Continuing the Legacy

President & Founding Board Member

Margrit Polak was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City, One of three children of Dutch Holocaust Survivors, Jack and Ina Polak. When Margrit was 18, she and her father discovered 130 letters written between him and her mother chronicling their courtship in the Dutch and German internment and concentration camps, Westerbork and Bergen Belsen. She translated and annotated the letters which have subsequently been published as a book, filmed as a documentary, presented as an opera, all entitled Steal A Pencil For Me. Jack and Ina helped form The Anne Frank Center USA in NY in 1977.

Margrit is a talent manager residing in Los Angeles with her husband, musician Harvey Shield. Margrit started Anne Frank LA with her husband Harvey and daughter Sofi in 2019, and is devoted to furthering her parent's legacy. Margrit is also on the board of Long Beach's Freedom Writers Foundation. 

Treasurer & Founding Board Member

Harvey grew up in London, England and has resided in Los Angeles since 1975. Professionally, he has enjoyed a long career in the creative arts as a musician, songwriter, actor and entertainer and is a member of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television & Radio Artists) and BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts.)

For many years he served as President of a synagogue in East Hollywood and also chaired the East Hollywood Business Improvement District. 

Secretary & Founding Board Member 

Rich Delia is originally from New York and currently resides in Los Angeles.  He holds a BA from the University of Florida and is the owner of Rich Delia Casting, a company that casts for feature films and television.  Past projects include the IT franchise, Good Boys, Shazam!, Game Night and Dallas Buyers Club.  Rich is a proud member of the Casting Society of America and, like Anne Frank herself, is a firm believer that “people are really good at heart.” 

Founding Board Member  

Erin Gruwell is a teacher, an author, and the founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation. By fostering an educational philosophy that values and promotes diversity, Erin encouraged her students to re-think rigid beliefs about themselves and others, reconsider daily decisions, and ultimately re-chart their futures. Inspired by the Diary of Anne Frank, Erin and her students captured their collective journey in The Freedom Writers Diary.

Founding Board Member  

As an award-winning creative executive with a recognized career, Paula Kessler brings a number of talents and a wealth of storytelling experience to all of her creative projects as writer, creative producer, director, curator, and educator.

With deep experience working with renowned museums and cultural institutions, entertainment brands, experience design companies, and on international documentary productions, Paula’s deep curiosity is focused on telling diverse stories at the intersection of education, arts and culture to audiences around the world.

Paula created Surviving the Holocaust: Stories of life, a narrative radio series that celebrates the lives and lessons of Holocaust survivors and is currently the senior exhibition curator and executive producer of media for the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, opening in Palm Springs in late 2022.

Paula holds a M.A. in Education and a B.A. in Journalism from The Ohio State University. Originally from upstate New York, Paula lives in Burbank with her husband, cinematographer Neal Brown, and their two daughters.

Founding Board Member  

Alex Swart is an advertising creative director, designer and professor. While heading his eponymous agency SwârtAd, he’s created numerous award-winning entertainment, news and education campaigns, including six official Oscar® posters. He teaches design at California State University Northridge. Alex has numerous branding credits include the logo for Anne Frank LA. He is a graduate of UC San Diego (Visual Arts) and received a master’s degree (Television and Film) from San Diego State University.

Born in Amsterdam, Alex and emigrated to the United States as a young child. Anne Frank’s story has particular resonance for him as his mother Sonja, a Holocaust Survivor, was also, like Anne, interned at Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. She was two years younger than Anne. Sonja was transported on the same train as the father of AFLA’s Margrit Polak, now infamously known as “The Lost Train from Bergen-Belsen”. It was Alex’s privilege to design the main title sequence for the documentary film about Margrit’s mother and father, Steal a Pencil for Me.

Alex serves on the Board of the Los Angeles City College Foundation and the Netherland-America Foundation, Southern California Chapter. He is the father of three adult children who, with his wife (and business partner) Ellen Considine, have deepened his appreciation for the gift of life.

Board Member  

Tom presides over Production Solutions US, an independent production company he founded in 1998. It produces theatrical, dance, concert, corporate, and themed entertainment productions around the globe, from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC to Broadway, London’s West End and across five continents.

During 21 years of service as Producing Director at the venerable Pasadena Playhouse he guided the production of 26 world premieres, including the development of six Broadway productions.

Board Member  

Anne Frank LA is thrilled to welcome Jan Erik Dubbelman to its Board. Starting in 1982 Jan Erik was the Head of the Educational Projects Department at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. During his tenure he initiated and supervised more than 5,000 programs and presentations in 85 countries worldwide.

He and, his wife, Dienke, also an eminent Holocaust scholar, live in Amsterdam’s Jordaan district whence he attends our AFLA Board meetings via Zoom.