The Raoul Wallenberg Committee of the United States was founded in 1981 to promote the values exemplified by the heroic actions of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. His actions helped save the lives of more than 100,000 Hungarian Jews at the end of World War II. Since its founding, the Committee has been active in bringing attention to Wallenberg's heroism and the importance of nonviolent heroes to society as a whole. A STUDY OF HEROES is the organization's living monument to Raoul Wallenberg; its goal is to pass his lessons of courage, compassion, and non-violent heroism to future generations.

Rachel Oestreicher Bernheim

Rachel Oestreicher Bernheim, Chairman / CEO, The Raoul Wallenberg Committee of The United States, has been a part of the Committee since its founding in 1981. She is an internationally known expert on the life of Wallenberg and has shared her expertise in settings as diverse as the United States Congress, on US military bases, in centers of worship, at universities, civic organizations, senior centers, television, radio, correctional facilities and at educational conferences. A STUDY OF HEROES was conceptualized by Bernheim as a result of her experiences addressing students in schools and classrooms across the country. Whenever she told the powerful Wallenberg story the classroom or auditorium would become still – no wiggles, no giggles – only rapt attention. She came to the realization that American children need heroes like Wallenberg, Dr. King, and Mother Teresa. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she studied developmental child psychology and had the privilege of studying the myths of the hero with Professor Joseph Campbell. Bernheim authored the monograph Raoul Wallenberg: A Hero For Our Time, numerous articles for publications in America and abroad, and has served as a consultant on books, films and documentaries about the life of Raoul Wallenberg. She is listed in Foremost Women in the Twentieth Century and Who’s Who of American Women. She received The New Sweden ’88 Medal from the Swedish Consul General to New York. On March 13, 2007, Rachel Oestreicher Bernheim, by appointment of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf, was awarded the Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star at the level of Commander.

Dr. Kathleen Dunlevy Morin

Dr. Kathleen Dunlevy Morin, Director of Education, The Raoul Wallenberg Committee of The United States, is the author, designer, and curriculum developer of A STUDY OF HEROES. Kathy was the recipient of the Columbia University’s Teachers College 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award and today serves on the Teachers College Alumni Council. She has a doctorate from Columbia University’s Teachers College as well as two master’s degrees from Columbia University and a third master’s degree from Smith College. A graduate of Hollins College with a major in math-physics and a second major in political science, she served as an Instructor at Columbia University’s Teachers College from 1977-1983; the Associate Director of the Preservice Program; an Honorary Adjunct Assistant Professor in Nutrition Education; and a Research Associate at the Institute of Philosophy and Politics of Education. Additionally, Kathy taught courses at Columbia University’s Teachers College in supervision (inservice and preservice), social studies, curriculum development and models of teaching. Kathy has taught in a variety of settings ranging from Appalachia to Spanish Harlem. Among her publications are: The Centennial History of Boys & Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a curricular program (author and developer) for the New York City Board of Education; HomeSick? Try House!, a two-volume curriculum and housing education program (author, illustrator, developer) for New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development in which 12 city agencies where brought together in a cooperative and comprehensive effort (House Sense’s content, design, and cartoons created by Kathy were lauded in an editorial in The New York Times); Women Making History, a curriculum guide (author, developer) for the New York City Commission on the Status of Women; The Manual for Developing A Nutrition Education Curriculum, a UNESCO guide (co-author) which was field-tested in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and was designed for worldwide implementation primarily in developing regions; and Our Place, an apartment-search curricular program (author, developer) for foster-care youth originally published by The South Bronx Human Development Organization, Inc. and subsequently produced as a prototype interactive CD by The New York State Department of Social Services. Kathy was the developer of the first summer teenage docent program for The Friends of the Zoo, a volunteer educational organization of The New York Zoological Society. She served as the on-site Curriculum Coordinator/Developer of an independent living skills program for a South Bronx recently-homeless adult AIDS population. Kathy has worked as a Curriculum Consultant to The Independent Living Resource Center at The Hunter College School of Social Work. For more than two decades, Kathy served as a Consultant to Teachers Network (formerly IMPACT II), assisting educators in staff development and in creation and design of web-based teacher-produced curricular units for international online publication. She was Consultant/Coordinator for The AARP’s “Women’s History “Who Is the Woman You Admire Most?” Poll, Celebration & Exhibit displayed at the CitiCorps Center’s Atrium in midtown Manhattan. In 2007, Kathy acted as the curriculum reviewer for Columbia University’s Teacher’s College’s production, in collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation, of “Teaching The Levees: A Curriculum for Democratic Dialogue and Civic Engagement to Accompany the HBO Documentary Film Event, Spike Lee’s ‘When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts’.”