VOC Announces Expansion of Board of Trustees 

WASHINGTON—The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) today announced the election of Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett and Andrea Lauer Rice to its Board of Trustees. Dr. Lantos Swett is a leading voice for human rights, religious freedom, and anticommunism across the globe. Ms. Lauer Rice is a pioneer in preserving the memories of the heroes who stood against communism.   
 
Following the election, VOC Board Chairman Dr. Elizabeth Edwards Spalding welcomed the new trustees, saying:  

“I am honored to announce Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett and Andrea Lauer Rice as new members of VOC’s Board. They bring a wealth of leadership, vision, and experience in the fight against communism, and are deeply committed to remembering the victims—and exposing the crimes—of the deadliest ideology the world has ever seen.” 

Dr. Eric Patterson, president and CEO of VOC remarked:  

“The addition of Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett and Andrea Lauer Rice to VOC’s Board of Trustees marks a new era for the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. I am excited to work with them to strengthen VOC’s mission so that we may one day live in a world free from the false hope and horrendous crimes of communism.” 

Dr. Lantos Swett and Ms. Lauer Rice are the newest members of the Board, which is charged with governing the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, an educational, research, and human rights nonprofit organization devoted to commemorating the more than 100 million people killed by communism around the world and to pursuing the freedom of those still living under totalitarian regimes. 

 Commenting on her new role, Dr. Lantos Swett said: 

“I am honored to join the Board of VOC as it advances its vital mission in a world full of new challenges and threats to freedom and democracy. My late father Congressman Tom Lantos, was the only member of Congress who, as a young man, had lived under both fascism and communism in his native Hungary. He understood better than most the dangers of a world in which oppressive ideologies are allowed to take root. That is why he was such an ardent supporter of VOC and its mission, and I share his passion. As we remember the more than 100 million victims of communism from the past, we are strengthened to meet the threat of rising authoritarianism around the world. I look forward to being a small part of this noble cause.” 

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett serves as President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, established in 2008 to continue the legacy of her father, the late Congressman Tom Lantos, who served as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and was the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the US Congress. Under her leadership, the Lantos Foundation has become a distinguished and respected voice on key human rights concerns ranging from advancing rule of law and freedom of religion and belief globally, to fighting for internet freedom in closed societies, to combating the persistent and growing threat of antisemitism and Holocaust denial. 

Dr. Lantos Swett is the former Chair and Vice Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and teaches Human Rights and American Foreign Policy at Tufts University. She currently serves as Co-Chair of: the Board of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), the Budapest based Tom Lantos Institute, and the International Religious Freedom Summit. Read VOC Trustee Dr. Lantos Swett’s full bio here.

Commenting on her new role, Ms. Lauer Rice said:  

“As the proud daughter of a Hungarian freedom fighter, I am delighted to work with VOC to help ensure that Americans of all ages learn about the true evils of communism. I’m honored to be a member of the distinguished Board of Trustees, which has been at the forefront of this important work for the past 30 years.” 

Andrea Lauer Rice has served as President of the Hungarian American Coalition, the community’s largest umbrella organization, for the past eight years. From 2019-2023, she was the US Regional Diaspora President representing the American Hungarian community to Hungary. She is co-founder of Memory Project, an award-winning collection of 150 video-based life histories of Hungarians who immigrated to the US, especially following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.  

Lauer Rice has created numerous projects to teach the next generation about the 1956 Revolution and the evils of communism. She has authored books, educational booklets, and a computer game for kids teaching on the subject in addition to documentary films, multimedia exhibits, and commemorations. Lauer Rice worked in the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungarians Living Abroad and helped establish the Center for Independent Journalism, New York Times Company Foundation. In 2021, she was awarded with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary. Read VOC Trustee Andrea Lauer Rice’s full bio here.  
 

For press inquiries, please contact Michal Harmata at michal.harmata@victimsofcommunism.org or (202) 629-9500.