2025 JDC Archives Fellows Announced

The JDC Archives is pleased to announce that it has awarded six new fellowships for 2025. JDC Archives Fellowships are awarded each year to deserving scholars engaged in graduate level, post-doctoral, or independent study, who wish to conduct research in the JDC Archives.

The following scholars have received 2025 JDC Archives Fellowships:

• Dr. Verena Buser, an Associate Researcher in the Holocaust Studies Program of the Western Galilee College, Israel, is a recipient of the Bernard and Mollie Steuer / JDC Archives Fellowship. Dr. Buser’s research project focuses on Hachsharah and retraining for emigration to Eretz Israel in Nazi Germany.
• Brenna Miller, a doctoral student at Ohio State University, was awarded a Fred and Ellen Lewis / JDC Archives Fellowship. Ms. Miller will explore how Jewish refugees created and developed cultural institutions in Shanghai during the Second World War.
• James Osorio, a doctoral candidate at Brown University, is the recipient of a Fred and Ellen Lewis / JDC Archives Fellowship. Mr. Osorio will examine the lives of Jewish refugees in the Philippines during the Holocaust.
• Na’ama Seri-Levi, a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford, was awarded the Max and Cecil (Steuer) Chesin / JDC Archives Fellowship to research the experiences of Jewish refugees and evacuees in the Soviet Union during the Holocaust.
• Tracy Slater, an independent scholar and writer, was a recipient of the Sorrell and Lorraine Chesin / JDC Archives Fellowship. Dr. Slater will uncover the story of Jewish refugees who found temporary shelter in Kobe, Japan, during World War II.
• Kostiantyn Tkachuk, an independent researcher, was awarded the Ruth and David Musher / JDC Archives Fellowship. Mr. Tkachuk will investigate the humanitarian mission of Israel Friedlander and Bernard Cantor in Ukraine after World War I, focusing on JDC’s relief efforts amid famine, anti-Jewish violence, and political upheaval.

Read about the projects of former JDC Archives Fellows and watch their public lectures here. See our Fellowships and Grants page for further information on our fellowship opportunities.