Stephen D. Smith

Dr. Stephen D. Smith is Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of USC Shoah Foundation where he also holds the UNESCO Chair on Genocide Education. He is also Adjunct Professor of Religion at the University of Southern California . A theologian by training, Smith has a particular interest in the impact of the Holocaust on religious and philosophical thought and practice. He founded the UK Holocaust Centre in Nottinghamshire, England and cofounded the Aegis Trust for the prevention of crimes against humanity and genocide. He was also the inaugural Chairman of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, which runs the National Holocaust Memorial Day in the United Kingdom. Currently, he is a delegate of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and was the project director responsible for the creation of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda and trustee of the South Africa Holocaust and Genocide Foundation. In conjunction with his work at USC Shoah Foundation, Smith has also served as producer and co-produce on a number of the film projects emanating from the Institute, including documentary film Finding Oscar, virtual reality testimony project The Last Goodbye; and Auschwitz, a 15-minute documentary on the history of the Nazi death camp that was shown at the 70th -anniversary commemoration of the camp’s liberation in 2015. In recognition of his work, Smith has become a member of the Order of the British Empire and received the Interfaith Gold Medallion. He also holds two honorary doctorates, Honorary Doctor of Letters from Nottingham Trent University and Honorary Doctor of Laws from University of Leicester.