MuseumFebruary 26, 2009
TWELVE MEMBERS APPOINTED TO UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Before leaving office, President George W. Bush named 10 new members and reappointed William J. Danhof and M. Ronald Krongold to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the governing body of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Council consists of 55 Presidential appointees in addition to 10 Congressional representatives and three ex-officio members from the departments of Education, Interior and State. Each will serve a five-year term that expires in January 2014, except for Alan I. Casden, who is serving the remainder of a term that expires January 2011.
Elliott Abrams, Great Falls, VA, was Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy under President George W. Bush. Prior to joining the White House, he was President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and served as Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Joshua B. Bolten, Washington, D.C., served as the White House Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush. Prior to that, he was the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Before entering government, Mr. Bolten was Executive Director for Legal & Government Affairs at Goldman Sachs International in London.
Alan I. Casden, Beverly Hills, CA, is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Casden Properties LLC. Mr. Casden served for 25 years as the Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. He is a member of the University of Southern California’s Board of Trustees and has established an endowment for USC’s Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life. He is the recipient of many awards for his civic and philanthropic activities.
Michael Chertoff, Potomac, MD, served as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush. Previously, he served as United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and before that, he was a partner in the law firm of Latham & Watkins. He spent more than a decade as a federal prosecutor.
William J. Danhof, Lansing, MI, is the Senior Principal at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., and specializes in public law practice. He is the Past President and a founding member of the American College of Bond Counsel. He currently serves as Chairperson of the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board by appointment of the Michigan Supreme Court. He has been honored as one of the best lawyers in the country in the areas of public finance and banking law in The Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyers. Mr. Danhof is a Fellow of the American Bar Association Foundation and the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
Sanford L. Gottesman, Austin, TX, is a Principal of Live Oak–Gottesman, a commercial real estate company. He is a member of the University of Texas (UT) Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, the UT University Development Board, the UT Center for Real Estate Finance Advisory Board, the Austin Community Foundation, and the Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel. He is a recipient of the Josiah Wheat Award of Merit for Historic Preservation from the Heritage Society of Austin.
Cheryl F. Halpern, Livingston, NJ, has a long record of public service in broadcasting, women’s issues, education and international affairs. She has been nominated by Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to serve on the boards of international and national public broadcasting organizations, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which she chaired 2005–2007. In 2003, she served as a presidentially appointed delegate to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe conference on anti-Semitism, and in September 2008 she served as special advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations General Assembly.
J. David Heller, Cleveland, OH, is the cofounder of The NRP Group, a real estate development, construction and property management company. He currently serves as the Board President of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland and as an Officer of the Board for the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland; Mr. Heller is the President of the Board of the Ohio Jewish Communities and chairs the Government Relations Committee at the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland. He also serves as a Trustee for the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation and the United Way of Greater Cleveland.
Amy Kaslow, Washington, DC, is a print and broadcast journalist covering international economic developments. She has written for many newspapers, magazines and quarterlies, including the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal; her broadcast work includes National Public Radio, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, CNBC, and C-SPAN. As a Senior Fellow at the Council on Competitiveness, she specialized in economics and employment, and as a workforce specialist, she has served as an advisor, writer and panelist for congressionally mandated commissions, the National Academy of Sciences and federal agencies.
M. Ronald Krongold, Miami Beach, FL, is Principal of Gold Krown Development Company, which among its projects includes Parrot Jungle (Jungle Island) located in Miami/Dade County Florida. He has been active in U.S.–Israeli relations for more than 30 years. He is the recipient of the David Ben-Gurion Peace Award. He also represented the State of Israel in the negotiations of the Trade Understanding between the State of Florida and Israel. Along with Jeb Bush, Krongold was involved in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews with the help of President George H. W. Bush. He is a past National Vice Chairman of Israel Bonds.
Michael B. Mukasey, New York City, NY, was appointed United States Attorney General during the George W. Bush Administration. Previously, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney and as a member of the firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. Attorney General Mukasey was appointed by President Reagan as a United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York. He served for 18 years, the last six as Chief Judge. He has received numerous awards including the Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence from the Federal Bar Council.
Daniel Silva, Washington, DC, is the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of 11 novels, including his most recent number-one New York Times bestseller Moscow Rules featuring art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon. Silva began his career in journalism. He is married to NBC Today correspondent Jamie Gangel and lives with his teenage twins Lily and Nicholas.
A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders to confront hatred, promote human dignity and prevent genocide. Its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by the generosity of donors nationwide through legacy and annual giving. For more information, visit www.ushmm.org.
