The Board of Trustees brings together community leaders, representatives of Jewish organizations, descendants of Novogrudok Ghetto prisoners, historians, and philanthropists who support the preservation of historical memory, the development of the museum, and the advancement of its educational and memorial mission.
The Board of Trustees is currently in the process of formation. Profiles of its members will be added as participation is formally confirmed and the Board’s composition is finalized.
Charles Kushner
U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco
Charles Kushner currently serves as the United States Ambassador to the French Republic and the Principality of Monaco.
Ambassador Kushner is the Founder and Chairman of Kushner Companies, which is the owner and developer of over 30,000 multifamily residences and several million square feet of commercial space. He graduated with both a BA and MBA from New York University as well as a JD from Hofstra Law School.
Ambassador Kushner was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by President Bill Clinton. He was also appointed by Governor James McGreevey to serve as a Commissioner on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
He has served as a Trustee and Board Member for New York University, Hofstra University, Touro College, Stern College for Women, National Jewish Health, and Elizabethtown Water Company.
Both Touro College and Yeshiva University have awarded the Ambassador with Honorary Doctorate Degrees. He has also received awards from Ernst & Young as the New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year. In addition, Ambassador Kushner has received awards from United Cerebral Palsy, American Jewish Congress, and Share Zedek Medical Center.
He and his wife Seryl have four children and 14 grandchildren. They are most proud of their family and their philanthropy.
Gregory Abramovich
Chief Rabbi of the Religious Association of Progressive Judaism Communities in the Republic of Belarus
Gregory Abramovich serves as the Chief Rabbi of the Religious Association of Progressive Judaism Communities in the Republic of Belarus. He is a spiritual leader, educator, and active participant in interfaith dialogue and public life in Belarus. Rabbi Abramovich is also the head of the Beit Simcha Center for Progressive Judaism in Minsk, where he is engaged in religious, educational, and community initiatives aimed at preserving and promoting Jewish heritage and values.
He lives in Belarus.
Shaul Hababo
Shaul Hababo has been the Chief Rabbi of Bobruisk since 2011 and one of the most prominent religious and public figures among the Jewish communities of Belarus. He leads the local Jewish community and is actively involved in projects aimed at preserving Jewish historical and cultural heritage.
The historic Bobruisk synagogue was restored under his leadership, a museum commemorating the history of the local Jewish community was established, initiatives to preserve Jewish burial sites and memorial sites were realized, as well as projects dedicated to the history of the Holocaust and Jewish life in Belarus.
Shaul Hababo actively supports educational, cultural, and memorial programs and promotes interfaith dialogue
He lives in Belarus.
Michael Kagan
Son of Jack Kagan, a survivor of the Novogrudok Ghetto and participant in the tunnel escape
Michael Kagan represents the Kagan family and continues the legacy of his father, Jack Kagan who was a participant in the tunnel escape and a Bielski partisan. Jack dedicated his life to preserving the memory the Novogrudok community that once was and the outstanding events that he lived through via his writings, public speaking, and educational work. Michael has co-produced two documentary films about events during the Holocaust in Novogrudok: the greatest tunnel escape and the annihilation of the Jewish community. He has also written a play about his father and the escape. He lives in Jerusalem.
He lives in Jerusalem.
Boris Krotin
Businessman and philanthropist, founder and CEO of Leor Plastik LLC, supports projects aimed at preserving the memory about the Novogrudok Jewish community, the Holocaust, and Jewish resistance.
In the early 1990s, he supported Jack Kagan’s initiative and helped erect granite monuments at four sites of mass executions of Jews in Novogrudok and the surrounding area. In 2007, he was directly involved in the creation of the Museum of Jewish Resistance exhibit in the former ghetto barracks.
In 2025, he supported the creation of a Jewish community in Novogrudok.
He lives in Novogrudok.
Gene Meltser
Gene Meltser, Esq
Mr. Meltser is an international law attorney based in Chicago, and a grandson of Ayzik Rafailovich Meltser, Head of the 106th Jewish partisan detachment in Belarus, and Emilia Vladimirovna Meltser, a partisan of the same unit. Gene Meltser is dedicated to preserving Jewish heritage and historical memory in Belarus and abroad.
He is actively involved in initiatives aimed at safeguarding Jewish history, cultural heritage, and the legacy of the Jewish partisan movement in Belarus, as well as promoting awareness of the Holocaust and its lessons for future generations.
He supports projects focused on historical research, education, Holocaust remembrance, and the preservation of sites and stories connected to Jewish resistance during World War II.
Mr. Meltser is actively involved with survivors and descendants of 106th Partisan Detachment, preserving their stories and legacy.
He lives in Illinois, USA
Igor Marzalyuk
Igor Marzalyuk is a prominent Belarusian historian, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, and Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
He is a member of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and serves as Chairman of the Standing Commission on Education, Culture and Science
His academic interests include archaeology, the ethnic history of Belarus, the history of Belarusian statehood, and the study of complex historical issues related to Belarus during the Second World War.
He is the author of numerous scholarly and popular history works dedicated to Belarusian history, national identity, statehood, and historical memory.
He lives in Belarus.
Brandon Rennert
Brandon Rennert is the grandson of Tuvia Bielski, the leader of the legendary Bielski partisans who, along with his brothers, saved over 1,250 Jews during the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Belarus. He is dedicated to preserving his family’s legacy through Holocaust education, public speaking, and teacher training programs throughout the United States. Brandon also contributed to the traveling exhibition “Courage and Compassion: The Legacy of the Bielski Brothers” at the Florida Holocaust Museum.
He lives in Tampa, Florida.
Yevgeny Rozenblat
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor at Brest State University, and a leading researcher of Holocaust history in Belarus.
His academic interests include archeology, ethnic history of Belarus, history of Belarusian statehood and study of complicated historical issues with regards to Belarus during WWII.
He is the author of numerous scholarly and popular works dedicated to Belarusian history, national identity, statehood and historical memory.
He lives in Belarus.
Andrei Zapolsky
American entrepreneur of Belarusian origin, philanthropist, and researcher. Founder of Wurtland Oil Works LLC (Kentucky, USA) and originator of the concept and project to revive the first medieval history park “Sula” in Belarus.
He is an initiator and philanthropist of cultural, multicultural, and religious projects dedicated to preserving historical memory and cultural heritage in Belarus, Europe, and the United States.
Initiator and Principal Donor of the Novogrudok Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Memorial Museum
He resides in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States.