The United States Holocaust Memorial Council was established by Congress in 1980 to lead the nation in commemorating the Holocaust and to raise private funds for and build the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Once the Museum opened in 1993, the Council became the governing board of trustees of the Museum, an independent establishment of the United States government operating as a public-private partnership that receives some federal funding to support operations of the Museum building.
The Council, which meets twice a year, consists of 55 members appointed by the president, as well as five members each from the Senate and House of Representatives and three ex-officio members from the Departments of Education, Interior, and State. Presidential appointments serve for a five-year term; 11 members’ terms expire each year.
Because of the large size of the Council, its work is done primarily through the committee structure. The Executive Committee, which acts on behalf of the Council in between Council meetings, meets four times a year.
United States Holocaust Memorial Council
As of May 10, 2017
Howard M. Lorber, Chairman, New York, NY
Allan M. Holt, Vice Chairman, Washington, DC
Sara J. Bloomfield, Director, Washington, DC
Walter Ray Allen, Jr., Coral Gables, FL
Laurence M. Baer, San Francisco, CA
Daniel Benjamin, Hanover, NH
Tom A. Bernstein, New York, NY
Elisa Spungen Bildner, Montclair, NJ
Joshua B. Bolten, Washington, DC
Michael S. Bosworth, New York, NY
Ethel C. Brooks, Metuchen, NJ
Lee T. Bycel, Kensington, CA
Sara Darehshori, New York, NY
Shefali Razdan Duggal, San Francisco, CA
Norman L. Eisen, Washington, DC
Lee A. Feinstein, Bloomington, IN
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, Washington, DC
Jordan T. Goodman, Chicago, IL
Samuel N. Gordon, Wilmette, IL
Grant T. Harris, Davis, CA
Sarah K. Hurwitz, Washington DC
Priscilla Levine Kersten, Chicago, IL
Howard Konar, West Henrietta, NY
Jonathan S. Lavine, Boston, MA
Edward P. Lazarus, Bethesda, MD
Alan B. Lazowski, Hartford, CT
Stuart A. Levey, London, England
Eric A. LeVine, Bern, Switzerland
Susan G. Levine, Paradise Valley, AZ
Susan E. Lowenberg, San Francisco, CA
David M. Marchick, Washington, DC
Leslie Meyers, Washington, DC
Tamar Newberger, Prague, Czech Republic
Deborah A. Oppenheimer, Los Angeles, CA
Eric P. Ortner, Los Angeles, CA
Dana M. Perlman, Beverly Hills, CA
Michael P. Polsky, Chicago, IL
Michael H. Posner, New York, NY
Richard S. Price, Chicago, IL
Ronald Ratner, Cleveland, OH
Benjamin J. Rhodes, Washington, DC
Melissa Rogers, Falls Church, VA
Daniel J. Rosen, New York, NY
Menachem Z. Rosensaft, New York, NY
Michael P. Ross, Boston, MA
Elliot J. Schrage, Menlo Park, CA
Maureen Schulman, Chicago, IL
Irvin N. Shapell, Wheeling, WV
Cindy Simon Skjodt, Carmel, IN
Scott Straus, Madison, WI
Michèle Taylor, Atlanta, GA
Howard D. Unger, Briarcliff Manor, NY
Clemantine Wamariya, San Francisco, CA
Andrew J. Weinstein, Coral Springs, FL
Jeremy M. Weinstein, Stanford, CA
Daniel G. Weiss, Los Angeles, CA
US House of Representatives
Ted Deutch, Florida
David Kustoff, Tennessee
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida
Brad Schneider, Illinois
Lee Zeldin, New York
US Senate
Al Franken, Minnesota
Orrin G. Hatch, Utah
Bernard Sanders, Vermont
Vacant
Vacant
Ex Officio Members
US Department of Education, Philip H. Rosenfelt
US Department of the Interior, Vacant
US Department of State, Thomas K. Yazdgerdi
General Counsel, Gerard Leval
Secretary of the Council, Jane M. Miller
Former Chairs
Tom A. Bernstein 2010–2017
Fred S. Zeidman 2002–2010
Irving Greenberg 2000–2002
Miles Lerman* 1993–2000
Harvey M. Meyerhoff 1987–1993
Elie Wiesel* 1980–1986
Former Vice Chairs
Joshua B. Bolten 2010–2015
Joel M. Geiderman 2005–2010
Ruth B. Mandel 1993–2005
William J. Lowenberg* 1986–1993
Mark E. Talisman 1980–1986
* Deceased
