FOUNDER

Mona Golabek is the founder and president of the Hold On To Your Music Foundation.

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An author, recording artist, and internationally renowned concert pianist, she learned to play the piano from her mother, Holocaust survivor Lisa Jura, whose stories inspired the critically-acclaimed book, The Children Of Willesden Lane.  Her father, Michel Golabek, fought valiantly in the French resistance and received the Croix de Guerre.

In 2012, Mona made her stage debut in The Pianist of Willesden Lane, adapted from the book. The production, directed by Hershey Felder, has been celebrated by critics and audiences with sold out theatrical runs in New York, London and many other cities. Mona has received Best Actress nominations from the New York Drama Desk and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

A Grammy nominee, Mona is a prolific recording artist and has been the subject of several documentaries including Concerto for Mona with conductor Zubin Mehta. Her discography includes the best-selling Carnival of the Animals and Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, both recorded with her sister Renee. They feature the voices of Meryl Streep, Audrey Hepburn, Ted Danson and Lily Tomlin.

Through all of her work, Mona holds on to the music that saved her mother’s life, fulfilling the promise Lisa made to her mother.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jackie Maduff has been the Executive Director of Hold On To Your Music since its formation in 2003.

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Over more than two decades, she has worked steadfastly building the foundation to its status as a leading educational non-profit, spearheading the organization’s major partnerships including USC Shoah Foundation, National Families Learning, Discovery Education, Facing History & Ourselves, and more.

A graduate of UCLA, she brought her skills as a classroom educator as well as later talents as a designer to the mission of the non-profit. She helped grow its signature programs including The Willesden READS where she manages the comprehensive outreach program and book distributions. To date, the foundation has donated nearly one million copies of The Children of Willesden Lane (K-12) to schools in over 100 school districts across America and globally.

As an associate producer of the one woman show, she worked on design and script development while coaching of Mona Golabek to step into the role of her mother. Jackie also played a pivotal role in the writing of the illustrated book for young readers. Her commitment to the mission of Hold on To Your Music has been one of the strongest reasons for its rising prominence and she is deeply proud of its accomplishments.  

READS PRODUCER/PRODUCTION MANAGER

Kailin is a versatile theater professional whose work spans acting, writing, directing, design, and stage management.

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With a deep passion for storytelling both on and off the stage, she has built a career that blends artistry with technical expertise.

Kaitlin first stage-managed Mona Golabek in Hershey Felder’s The Pianist of Willesden Lane in 2015.  This experience led her to produce the Willesden READ, bringing the production’s powerful story to students across the globe.

Kaitlin is dedicated to using theater as a tool for connection, education, and inspiration. Whether behind the scenes or in the spotlight, she remains committed to bringing stories like Lisa’s to audiences in meaningful and impactful ways. She is honored to share the mission of Hold On To Your Music spreading its message of hope and resilience to audiences worldwide.

PLAYWRIGHT IN RESIDENCE

Emil had the privilege of adapting The Children of Willesden Lane into a book for young readers and a picture book — Hold On to Your Music — for early primary students.

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As playwright in residence at HOTYM, Emil is writing the stage adaptations of the Willesden books for high school and elementary students as part of the Willesden Lane Theatre Project. His plays and children's fiction have been translated into French, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Slovak, Russian,Turkish and Danish, and staged and broadcast around the world.

Emil’s works have largely been devoted to giving a face, a name, a voice to the human condition.  His adaptation of The Boy in the Moon, a father’s memoir of raising his disabled son, was hailed as “masterfully adapted for the stage” and selected as one the best of the decade (2010-2019) by a national theatre critic. As an arts educator, Emil engages with students of all ages. "My students were extremely engaged — you could have heard a pin drop!" a Grade 7/8 teacher wrote following one of Emil’s school visits.

EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR

As an Educational Advisor at HOTYM, Rebecca Keel leads initiatives that harness the power of storytelling, music, and multimedia to foster empathy, connection, and social-emotional growth in students and educators.

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With a career spanning classroom teaching, curriculum development, and large-scale program design, she has worked with 35+ school districts and reached over 300,000 students through inclusive, engaging learning experiences. Her work has supported educators in using storytelling to build resilience, critical thinking, and a sense of belonging in their classrooms.

HOTYM’s mission is to harness the power of storytelling to inspire hope, resilience, and connection across communities. Rebecca draws on her experience working with organizations such as the New York City Department of Education, Echoes & Reflections, and Education Design International, where she has designed equity-driven curricula, led professional development for educators, and facilitated training on social-emotional learning, inclusion, and storytelling. Through her leadership, HOTYM continues to expand its reach, equipping educators with innovative resources that use story and music to foster understanding, healing, and transformation.

LITERARY CONSULTANT/ STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

Larry Kirshbaum has devoted most of his career to the printed word and now the digital one as well. 

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Starting at Francis Parker High School in Chicago, he was a senior editor of the student weekly newspaper. In his senior years at the University of Michigan, he became Managing Editor of the Michigan Daily, published six times a week.

Thereafter, his first post-graduate job was as a journalist for Newsweek Magazine. He co-wrote a non-fiction book on student protest, published in 1970 with Roger Rapoport, entitled "Is the Library Burning?" He went to work for his publisher, Random House, and then the Time-Warner Book Group for over 30 years, including ten years as CEO (Hachette Book Group)  from 1997 to 2006.

It was during this period that Larry met Mona Golabek and greenlighted the publication of “The Children of Willesden Lane”. 

Larry has been integrally responsible for building the “Willesden Lane” brand, spearheading the publication of the book in four versions (K-12) and over a dozen foreign language editions.

Larry recently published his first novel entitled "Death in a White Coat," a medical thriller. 

Larry will be celebrating 58 years of marriage in 2025. He lives with his wife, Barbara, in Manhattan, with children, grandchildren, a dog and a cat very close by.

Mona Golabek
Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin (Ret.)
Patti Kenner
Fred Leeds
Susan Libitzky
Moses Libitzky

Dr. Michael Berenbaum
Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat
Nancy Fisher
Anita Friedman
Sharon Isbin
Dr. Kori Street

Dr. Jane Foley

USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education

Koret Foundation

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks,
Of blessed memory