For many educators in the greater Los Angeles area, Matthew Friedman is their first introduction to teaching the Holocaust.

As Associate Regional Director at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Friedman leads teacher trainings on Echoes and Reflections, the Holocaust teacher’s guide that includes testimony clips from the Visual History Archive and IWitness, all over Los Angeles and its surrounding counties. He hosted ADL’s 4th annual Holocaust Education Institute at USC on Oct. 24; the all-day workshop includes training on both Echoes and Reflections and IWitness.

Friedman, who has been at ADL since 2007, also fields complaints of discrimination, hate crimes and anti-Semitism in southern California and works with local law enforcement on these issues.

Though he didn’t set out to work in the field of Holocaust education, Friedman said he is grateful for the opportunities ADL has provided him to increase his knowledge base and learn how to deliver effective teacher training seminars and workshops. He’s had plenty of practice from hosting programs in cities across Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Kern counties since Echoes and Reflections’ early days (it launched in 2004).

“I’ve learned so much from doing all these trainings, and I’ve discovered that this has become one of my passions,” Friedman said.

He said that it’s especially rewarding to see familiar faces at ADL’s various programs for educators. Some have been involved with Echoes and Reflections and IWitness for years.

“There have been a number of people year after year I keep seeing at different programs, people who are generally very passionate about it and I love talking to them,” Friedman said. “It means it’s making an impact and they have an interest and they’re getting something out of it.”

The most important change to Echoes and Reflections over the years has been its transition to offering materials and testimony online through IWitness – not just DVDs and the teacher’s resource binder, Friedman said. This allows Echoes and Reflections to be more convenient for teachers and also keep up with the latest educational standards and technical requirements.

Friedman said his goal is to hold even more teacher trainings, in order to continue teaching the Holocaust to students in less served areas who might not otherwise be aware of it. ADL’s recent Global 100 survey found that only 54 percent of people around the world know what the Holocaust is. At each training, he stresses to educators the various ways in which the Holocaust is still applicable to the world today.

As an expectant father, Friedman said his work at ADL has become even more important to him.

“I feel very fortunate that I get paid to do this type of work, that I get to go out every day and make a positive difference, I hope, in the world,” Friedman said. “We are potentially impacting the youth of today, who are the future leaders, by training their teachers to teach about the Holocaust.”