Marji Lipshez-Shapiro has been named interim regional director of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Connecticut regional office.

During her 25-year career with ADL Connecticut, Lipshez-Shapiro has served as associate regional director and director of education. She is credited with creating ADL’s “Names Can Really Hurt Us,” an anti-bias and anti-bullying education program that has impacted more than 150,000 high school students in Connecticut alone. Since its inception two decades ago, “Names Can Really Hurt Us” has become an integral part of ADL’s national anti-bias and anti-bullying initiatives.

Additionally, Lipshez-Shapiro has coordinated “Echoes and Reflections,” which trains middle and high school teachers and provides them with the proper tools and resources to teach about the Holocaust. Since 2006, the program has reached more than 900 teachers. Lipshez-Shapiro has also been involved in ADL’s interfaith outreach efforts, having helped to coordinate and lead two interfaith missions to Israel, as well as overseeing an ongoing Jewish-Muslim women’s dialogue.

“We are so fortunate to have Marji, a proven leader with 25 years of ADL expertise, take the reins on an interim basis,” said Mitch Weseley, ADL Connecticut board chair. “Having participated in two interfaith missions to Israel with Marji, I’ve gotten to know her well on both a personal and professional level. I am looking forward to working with her in her new role as we search for a regional director and I am confident that under her leadership, the Connecticut regional office will continue to lead the way in combating anti-Semitism and all other forms of hate throughout the state.”

“I’m energized by this new challenge,” said Lipshez-Shapiro. “I’m just as passionate about my job today as I was when I started at ADL in 1990. I’m excited to work with such talented staff and lay leaders to further ADL’s mission in Connecticut.”