Dan Leshem is Associate Director for Research Director of the USC Shoah Foundation–The Institute for Visual History and Education. Dr. Leshem holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature & Jewish Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. His dissertation, The Language of Suffering: Writing and Reading the Holocaust argued for the necessity of ethical approaches to interpreting Holocaust testimony. While at Emory, he also served as Program Manager of the Holocaust Denial on Trial (HDOT) website, which strives to educate scholars and the general public of the risks of denial and other forms of hate speech.

Dr. Leshem joined the staff of the USC Shoah Foundation in September 2010, at which time he was also appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature. At the Institute, he works with faculty, students, and researchers at USC and across the world to help them develop courses, scholarly publications, and educational resources that utilize the Institute’s testimonies. He develops and organizes the Institute’s yearly academic event calendar that includes lectures, film screenings, panel discussions and conferences. He also heads the Institute’s yearly Student Voices Film Competition.