Museum to Hold 2017 Risa K Lambert "What You Do Matters" Luncheon

CHICAGO — The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will honor local financial-services executive and Museum Council member Richard Price and host more than 2,000 attendees at its annual “What You Do Matters” Risa K. Lambert Chicago Luncheon on September 8.

This year’s luncheon at the Sheraton Grand Chicago is chaired by Glencoe residents Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein, senior rabbi at Am Shalom, and Julie Stark Lowenstein, president of corporate- training company Stark Solution; honorary co-chairs are Governor Bruce Rauner and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

About 350 Holocaust survivors will be among the supporters of the Museum’s biggest fundraising event of the year, which aims to raise more than $5 million for the Museum’s $540 million comprehensive campaign, Never Again: What You Do Matters, to keep Holocaust memory and education alive.

Richard Price, the chairman and chief executive of Chicago-based financial services company Mesirow Financial Inc., is being recognized for his commitment and contributions to help preserve the Holocaust history and bring its lessons to future generations. As one of Chicago’s most successful businessmen, Price has donated more than $1 million to help advance the Museum’s mission of Holocaust education and remembrance. President Barack Obama appointed Price to the Museum’s governing board twice, most recently in 2016, and is currently serving a five-year term.

Maziar Bahari, an Iranian Canadian journalist and filmmaker and the subject of the film Rosewater by Jon Stewart, is the luncheon’s keynote speaker. Bahari was a reporter for Newsweek from 1998 to 2011, largely working in Tehran; but in 2009, after reporting on the Iran presidential election crisis, Bahari was jailed for 118 days in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin Prison. He was released after a successful international campaign to secure his freedom and wrote a book about his incarceration, Then They Came for Me. Bahari has produced documentaries and news reports for broadcasters around the world, including The Voyage of the Saint Louis in 1994.  Today, he is the publisher of iranwire.com and directs “Journalism Is Not A Crime and Education Is Not A Crime” campaigns. Bahari and IranWire recently partnered with the Museum to create more films about the Holocaust in Persian and English to provide educational resources for audiences who may have limited access to unbiased information on the Holocaust.

“It has been nearly 30 years since we began local efforts of raising funds for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,” says Jill Weinberg, director of the Museum’s Midwest Regional Office. “I’m just astonished by the unfailing commitment and generosity Chicagoans have displayed over the last several decades. Without this local support, so many Holocaust survivor and victim stories would be lost. Lessons to new generations would’ve gone untold. And for this, I’m forever grateful.”

Tickets to the September 8 luncheon begin at $250 per person. Holocaust survivor admission is complimentary. Guests can RSVP online at www.ushmm.org/events/2017-chicago-luncheon. To learn about event sponsorship opportunities, please contact the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Midwest Regional Office at 847.433.8099 or midwest@ushmm.org.

Media inquiries should be directed to Orly Telisman at orly@orlypr.com or Raymund Flandez at rflandez@ushmm.org.

To download photos of this year’s luncheon speakers, go to: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm27inwQ.

About the Museum’s 25th Anniversary

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will mark its 25th anniversary in 2018 by inspiring people to reflect on Holocaust history and 'Never Stop Asking Why.' As Museum Founding Chairman Elie Wiesel said, "The Museum is not meant to be an answer. It's meant to be a question." In the short time since its founding, the Museum has grown from a major national institution into a respected global enterprise leading the cause of Holocaust remembrance and education. During Days of Remembrance on April 8-9, the Museum will honor all Holocaust survivors with its highest recognition, the Elie Wiesel Award, and in May launch its new exhibition and initiative on Americans and the Nazi Threat— the latest example of its 25-year legacy of exploring the complex questions Holocaust history raises to stimulate people to think about themselves and the society they live in.

About the Museum’s Campaign

Through its national campaign Never Again: What You Do Matters, the Museum seeks to make critical investments to keep Holocaust memory alive as a relevant, transformative force in the 21st -century. The $540 million comprehensive goal includes building a stronger endowment, increased annual fund, and new collections, conservation, and research center. Visit ushmm.org/campaign to learn more about how you can join us in this urgent effort.

About the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by generous donors. For more information, visit ushmm.org.

# # #