UANI Announces New Advisory Board Members

June 17th, 2009
Contact: [email protected]
Phone: (212) 554-3296


NEW YORK, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is pleased to announce that The Honorable Irwin Cotler, The Honorable Michael Gerson, Ambassador Kristen Silverberg, Alan Solow and Ambassador Jackie Wolcott will join the UANI Advisory Board.

UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said, "We are honored and excited to welcome The Honorable Irwin Cotler, The Honorable Michael Gerson, Ambassador Kristen Silverberg, Alan Solow and Ambassador Jackie Wolcott to the United Against Nuclear Iran Advisory Board. Irwin, Kristen, Jackie, Michael and Alan bring a wealth of experience and expertise that will greatly advance UANI's bi-partisan effort to prevent a nuclear Iran." 

The Honorable Irwin Cotler

The Honorable Irwin Cotler is a Law Professor, Constitutional and Comparative Law Scholar, International Human Rights Lawyer, Counsel to prisoners of conscience, NGO Head, Public Intellectual, Community Leader and Peace Activist, Member of Parliament since 1999, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada - when, inter alia, he issued the first ever National Justice Initiative Against Racism and Hate. Professor Cotler is also Special Counsel to the Leader of the Opposition on Human Rights and International Justice, and is a distinguished academic and a prominent human rights lawyer, whose dedication to humanitarian causes has earned him the Order of Canada among many other awards - including nine honorary doctorates. He has written extensively on hate speech and the law.

The Honorable Michael Gerson

Mr. Gerson is a twice-weekly columnist for The Washington Post, writing about politics, global health and development, religion and foreign policy. He is the author of the book "Heroic Conservatism" and a contributor to Newsweek magazine. Mr. Gerson was a top aide to President George W. Bush as assistant to the president for policy and strategic planning. Prior to that appointment, he served in the White House as deputy assistant to the president and director of presidential speechwriting and assistant to the president for speechwriting and policy advisor.

Mr. Gerson serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the Holocaust Memorial Museum's Committee on Conscience, the Board of Directors of the Bread for the World, the Board of Directors of the International Rescue Committee and the Initiative for Global Development Leadership Council.

Mr. Gerson is a graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois. He grew up in the St. Louis area and now lives with his wife and sons in northern Virginia.

Ambassador Kristen Silverberg

Ambassador Kristen Silverberg recently served as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. From 2005 to 2008, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. She previously held a number of positions in the White House, including Deputy Assistant to the President and Advisor to the Chief of Staff.  In 2003, she served as a Senior Advisor to Ambassador L. Paul Bremer in Baghdad, Iraq.

Ambassador Silverberg formerly practiced law at Williams and Connolly, LLP in Washington, D.C. She was a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals.  She graduated from Harvard College and the University of Texas School of Law.   She has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader of 2009.  She received the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Public Service.

Alan Solow

Mr. Solow is a practicing attorney and a partner and Vice Chair of the Restructuring Group at DLA Piper LLP (US). His practice focuses on creditors' rights and bankruptcy. He is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and has been recognized as a leader in his profession in numerous ranking publications.

Alan Solow currently serves as Chairperson of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.  Mr. Solow is Chair of the Jewish Community Centers Association, Vice Chair of the World Confederation of Jewish Community Centers and a director for life of the Jewish Community Centers of Metropolitan Chicago. He was chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Chicago and has served in various leadership capacities in the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and Jewish United Fund. He is a member of the board of directors of the United Jewish Communities and of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and serves on the Public Policy Committee of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

Mr. Solow received his A.B., summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois in 1976 and his J. D. cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1979. Mr. Solow is married to Andrea Lavin Solow. Together they have three children and one grandchild.

Ambassador Jackie Wolcott

Ambassador Wolcott was appointed as Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation at the request of the Secretary of State in February 2008.  In this capacity she represented the United States with counterpart governments and U.S. industry to develop international cooperation that supports civil nuclear power expansion globally while reducing risks of nuclear proliferation, consistent with the Joint Declaration on Nuclear Energy and Nonproliferation announced by Presidents Bush and Putin in 2007.  Prior to this appointment, she served since February, 2006 as U.S. Ambassador to the UN Security Council handling the full range of international security issues before the Council.
  
Ms. Wolcott also was Ambassador and United States Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and as Special Representative of the President of the United States for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons from December 2003 through February of 2006.  In the latter capacity she had lead responsibility for U.S. participation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review process. Ambassador Wolcott was also accredited as U.S. Governor and head of delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors in Vienna for its September 2004 through June 2005 quarterly Board meetings.   
 
Prior to this, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs from 2001 to 2003, with broad responsibility for foreign policy development and multilateral negotiations within the United Nations system.  She also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in this same Bureau from 1990 to 1993.  Ambassador Wolcott served for more than 20 years in the federal government, including nine years on Capitol Hill (Senate and House). She held several additional positions relating to national security affairs, including Associate Director for National Security in the Office of Presidential Personnel, The White House; White House Liaison for the Department of State; and Special Assistant for Congressional Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State. 
 
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