Linda L. Burger, Interim Chief Executive Officer

Linda L. Burger joins Holocaust Museum Houston on June 10, 2024, as Interim CEO.

Burger retired in 2022 as CEO of Jewish Family Service of Houston (JFS Houston), a position she held since 2005. Prior to JFS Houston, she served the community with positions at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Herald-Voice, in senior management at the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston for 17 years and then as Executive Director of the Houston Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. Burger received her undergraduate and Master of Science in Social Work degrees from the University of Texas in Austin.

Burger and her husband Andy reside in Montrose. They have two married children and four grandchildren.

Elyse Spector Kalmans, Board Chair

Elyse Spector Kalmans is the 20th board chair and the first third generation Holocaust Survivor to hold this position since the Museum opened its doors in 1996. Spector Kalmans is the granddaughter of Holocaust Survivor Naomi Warren. She has been a longtime member of HMH, served on the Museum’s Board as a Trustee and chaired HMH’s Guardian of the Human Spirit Luncheon and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award Dinner.

A native Houstonian, Spector Kalmans earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She began her career at Chase Manhattan Bank, later working in brand management for The Pillsbury Company and The Coca-Cola Company. Spector Kalmans held the position as a director at Enron before founding Kalmans & Loebl, LP, a public relations and marketing firm. She later worked for Jewish Family Service as an employment services manager.

Spector Kalmans is a board member of Jewish Federation of Greater Houston and the Anti-Defamation League. She has held numerous community and chair positions with Congregation Emanu El, Goldberg Montessori School, The Kinkaid School, Syracuse University, the Junior Leagues of Houston, Minneapolis and Evanston-North Shore and the National Charity League, Bayou Villages Chapter.

A distinguished volunteer, Elyse Spector Kalmans was named Congregant of the Year 2020 by Congregation Emanu El. She was also a recipient of the 2017 Faith and Humanity Award from National Council of Jewish Women, the 2010 Barbara Falik Young Leadership Award from Jewish Federation of Greater Houston and the 2003 Young Leadership Award from TORCH.

Elyse Spector Kalmans resides in Bellaire with her husband Lewis Kalmans. They have three adult children.

All Holocaust Museum Houston programs and education initiatives are dependent upon philanthropic support. Please consider making a gift today to ensure the Museum can continue offering quality educational experiences.