Silberstein Family Annual Lecture on Refugee and Migration Policy

This endowed annual lecture was established in 2019 through a generous gift from Alan M. Silberstein and the Silberstein family. The lecture provides CFR with an annual forum to explore emerging challenges in refugee and migration policy in the United States and around the world.

Alan M. Silberstein

Alan Silberstein is an advisor in retail financial services. He served as the chief executive officer of Western Union and as a senior executive at Travelers Insurance, PNC Financial, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Previously, he worked in the New York City administration of Mayor John Lindsay and at the Ford Motor Company. Silberstein serves on a number of nonprofit boards, including the Forward Association and Tel Aviv University. He received a BS in engineering from Columbia University in 1969 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1972. He has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations since 2001.

Silberstein was born a “stateless displaced person” in Munich, Germany, to Leon and Rose Silberstein, Polish Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. They immigrated to the United States when he was an infant, with the help of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the sponsorship of a distant relative. As a naturalized American citizen, Silberstein is grateful for his freedom and for his opportunities. He is anxious to keep the door open for others.