Mike Salamon

Grandson of four Holocaust Survivors

Preferred audience: All ages

Mike is available to speak in the DMV + Virtually

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  • Mike Salamon is currently the Deputy Director of Outreach and Membership at the Alliance for Justice, a national association of more than 150 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society. Mike came to AFJ with over 15 years of experience leading advocacy initiatives and grassroots engagement campaigns for a variety of leading nonprofits. Most recently, Mike was Director of Community Engagement and Organizing for the Anti-Defamation League, where he led strategic planning and engagement for multiple federal and state campaigns focused on combating hate and extremism. Previously, he has worked for organizations including Save the Children, American Jewish World Service, and The ONE Campaign. Mike has a Master’s Degree in International Relations from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Florida State University.

  • Although all four of Mike’s grandparents are Holocaust survivors, Mike’s speaking engagements are predominately about each of his grandfather’s stories of survival

    His maternal grandfather, Henry Kaufman, was from Lodz, Poland and was imprisoned in the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz and a small slave labor camp in Germany.

    His paternal grandfather, Jack Salamon was born in Dej, Romania. He hid in the woods of Transylvania for a few years, then later was imprisoned in and escaped a POW camp/Hungarian work detail before smuggling himself to Israel.

  • Mike has visited multiple concentration camps as part of the March of the Living, both as a participant when he was in high school and as a chaperone when he was in college. He has been speaking in classrooms for almost 20 years and volunteering at the Holocaust Museum in DC for over 10 years. At the museum, he leads orientation sessions for school groups to help give them context and things to think about as they go through the museum.