Al Munzer and Joel Wind 2022 Gala Distinguished Service Award Honorees
Dr. Al Munzer and Joel Wind are pillars of the vibrant District of Columbia Jewish community. Together, they have devoted their time and energy to nurturing and leading some of Washington, D.C.’s largest and most impactful institutions, including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center, Bet Mishpachah synagogue, the Capitol Jewish Museum, and American Friends of the Technion.
Dr. Al Munzer is a retired pulmonologist and Air Force veteran. He was the Director of Pulmonary Medicine at Washington Adventist Hospital and served as the President of the American Lung Association, which in 2000 awarded him the Will Ross Medal, the highest honor given by the association for volunteer service at the national level. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the nation’s oldest organization dedicated to advocating for innovative legal and policy measures to end the global tobacco epidemic. He has had a leading role in the global implementation of the first international treaty to address this public health crisis, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
As a Jewish child in the Netherlands during the Holocaust, Al was hidden and saved by a local Muslim family from Indonesia. His father and two sisters were murdered by the Nazis. He has dedicated his life to sharing his and his family’s Shoah testimony, reaching thousands of students, educators, and others through his service as a docent at the United States Holocaust Museum (USHMM) and as a highly sought speaker in the JCRC’s Holocaust Survivors’ Speakers Bureau. He also serves on the Board of Governors of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Edlavitch DCJCC and the American Friends of the Technion.
After a long, distinguished career in high tech, Joel Wind shifted gears and for eight years served as the administrator of the Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum. Upon his retirement, he continued his extensive leadership as a volunteer, serving for nine years on the Museum’s board of Directors. He was a member of its Capital Campaign Committee, tasked to raise the necessary funds to construct a new museum facility. The committee raised $34 million to date, and the expanded and enhanced Capital Jewish Museum will open its doors to the public in 2023. Joel is currently a member of the museum's Development Committee.
Joel is a past president of Bet Mishpachah synagogue, founded in 1975 by members of DC's LGBTQ+ community. He sits on the local board of American Friends of the Technion and is a volunteer researcher at the USHMM for its Collections staff.
Together, Al and Joel are involved in Cambodian Living Arts, an organization founded by Arn Chorn Pond, a child survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide, which is devoted to bringing healing and reconciliation through music and the arts to those ravaged by atrocities and genocide.