Meet the Team
Executive Director, Human Rights Institute
Dr. Adara Goldberg (she/her/hers) is the Executive Director of the Holocaust Resource Center and Human Rights Institute (Union, NJ). Since earning her doctorate in Holocaust History at Clark University (2012), Dr. Goldberg has held an Azrieli Foundation fellowship at Hebrew University, a Post-doc fellowship at Stockton University, and served as education director for the Vancouver Holocaust Education Center. Recipient of the Marsid Foundation Prize at the 2016 Western Canada Jewish Book Awards, Dr. Goldberg’s book, Holocaust Survivors in Canada: Exclusion, Inclusion, Transformation, 1947–1955 (2015), represented the first comprehensive analysis of the resettlement and integration experiences of 35,000 Holocaust survivors and their families in postwar Canada. Recent contributions include: "Making Present the Past: Canada's St. Louis Apology and Canadian Jewry's Pursuit of Justice," in Kuehne and Rein, eds., Agency and the Holocaust: Essays in Honor of Debórah Dwork (2020), and “‘He’ll make a good companion for my son:’ War Orphan Adoption in Postwar Canada,” in Kangisser Cohen and Ofer, eds., Starting Anew: The Rehabilitation of Child Survivors of the Holocaust in the Early Postwar Years (2020). She has also contributed to the publications Never Far Apart (2015) and Too Many Goodbyes: The Diaries of Susan Garfield (2019), and edited the memoir, Always Remember Who You Are (2017). Dr. Goldberg served as a consultant for the Azrieli Foundation, and is a featured historian for the Montreal Holocaust Museum virtual exhibition, Building New Lives. Her present research projects explore the phenomenon of post-genocidal familial reconstruction, and the role of national apologies in collective memory. She is currently an historian for the Canadian National Holocaust Monument Exhibit Renewal Project. At Kean University, she also teaches the undergraduate course ID 1800 Holocaust, Genocide, and Modern Humanity, and graduate courses History of the Holocaust I and II, Holocaust Genocide Research, and Jewish Survival Strategies.
Director of Education and Outreach, Human Rights Institute
Sarah Coykendall (she/her/hers) serves as the Director of Education and Outreach (MAD I) at the Holocaust Resource Center and Human Rights Institute and is a public historian of the Holocaust and a human rights specialist, whose work focuses on education, public engagement, and outreach.
Sarah earned her B.S. in History and B.A. in Anthropology from SUNY Oneonta. She holds an M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Kean University. Her academic background also includes study at the Leo Baeck Summer University for Jewish Studies at Humboldt-Universität in Berlin and German-language study at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. She also interned at the Holocaust Museum and Center for Tolerance and Education in Suffern, New York, and served as Assistant to the Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Kean University.
Her research focuses on Holocaust memory and interpretation, particularly through the lens of third-generation (3G) Holocaust survivors, while also addressing combating antisemitism and sustainability as an intersection of human rights. She presents on Holocaust education, contemporary antisemitism, human rights, and inclusion for teachers, students, and community audiences. She frequently speaks at regional and international conferences.
Sarah is a 2019 recipient of the SUNY Oneonta Alumni Association Top 30 Under 30 Award and was named a 2022 Alfred Lerner Fellow by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR). She participated in the 2023 and 2025 JFR Advanced Seminars and the 2023 JFR European Study Program. In 2024, she was invited to join the Educators in Jewish College Campus Program at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies. She is currently a Rethinking Holocaust Education Fellow with The Ghetto Fighters’ House for the 2025–2026 academic year.
She currently teaches undergraduate courses on the Holocaust, civil rights, human rights, and justice and is actively engaged in university initiatives. Sarah serves as Goal Leader for the Engagement Subcommittee of the Sustainability Task Force, Advisor to the Interfaith Council, Content Area Subcommittee Lead for the Task Force on Advising, and Secretary of the NTLC Committee.
Learning and Operations Coordinator, Human Rights Institute
Dr. Catherine Winters-Michaud (she/her/hers) is the Learning and Operations Coordinator for Strategic/Global Initiatives. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island (2020) in contemporary American literature and her M.A. from Simmons University (2014) in English. Before coming to Kean University, she worked as Program Manager for the Cohen Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College in Keene, NH and as Program Coordinator for New Hampshire Humanities, the state affiliate for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Academic Specialist, Human Rights Institute
Kyra Dezjot (she/her/hers) is the Academic Specialist at Kean University’s Human Rights Institute and a second-year doctoral student in Modern American History at Fordham University. She investigates American Jewish communities, antisemitism, and how the Holocaust as an event impacted these communities. Kyra has an MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Kean University and undergraduate degrees in History and Secondary Education from Salve Regina University. She recently published an article in Perspectives on History, the AHA’s newsmagazine, on teaching the Holocaust from a person-centered approach.
"Human rights are important to me because they protect the dignity and freedom of every person, ensuring that all individuals are treated with fairness and respect. They provide a foundation for justice, equality, and the ability to live without fear or oppression."
AmeriCorps VISTA and Civic Engagement Coordinator, Human Rights Institute
Alyssa Alvarez (she/her/hers) is the AmeriCorps VISTA and Civic Engagement Coordinator at the Human Rights Institute and Holocaust Resource Center. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from Pace University (2022). Before joining the team, Alyssa held roles at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in New York as a Senior Global Program Coordinator and at the Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney, Australia as a Partnerships Associate. Passionate about community engagement, Alyssa volunteers with local organizations such as The 1-800 Project and Bed-Stuy Clothes Swap, and brings additional experience from internships in local government.
Student Worker, Human Rights Institute
Krystal (she/her/hers) is a Psychology major. She works with the Human Rights Institute because she is really passionate about spreading awareness of human rights and advocating for equity. Coming from a Latino family, she's always felt a strong connection to making sure everyone knows their rights and feels seen and supported. One interesting thing about Krystal is that she hopes to become a child psychologist and combine her faith and mental health work to support kids.
Student Worker, Human Rights Institute
Faith Clark (she/her/hers) is a Senior Psychology major with a Music minor at Kean University. She has worked with the Human Rights Institute for 3 years, starting in the Human Rights Gallery and now working as the Human Rights Communications and Outreach Coordinator. After graduating, she plans to attend grad school.
"Human rights are important to me because they help protect an individual's freedoms and well-being, ensuring fair treatment to them in a world that can often be unjust. Human rights promote equality, safety, and inclusion for all and help to create a society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and be their true self."
Student Worker, Human Rights Institute
Yerlin Holguin
"Human rights are important to me because we are born with them. They are not privileges to be earned, but instead something we are entitled to because we exist."
Student Worker, Human Rights Institute
Lauren Chirinos, Communication/Speech Language Hearing Sciences
"I care about protecting and enforcing human rights. I believe that everyone is born with rights, and it is up to us to fight for those who cannot."