In 2011 I spent two weeks studying the ethical implications of the Holocaust with the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE). This program remains one of the most formative of my life and a model for me of excellent Holocaust education. Instead of allowing us to identify with the heroes and the victims, this program asked me, as a seminary student, to closely study the actions of Christian, Muslim and Jewish clergy. How did these communal leaders act, react, stand up, give in, accommodate? How did they use their positions of authority during this horrific massacre of the Jews of Europe? The most challenging parts of this educational process were the times when we studied how religious leaders embraced the Natzi program, supporting and even championing it. This study taught me so much more about the moral courage it takes to really stand against powerful trendy ideologies, to resist de-humanizing ideas. So few were heroes because very few had to moral courage it took. FASPE asked each of us to take an honest look at ourselves and do the work it takes to stand with the heroes. May we never be tested, and yet, should we be, I know there will be hundreds of courageous men and women who went through the FASPE program able and willing to resist. 

FASPE continues its powerful work to this day taking journalists, doctors, lawyers, military cadets, and clergy on this moral journey. I am passionate about this work continuing because I think we live in a time that needs people of great moral courage, more than ever! Please join me in supporting their work this year with even some small amount of money. Every little bit helps in this work of culture change and moral formation. We are all made better, the world is made better, through the impact of FASPE on the lives of these young professionals.

Alumni End-of-Year Campaign

Ethical Leadership 2020

We all know that 2020 has been a challenging year! With a global pandemic, growing nationalistic movements, and a long overdue nationwide reckoning with systemic racism, it does not seem hyperbolic to say that ethical concerns have never been more pressing. While this year has meant disappointment on some fronts – it has also presented important opportunities for FASPE to take a more active role in public discourse. We are active, and our commitment to promoting ethical leadership has never been stronger. 

This year we are using a new fundraising peer-to-peer platform which will serve as your own fundraiser on FASPE’s behalf. We hope that each of you will partake as fundraisers in order to get the word out and extend our reach. And, a donor has also agreed to a matching program for gifts that you arrange—so another opportunity.