San Gabriel Forum Club

Damian earned a bachelor’s degree in Historical Science at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.  He taught for five years at Page HS in Greensboro, NC, as an Honors and AP history teacher and head of the World History Professional Learning Community, which involves planning the year's curriculum.  He serves on the Equal Opportunity Schools Committee and teaches a lifelong learning curriculum at Friends Home Retirement Community in Greensboro, NC. 

In November of 2021, North Carolina State passed the North Carolina Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act, which is to grow teachers’ understanding of the Holocaust.  There have been 3 trips that included teachers from around 80 of the 115 Counties in North Carolina, with the hope of eventually having each county represented on the trip. 

In June of 2025, Damiam and 40 other educators were selected to attend a trip to Poland.  This trip was funded by Fred Guttman, a retired rabbi, and by many organizations and private donors, including longtime Holocaust educator and advocates Zev and Bernice Harel of Greensboro. Zev is a Holocaust survivor who was sent to several death camps as a teen, including Auschwitz and Ebensee. He spent decades sharing his story all over the world and said, “The Holocaust was an experience that not too many survived, and he spoke about what the survivors had to do to survive”.  Benice said, “At some point, the survivors realized that if they didn’t start talking, everything that happened and everything they witnessed would disappear with them eventually.” Now, at 95 years old, Zev can’t share his story like he used to. So, in many ways, this Holocaust educational trip is meant to pick up where survivors left off, ensuring stories such as Zev’s continue to be told. 

Damian said, “This trip is not just a tour of the camps and of these areas where the events occurred, but it’s a walking classroom. Through this trip, he has gained a deeper understanding and connection, and it’s going to make educators like him more motivated to provide a broader scope of what’s going on with this event in global human history.  He brings this education to the students at home in Greensboro, NC. 

Damian wants to share his experience of this Poland trip to raise the importance of initiatives that support Holocaust education in schools to combat historical distortion and Antisemitism.