The Genocide Studies Program Keynote Address of the Genocide Studies Program symposium, Memorialization Unmoored: Mary Fetchetm executive director of Voices of September 11th and Alexandra Drakakis, Associate Curator at the 9/11 Memorial Museum: “Memorialization with Meaning: commemorating lives lost, preserving difficult history, and creating a narrative for survivors of September 11th.”
“Memorialization with meaning: How victims’ families and communities commemorate lives lost and create a narrative for survivors” by Mary Fetchet and Alexandra Drakakis
Mary Fetchet is the executive director of Voices of September 11th (VOICES), an organization she co-founded following the death of her 24 year old son Brad in the September 11th terrorist attacks. Her unique background as a mother of a victim and 23 year of expertise as a clinical social worker has influenced VOICES approach in providing long-term mental health support and programs that promote resiliency in the lives of thousands of victims’ families, survivors and responders.
Alexandra Drakakis is the Associate Curator at the 9/11 Memorial Museum. She is a 2004 graduate of Rutgers University. Alexandra’s interest in material culture studies informed her graduate pursuit of a Master of Arts degree in the decorative arts and design from the Bard Graduate Center in New York City. Her master’s thesis explored the American consumer culture of September 11, 2001, eventually leading her to the 9/11 Memorial Museum in its early stages of development in 2007. Alexandra also serves on the Museum Association of New York’s Board of Directors.