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 August 20, 2020

Howard M. Lorber, Chairman, New York, NY

Allan M. Holt, Vice Chairman, Washington, DC

Sara J. Bloomfield, Director, Washington, DC

Daniel Benjamin, Hanover, NH

Adam E. Beren, Wichita, KS

Tom A. Bernstein, New York, NY

Joshua B. Bolten, Washington, DC

Michael S. Bosworth, New York, NY

Sonia M. Breslow, Scottsdale, AZ

Jonathan W. Burkan, Harrison, NY

Andrew M. Cohn, Scottsdale, AZ

Sam M. Devinki, Kansas City, MO

Jeffrey P. Feingold, Delray Beach, FL

Lee A. Feinstein, Bloomington, IN

Helene Feldman, New York, NY

Ari Fleischer, Pound Ridge, NY

Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, Washington, DC

Mendel Goldstein, San Diego, CA

Samuel N. Gordon, Wilmette, IL

Jeremy Halpern, Livingston NJ

Sarah K. Hurwitz, Washington DC

Murray J. Laulicht, Bal Harbour, FL

Jonathan S. Lavine, Boston, MA

Edward P. Lazarus, Santa Barbara, CA

Eric A. LeVine, Seattle, WA

Susan G. Levine, Paradise Valley, AZ

Alan D. Listhaus, Allentown, PA

Susan E. Lowenberg, San Francisco, CA

Adele Malpass, Washington, DC

Sigal Pearl Mandelker, Washington, DC

David M. Marchick, Washington, DC

Frederick R. Marcus, Atlanta, GA

John T. McNabb II, Asheville, NC

Eli Henry Miller, Washington, DC

Tamar Newberger, Chicago, IL

Deborah A. Oppenheimer, Los Angeles, 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

Curtis D. Robinson, Plantsville, CT

Melissa Rogers, Falls Church, VA

Menachem Z. Rosensaft, New York, NY

Elliot J. Schrage, San Francisco, CA

Maureen Schulman, Chicago, IL

Betty Pantirer Schwartz, Livingston, NJ

Irvin N. Shapell, Anna Maria, FL

Cindy Simon Skjodt, Carmel, IN

Howard D. Unger, Briarcliff Manor, NY

Clemantine Wamariya, San Francisco, CA

Andrew J. Weinstein, Coral Springs, FL

Jeremy M. Weinstein, Stanford, CA

Ronald N. Weiser, Ann Arbor, MI

Bradley D. Wine, Bethesda, MD

Jay Winik, Chevy Chase, MD

Fred S. Zeidman, Houston, TX

US House of Representatives

Ted Deutch, Florida

David Kustoff, Tennessee

Brad Schneider, Illinois

Lee Zeldin, New York

US Senate

Benjamin L. Cardin, Maryland

Marco Rubio, Florida

Bernard Sanders, Vermont

Tim Scott, South Carolina

Ex Officio Members

US Department of Education, Philip H. Rosenfelt

US Department of the Interior, Vacant

US Department of State, Cherrie Daniels

General Counsel, Gerard Leval

Secretary of the Council, Jessica Viggiano

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