of OSI Cultural and Educational Sub-Boards, the chair of the Stateless Cultur Center at the Vilnius Unversity, the Chair of the Baltic Cultural foundation, a member of the UNESCO National Committee in Lithuania,etc), from 2003 to 2007 she was a member of the Advisory board to the Ministry of Culture , 2008-2009 she was a member of the Advisory Board for the project “Vilnius-the European Cultural Capital 2009” etc.. As now she is the ombudsman of OSI,  the Chair of the United World Colleges (UWC) National Committee in Lithuania, the former chair and now a member of the curatorium of the Thomas Mann Cultural Centre in Nida (Lithuania), a member of the Commission for National awards at the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, a member of the Presidential Commission for all kinds of Governememtal awards. In the year 1995 professor I. Veisaite was awarded with the Gediminas orden (IV grade). In the year 2003 she was nominated by the Sugihara Foundation as the “Person of tolerance  for the year 2002”. In the year 2006 she was awarded by Vilnius Municipality with the Barbora Radvilaite medal. For the last 15 years she has also been involved in Holocaust education issues, she participated at many international conferences on the subject as well as published articles in the press on the perception of the Holocaust in Lithuania.

Paris – France

YVES PLASSERAUD

Born 1939. Paris, France. Doctor Juris, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, CEIPI, Strasbourg.

Attorney at Law (1965-1995). Lives in Paris (France), Married, 3 children

Former Lecturer in Universities (Bordeaux & Strasbourg-France, Alicante-Spain, Vilnius, Kaunas - Lithuania etc.). Author of numerous articles and books on minorities issues, the questions of identity and the the problem of racism and prejudice. Co-author of two books on the Jews of Lithuania, Lituanie juive (with H. Minczeles), Paris, 1996 Autrement, Les Litvaks (with H. Minczeles & S. Pourchier), La Découverte, Paris, 2008, translated in Lithuanian Lietuvos Zydai 1918-1940, Baltos Lankos, 2000. Chairman: Groupement pour les droits des Minorités (France).

Email : yplasseraud@wanadoo.fr

Tel Aviv – Israel

AMOS EIRAN

Amos Eiran has been a major presence in the business, financial and political realm in Israel and the United States for more than 40 years. After decades in both the private and public sectors, Mr. Eiran currently serves on the board of a number of major companies. His positions include: Chairman of the Investment Committee of Clal Insurance; Chairman and CEO of Tissera, Inc., a publicly-traded biotech company; Chairman of Bio Light Ltd.; Director of Delek Oil Explorations; Director of Medis El (NASDAQ: MDTL); and Determining Share Trustee of the Herods Hotel Complex. He also serves as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania in Israel.

Previously, Mr. Eiran held prominent government positions as the Director General of the Prime Minister’s office in Israel under Yitzhak Rabin and Chairman of the Government of Israel in the Industrial Cooperation Authority (RASHPAT). He also worked as a Counselor at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. In the financial world, Mr. Eiran has served as the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Mivtahim Pension Funds, Israel’s largest pension fund, and a Director on the Board of Bank Hapoalim and Bank Mizrachi (UMTB). He is also one of the founders of XTL Bio Pharma, and a member of its Board.

Mr. Eiran holds a BA from the American University in Washington, DC, an MA from Tel Aviv University, a Diploma in Business Administration from Harvard University and a Diploma from the Wharton Business School.

Email: eiran@zahav.net.il

Washington, D.C. - USA

ELLEN CASSEDY

Ellen Cassedy traces her Jewish family roots back to Rokiskis (Rakishok) and Siauliai (Shavl) in Lithuania.  Her writings about Lithuania past, present, and future have appeared in The Forward, Hadassah, Lilith, Bridges, and other publications.  She is the award-winning author of We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust (University of Nebraska Press, 2012), which appears in Lithuanian as Mes esame čia: Atsiminimai apie holokaustą Lietuvoje (Media Incognito Press, 2013). Her translations from Yiddish have been published in Pakn-treger, the magazine of the National Yiddish Book Center, and in Beautiful as the Moon, Radiant as the Stars (Warner Books, 2003.)  A resident of the Washington, D.C., area, she is a frequent speaker at a variety of venues. 
Visit her website at www.ellencassedy.com.