Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on February 14, 2018

Daniel S. Mariaschin has spent nearly all of his professional life working on behalf of Jewish organizations.

As the chief executive officer and executive vice president of Bnai Brith International, he directs and supervises Bnai Brith programs, activities and staff countries around the world where Bnai Brith is organized. Mr. Mariaschin also serves as director of B'nai B'rith's Center for Human Rights and Public Policy (CHRPP). In that capacity, he presents Bnai Briths perspective to a variety of audiences, including Congress and the media, and coordinates the centers programs and policies on issues of concern to the Jewish community.

In the United States and abroad, Mr. Mariaschin has met with countless heads of state, prime ministers, foreign ministers, opposition leaders, influential members of the media and clerical leaders. Each time, his goal has been to advance human rights, help protect the rights of Jewish communities worldwide and promote better relations with the state of Israel.

Throughout his Bnai Brith career, Mr. Mariaschin has represented the organization as part of numerous influential delegations.

Mr. Mariaschin was a member of the U.S. delegation to the International Conference on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, and the B'nai B'rith delegation to the State Departments 1998 Washington Conference On Holocaust-Era Assets. He also initiated programs on Holocaust education for teachers with the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science.

In 2003 Mr. Mariaschin served as part of the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference on anti-Semitism in Vienna. He was also a public advisor to the U.S. delegation at the 2004 conference in Berlin, the 2005 conference in Cordoba, Spain, and the 2007 meeting in Bucharest, Romania. In 2009, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the Warsaw Human Dimension Implementation meeting of the OSCE.

Additionally, he participated in negotiations that achieved the transfer of torah scrolls from the Lithuanian government to Israel for distribution there and to Diaspora Jewish communities. He was a member of the International Advisory Committee of CEANA, the Argentinean commission studying that country's relations with the Nazi regime; served on the Commission on Property Restitution in Slovakia; and was a member of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania.

In recognition of his tireless work in Central and Eastern Europe, Mr. Mariaschin received the Cultural Pluralism Award from the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of Americas Heritage Abroad. He has also received state decorations from the presidents of Latvia, Lithuania and Romania, and the Golden Bough decoration from the Foreign Ministry of Bulgaria.

He began his professional Jewish life in 1973 as community relations associate for the Jewish Community Council of Boston. Two years later, he became director of the New England office of the American Zionist Federation and Zionist House in Boston.

In 1977, Mr. Mariaschin joined the Anti Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith as director of its Middle East Affairs Department. From 1979 to 1986, he served as assistant to ADL's national director, the late Nathan Perlmutter, and as director of its National Leadership division, responsible for ADL's nationwide program of leadership development.

He then became director of the Political Affairs Department of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), where he supervised political action activities and grassroots organization programs.

Prior to joining B'nai B'rith, Mr. Mariaschin served as director of communications and principal spokesman for former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig, Jr. during his 1987-88 presidential campaign.

Mr. Mariaschin has written numerous articles and reviews on foreign affairs and national security issues for such publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Times and Newsday, and appears frequently as a foreign affairs analyst on television and radio programs. He has lectured on foreign and defense affairs at the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service Institute, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and at other military installations across the country. He has also worked as a radio announcer and news commentator and has lectured widely in the U.S. and abroad.

Raised in Swanzey, New Hampshire, Mr. Mariaschin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of New Hampshire and his Master's degree in Contemporary Jewish Studies from Brandeis University. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of New Hampshire and received the American Jewish Communal Leadership Award from Brandeis University.

Olshan has been with B'nai B'rith since 1983. He first served as the director of the Senior Citizens Housing program, which he helped to expand from 12 buildings to more than 40 properties, located in over 25 communities throughout the country.

He holds a doctorate from the University of South Dakota, a master of arts degree from the University of California-Northridge, and a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

She is responsible for the administration of the B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund, which provides assistance to victims of natural and manmade disasters, and the Communities in Crisis project, which distributes medicines throughout Latin America.

Love has worked for B'nai B'rith since 1977, serving in several capacities, including associate executive vice president of former district one, which provides programming to B'nai B'rith groups in New York and New England.

Love received the B'nai B'rith Julius Bisno Award for Professional Excellence in 2002. She earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Queens College-C.U.N.Y. in 1977, and her master of arts degree in public administration from Baruch College. She works at the B'nai B'rith office in New York City.

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Senior Staff - B'nai B'rith International

Category: B'nai B'rith
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