Emily’s Generations Presentation
While Emily had two grandparents who were Holocaust survivors, Emily’s presentation centers on her grandmother’s experience. Ilsa Dahl Cole was born in 1916 in western Germany. She was raised in a small farming community and attended a Catholic high school before the Nazis rose to power. Emily’s presentation provides an overview of the rise the Nazi party, exclusion of Jews from national sports leagues, Kristallnacht, emigration out of Germany, the fate of her extended family, and Stolpersteine and other remembrance work both in Europe and America. Emily’s presentation includes maps, video testimony of her grandmother, and a plethora of family photos.
About Emily
A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Emily has dedicated her life to fostering empathy, connection, and understanding through education and storytelling. She became involved with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh in 2018 as a Generations Speaker, sharing her family’s history to help others confront antisemitism and build compassion across differences. She joined the Center’s staff in 2023 and now serves as its Director, guiding public programs, education initiatives, and community engagement that encourage people to see one another’s humanity.
For more than a decade prior, Emily led the Gendler Grapevine Project, a sunset initiative honoring the legacy of Rabbi Everett Gendler, supporting projects at the intersection of Jewish tradition, social justice, and environmental stewardship and is writing a book about Rabbi Gendler’s life. She also founded the Shattering Glass Ceilings Scholarship to support first-generation college women.
Emily holds degrees from Colgate University and the University of British Columbia. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and two kids. Through her work, Emily strives to ensure that remembrance leads to action and that every story shared helps create a more compassionate and caring world.