Marcia Jo Zerivitz, LHD, founding executive director, Jewish Museum
of Florida-FIU, is a native West Virginian who has lived in Florida
for more than half a century. She has been a trailblazer in the
American and Floridian Jewish communities and has often broken the
glass ceiling. Observing that the Florida Jewish community had a
major challenge-its continuity-she resolved to focus on collecting
and preserving the stories and material evidence of the
contributions of Jews to the Sunshine State and beyond.
From 1984 to 1992, Marcia Jo traveled 250,000 miles throughout
Florida, conducting grassroots research and retrieving the state's
hidden, 250+ year Jewish history, resulting in a major archive and
the MOSAIC: Jewish Life in Florida exhibit that traveled to
thirteen cities (1990-94). In 1995, under her direction and
planning, this project evolved into the AAM-accredited Jewish
Museum of Florida (JMOF) on Miami Beach. She initiated legislation
for Florida Jewish History Month (FJHM) each January and Jewish
American Heritage Month (JAHM) each May to increase awareness of
the contributions of Jews to the quality of life for all. Her
scholarship has been used in exhibitions, films, historical
journals and books; she has been published nationally and
internationally. Marcia Jo retired from JMOF in 2011 and continues
to curate exhibits, lecture, research and write on Florida Jewish
history.
The author resides on St. Pete Beach with her husband Elliott, whom
she credits as her partner on this journey. As a cultural
anthropologist, she is credited with an innovative process that
gave the world something they did not have: the compelling story of
one ethnic group in a hugely diverse Florida.
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