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 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.)

     His community work has included serving on the Boards of the Carroll Avenue Restoration Foundation and the Silverlake Children’s Theater Group. For many years he served as President of Temple Knesset Israel, a synagogue in East Hollywood and also served as Chair of 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  

     Harris Fishman is from Providence RI and has made LA his home for over twenty years.  Harris is a passionate advocate for social justice and consults on new modes of communication and entertainment in todays rapidly changing social landscape. Harris works as an active TV Producer and Creative Executive and when he first came to Los Angeles was the Co-Artistic Director of The Met Theatre. Harris is also a graduate of Brown University and received his MFA from The Yale School of Drama.

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  

     Laura Jane Salvato is an actor, producer, fundraising consultant, and Vice President of Mental Floss Entertainment, Inc., a film, TV, and new media production company. Her first produced feature, DOUBTING THOMAS, was nominated for “Best Film” at the Golden Door International Film Festival and won the “Audience Award” at Dances With Films, among other laurels.

     As Artistic Director of Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA for eight seasons, Ms. Salvato nurtured 100 new plays annually and produced 19 premieres (winner GLAAD Media Award, nominee NAACP “Best Producer” Award). Ms. Salvato’s acting credits include LIVING OUT LOUD, “Bosch”, “Big Love”, “Judging Amy” (recurring) , “ER”,  “Faux Baby” (recurring), and numerous national network commercials. Laura won a Dramalogue Award for her portrayal of Joan in the Sean Penn-produced play, REMEMBRANCE.

     During her 25 years as a fundraiser, Ms. Salvato’s clients have included the Atlantic Theater Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre on both coasts, The Rushmore Festival, The Walther School and currently Skylight Theatre Company.  She is a graduate of The William Esper Studio and Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

Founding Board Member 

     Sofia Shield works in the social impact and philanthropy space, and is proud to be continuing the legacy of her grandfather, Jack Polak (founder of the Anne Frank Center USA). She received her B.A. from Tufts in 2014, with a double major in International Relations and Peace & Justice Studies, and a minor in Russian Language. While at Tufts, she also ran the "Tufts Against Genocide" Holocaust and Genocide Education Programming Initiative, bringing survivors to campus to share their stories innovating event formats. For these and other efforts, she received the university's Marshall Hochhauser Prize in 2014, and also was recognized nationally by NBC-Universal and Time Warner Cable as a 2014 recipient of their Characters Unite Award. 

      She received a M.S. in Conflict Resolution & Governance from the University of Amsterdam/Universiteit van Amsterdam in 2017, with her thesis focusing on post-conflict reconciliation and education in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Sofia has worked with various peacebuilding, international development, and education organizations globally, including the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. 

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.

Executive Director 

   Mireya Hepner joined Anne Frank LA in September 2022 and is excited to work with this dedicated and passionate board.

   She comes to AFLA from a long career in the professional theatre, working in various artistic, production and management capacities on Broadway, Off Broadway, in Regional Theatre, and on tour. She believes deeply in using storytelling to encourage empathy and open mindedness. 

   For 14+ years she served as Artistic Producer of Rancho Cucamonga’s MainStreet Theatre Company, producing innovative shows specifically for children and family audiences. Her final production there, James Still’s And Then They Came for Me, based on the true stories of Holocaust survivors Eva Geiringer Schloss and Ed Silverberg, was awarded the LA Ovation Award for “Best Production of a Play”. 

    Some other past memorable projects include the Lapine/Sondheim Tony Award winning Passion (Stage Manager, Lincoln Center Theatre and Broadway), Anna Deavere Smith’s House Arrest (Coordinating Producer: Arena Stage), and 6 tours with legendary mime Marcel Marceau (Company Manager, U.S. & Australia), among many others. In 2021 she founded In Other People’s Shoes Productions, a new non-profit that is developing impactful, imaginative and artistic stories for young people and families from all walks of life.