MOTL gets a new CEO
Gary Samowitz has been appointed chief executive officer of March of the Living Australia.
Gary Samowitz
Gary has served as CEO of Stand Up for ten years, after which he worked with the Hakoah Club, managing its community engagement and fundraising activities, as well as consulting to the Jewish Arts Quarter.
He previously served as Head Madrich (Youth Leader) of March of the Living Australia Year 11 program in 2006, as an educator on the program to Poland and Israel in 2009 and was a member of the board for a couple of years. He holds degrees in Holocaust studies, has undertaken the Yad Vashem educators course and has a proven track record in non-profit and community leadership.
Board Chair Adam Geha said: “The board and I are excited to work alongside a proven leader of Gary Samowitz’s calibre to scale our organisation, its reach and its mission. Gary will be replacing Cedric Geffen, who has performed this role with passion and distinction in a voluntary capacity since 2011.”
Samowitz said he was “honoured to be stepping into this role at such a pivotal time in our history. With the global surge of antisemitism, Holocaust education has never been more important. Exposing more people to what happens when racism and discrimination are allowed to fester unchecked will hopefully inspire them to not be bystanders to what is happening in the world today.”
Long-time director Cedric Geffen said: “It is with a great sense of pride and immense satisfaction that I pass on the baton of leadership and stewardship of this incredible organisation to such an esteemed and accomplished alumnus of the program. Intergenerational succession is the key to growth and sustainability and I am totally confident that with Gary at the helm, MOTLA will grow from strength to strength.”
Geffen just led his 9th MOTL trip, which returned to Australia last week and comprised 30 participants, a third of whom were from the wider community. One of only six international delegations to visit Israel as part of this year’s program, the Australian group visited the sites of the October 7 massacres – an experience which participants found deeply moving, given that they were in Auschwitz just a few days earlier.
March of the Living 2024 participant Freya Leach said: “March Of The Living was an experience that reshaped my understanding of history, humanity, and my own identity. This two-week journey through Poland and Israel was more than an educational tour; it was a profound personal transformation that deepened my empathy, fortified my resilience, and instilled a sense of responsibility to remember and to act.
The journey with MOTL Australia was transformative in ways that continue to resonate with me. It taught me the importance of remembering the past to understand the present and shape the future. It fortified my resilience, showing me that even in the darkest times, the human spirit and the Jewish people can endure and triumph.
Most importantly, this journey instilled in me a sense of responsibility. The stories I heard and the experiences I had are not mine alone; they are part of a collective memory that must be preserved and shared. I feel a profound duty to carry these lessons forward, to educate others, and to advocate for a world where Never Again is a promise that is kept.”
