HOUSTON, TX (July 15, 2005) – Holocaust Museum Houston has named Tamara Savage as its managing director and Melissa Torres as head of special collections.

Savage will be in charge of staff supervision and day-to-day Museum activities, while Torres will be responsible for management of the library, archives and oral histories in the Museum as well as cataloguing and reference questions from Museum patrons.

A native of South Africa, Savage joined the Museum as an executive assistant after moving to the United States in 1998. In 2001, she became director of public programs, a position she held until her latest promotion. Since 2003, Savage has been a representative of the Museum at the annual Association of Holocaust Organizations meetings.

As head of public programs, she has overseen the Museum’s annual Guardian of the Human Spirit luncheon as well as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Awards dinner, which drew more than 1,600 people and raised more than $2 million for the Museum in April. Her role also includes oversight of the Museum’s public lecture series, which this year features newmakers such as historians Susan Zuccotti, Richard Hovannisian and Christopher Browning as well as Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager whose heroic efforts were featured in the movie "Hotel Rwanda."

Savage attended Cape Technical College in South Africa, where she studied medical technology. She previously worked as a paralegal, specializing in real estate, for 11 years.

Torres graduated from Grinnell College in 2002 with a degree in history and a specialization in 20th-century Europe. She attended the School of Information at The University of Texas in Austin, where she studied organizational theory and archival practice within the library science department. She is currently in the process of defending her thesis on archival policy in the early 20th century at The University of Texas.

Torres is a member of the Society of Southwest Archivists and the Society of American Archivists, of which she served as a member of the board of directors for The University of Texas student chapter in 2004.

Holocaust Museum Houston promotes awareness and educates the public of the dangers of prejudice, hatred and violence against the backdrop of the Holocaust by fostering remembrance, understanding and education. The Museum is free and open to the public and is located in Houston's Museum District at 5401 Caroline St.

For more information about Holocaust Museum Houston, call 713-942-8000 or visit www.hmh.org.