DCSD Educator Recipient of Holocaust Education Award

Dr. Mark Thorsen, a Social Studies teacher at Ponderosa High School, is the first-ever recipient of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) inaugural Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education. The award was presented to Thorsen by Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

“81 years after the Holocaust, Colorado is as committed as ever to the promise of Never Again. From statewide high school Holocaust education to fighting hate of all kinds, we are building a Colorado for All. Congratulations to Dr. Mark Thorsen of Ponderosa High School for receiving the ADL’s Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education, for decades of impact helping to build a brighter future,” said Governor Polis.

The award, presented for the first time in the program's 45-year history, recognizes a Colorado K-12 educator who goes above and beyond to ensure that the history and lessons of the Holocaust are not just taught, but felt, understood and carried forward by the next generation.

Governor Polis signed into law the Holocaust and Genocide Studies In Public Schools bill in 2020, mandating Holocaust and genocide education in all Colorado public high schools. This award was created to honor the dedicated teachers and educators who excel in this area.

Thorsen was selected unanimously by the award committee. He has taught Social Studies at Ponderosa High School since 1996. An accomplished Holocaust scholar, he holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver, where his doctoral dissertation focused on teaching about genocide through the arts, a cross-curricular approach that brings the Holocaust to life in powerful and unexpected ways.

“I have always felt that carrying the history of the Holocaust forward is both an obligation and a duty,” said Thorsen. “And as my students face a world of increasing antisemitism and social media forces that make simple answers dangerously alluring, that sense of duty only grows stronger. Teaching and learning about the Holocaust is a cornerstone of empowering them to think critically, act empathetically and inherit a world that is just."

Thorsen is a founding board member of Colorado Holocaust Educators, a nonprofit providing quality Holocaust and genocide resources and professional development to educators across the state. He has served as a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellow, an Auschwitz Jewish Center Faculty Fellow and a fellow of the Defiant Requiem Foundation. In 2025, he participated in the inaugural Yahad in Unum Educational Leadership Field Study in Poland and was also recognized in 2022 with the Mizel Museum Excellence in Holocaust Education Award.