Kelley Szany
Senior Vice President of Education & Exhibitions
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
Kelley Szany is senior vice president of education & exhibitions at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, where she has worked for more than 25 years. She is an internationally recognised leader in Holocaust, genocide and museum education, with expertise spanning education, exhibitions, public programming and professional development.
Szany has played a key role in developing the museum’s approach to using personal testimony, immersive experiences and innovative technologies to engage audiences with Holocaust and genocide history.
She has served as an executive producer on a number of the museum’s documentary and virtual reality films, including The Journey Back, a series of VR experiences that uses immersive cinematography to share the stories of Holocaust survivors.
Her work also extends to genocide education and human rights. Szany serves as co-chair of the Illinois Holocaust & Genocide Commission and sits on the boards of the Association of Holocaust Organizations and the Educators Institute for Human Rights.
Szany has received several awards for her educational and human rights work. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Canisius College and a master’s degree in public history from Loyola University Chicago.
