Meet The Team
Founder & Director
Jake Desai-Newsome, Ph.D.
(he/him)
As an award-winning historian, educator, and advocate, Jake seeks to guide learners through a study of history to develop an ethical sense of compassion and a commitment to inclusive community building.
2025 Public History Intern in Partnership with the Reiff Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution at Christopher Newport University
Sam Ellyson
(he/him)
As a student of history, political science, human rights, and education, Sam seeks to ensure that the public is knowledgeable about the past so they can inform the present and future.
2024-2025 Public History InternIn Partnership with the Zucker/Goldberg Center for Holocaust Studies at the College of Charleston
Gabby Perales
(she/her)
Gabby Perales is a senior at the College of Charleston. With a research interest in the transmission of intergenerational trauma, Gabby is dedicated to sharing the narratives of underrepresented groups of the Holocaust.
Fall 2024 Intern
River Friloux
(he/him)
As a sociology student, artist, and activist, River is dedicated to protecting and sharing the experiences of LGBTQ+ and disabled communities to ensure a compassionate future informed by the legacies of those who came before.
Advisor & Digital Strategist
Kerry Phipps
(she/her)
Passionate educator specializing in critical thinking and driving LGBTQ+ empowerment through education. Committed to dismantling systems of oppression and shaping a more just future. Based in vibrant Washington DC.
Translator
Amilcar Ferrero
(he/him)
Born in 1993 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Amilcar Ferrero is an accomplished English teacher and actor. Since completing his studies in 2015, he has dedicated himself to teaching English and providing translation services.
Past Interns
Fall 2024 Intern
Nic Suarez
(they/them)
Nic Suarez is a Cuban American graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University. They are currently pursuing a Masters of Arts in Education Policy. Prior to Columbia, Nic attended Syracuse University.
2024 Senior Intern
Julia Sirkin
(she/her)
Julia Sirkin has a Masters of Applied History from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. She previously studied Film Production and looks forward to combining her degrees to pursue a career in museum curation.
2024 Public History Intern
In Partnership with the Zucker/Goldberg Center for Holocaust Studies at the College of Charleston
Natalie Peyton
(she/her)
Natalie is recent graduate of the College of Charleston, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Jewish Studies. Her research revolves around genocide and the Holocaust, especially regarding the experiences of female resisters.
Fall 2023 Intern
Grace Shaffer
(she/her)
As a researcher, author, and life-long student of history, Grace is committed to learning from the past and building a better world for queer communities today.
Inaugural Intern
Ayelet Kaminer
(they/them)
As an educator, performer, and compassionate humanist, Ayelet strives to uplift and improve people’s lives through the transformative power of storytelling.
Advocates
Folks who volunteer their time, expertise, and efforts to support us are recognized as PTL Project Advocates. As a grassroots initiative, the PTL Project would not be possible without contributions from the following volunteer Advocates!
Political Engagement Advocate
Chris Belden
(he/him)
As an advocate for vulnerable communities, Chris is dedicated to making politicians’ civil and human rights records more accessible to ensure we hold our leaders accountable for protecting our right to human dignity.
Research & Reader Advocate
Cor Blevins
(he/him)
As a researcher, educator, and sexologist, Cor seeks to provide the queer community with the resources they need to create their life stories.
Research Advocate
Sonia Booth
(she/her)
Sonia is a museum educator residing in New Hampshire. In college, she studied Cultural Anthropology and she remains fascinated by people and their stories. She believes that stories have the power to change peoples’ hearts and to spur them into action that benefits the world.
Digital Asset & Research Advocate
Melissa Ellis
(she/her)
Based in Newcastle, England. History Graduate from Newcastle University with a research specialism in homosexuality during the interwar years and Nazi period in Europe.
Research Advocate
Sarah Ernst
(they/them)
Sarah Ernst is a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Southern California's Van Hunnick History Department. Their current dissertation project looks at queer persons also targeted by the Nazis in mass killing programs, including Jewish, Sinti/Roma, and disabled individuals.
Reader
Bry Sharland
(he/him)
An artist with a desire to tell the stories of forgotten queer victims, Bry works to humanize and show them as people that can be related to even today.
Reader & Research Advocate
Claire Wimbush
(she/her)
An Archive Researcher for the international Tracing Service (ITS) at The Wiener Holocaust Library in London, Claire’s work focuses on uncovering lost histories and clarifying the fates of those lost during the Holocaust.