I’m currently working on a book, titled Guests of the President: How 982 Holocaust Refugees Found Unlikely Hope in an American Town, which will be published by Simon & Schuster in 2027. It’s the story of the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter, which opened in Oswego, NY, in August 1944. You can learn more about Fort Ontario in the 2020 New York Times feature, “The Secret History of America’s Only WWII Refugee Camp” (in which you’ll see a familiar name!). 

I first visited Fort Ontario in 2014 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the refugees, and have returned frequently. I was the keynote speaker at the 75th anniversary and was honored to return for the 80th in August 2024.

If you or a family member have stories, memories, or documents related to the Fort Ontario shelter that you think could help my book–or that you just want to share–please get in touch via my “Contact” form.