The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation today announced the formation of a Memorial Center Advisory Committee to guide the development of program elements and the curatorial mission of the Memorial Center at the World Trade Center site. The Advisory Committee includes historians, preservationists, curators, victims' family members, residents, survivors, and first responders. The Memorial Center will be integrated into the memorial/cultural complex and will tell the countless individual and collective stories of the terrorist attacks on February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001.

John C. Whitehead, Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, said, "The Memorial is the centerpiece of the World Trade Center rebuilding effort and the Memorial Center will be critical for future generations in providing a historical perspective of the tragedy of September 11th and to honor the innocent victims. The Advisory Committee will assist the LMDC in developing the Memorial Center, making it one of the finest institutions in the world."

LMDC President Kevin M. Rampe said, "The Memorial Center will help tell future generations the individual and collective stories of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001. The Center will tell the stories of lives taken, the greatest rescue effort in history, the Twin Towers and their destruction. The contribution of the Memorial Center Advisory Committee, made up of such distinguished individuals, will ensure the success of this process. We look forward to working with the Committee and thank all of the dedicated men and women who have agreed to give their time and share their experience to contribute to the vital work of shaping the Memorial Center."

The Memorial Center will focus on the events of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001 and will be an essential element in memorializing and honoring those who died. It will pay tribute to the many individuals who lost their lives in these horrific attacks and it will recognize the countless acts of heroism that emerged from the tragedy. These events may be related within a broader social, political or historical context which will evolve over time. Dynamic programming will include, among other particulars, the display and preservation of artifacts from the World Trade Center Site.

Virginia Bauer, a member of the LMDC Families Advisory Council, said, "I am privileged and honored to be offered the opportunity to serve on the Advisory Committee. I will take this position very seriously and look forward to working with the Committee and the LMDC in considering the content, program and guidelines for the Memorial Center that will help chronicle the tragic events and tell our loved one's stories. I welcome the suggestions and ideas of as many family members as possible as we move through this very important process."

Robert B. Tierney, Chair, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission said, "The New York City Landmarks Commission is empowered to protect and safeguard the City's historic, aesthetic and cultural heritage, and we are engaged constantly in examining and analyzing buildings and other objects to determine which elements and features should be preserved. Our mission is to insure that important tangible evidence of New York's history is preserved for present and future generations, and I am hopeful that the expertise and experience gained in that can be helpful in giving meaningful advice and counsel relating to the Memorial Center. I am personally honored to be asked to assist in this way, and look forward to working with all parties as we address these important and sensitive issues."

J. Max Bond Jr., Partner, Davis Brody Bond said, "In addition to the memorial itself, it is an important part of the healing process to have a place to explain and help us understand what took place in the past. The Memorial Center will provide the information, knowledge and place of reflection to look to the future."

The members of the Memorial Center Advisory Committee are: Chairman, New York State Council on the Arts

Virginia Bauer	Executive Director, NJ Lottery; Cantor Fitzgerald family member, (LMDC Families Advisory Council)
Gerry Bogacz	Survivor's Network
Michael Burke	Member 9/11 Advocates
J. Max Bond Jr.	Partner, Davis Brody Bond, Architect for the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum and Malcolm X Memorial, (LMDC Memorial Program Drafting Committee)
Paul Browne	NYPD, Deputy Commissioner, Public Information
Gordon Campbell	Secretary, 9/11 United Service Group; CEO, Safe Horizon
Salvatore Cassano	Chief of Operations, FDNY Bureau of Operations
Andrew Dolkart	James Marston Fitch Professor of Historic Preservation, Columbia University
Sharon Dunn	Senior Instructional Manager for the Arts, New York City Department of Education
Tom Eccles	Director and Curator, Public Art Fund, (LMDC Memorial Mission Statement Drafting Committee)
Mary Fetchet	Board, Coalition of 9/11 Families; Co-founder, Voices of September 11, (LMDC Families Advisory Council)
Tom Finkelpearl	(Downtown Resident), Executive Director, Queens Museum of Art
Raymond Gastil	Executive Director, Van Alen Institute, (Downtown Resident)
Kathy Gupta	(BPC Resident), Chief Administrator Development and Communications, Henry Street Settlement
David Harvey	Vice President for Exhibition, American Museum of Natural History
Kenneth Jackson	Professor of History and the Social Sciences, Columbia University; President and CEO, New York Historical Society
Meredith J. Kane	Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Member, NYC Landmarks Commission; Resident, (LMDC Memorial Mission Drafting Committee)
David Lim	New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police Department K-9 Division
Kenneth Lustbader	Preservation Consultant, Lower Manhattan Emergency Preservation Fund
Michael Macko	1993 family member, (LMDC Families Advisory Committee)
Tom Mellins	Author and Architectural Historian; Curator, "Twin Towers Remembered" Exhibition
Tom Roger	Board, Families of September 11, Inc (LMDC Families Advisory Council)
Richard J. Schwartz
Nanette Smith	Chief of Staff to Deputy Mayor for Administration
David Stanke	(Financial District Resident), World Trade Center Residents Coalition
Nikki Stern	Executive Director, Families of September 11, Inc (Family Advisory Council)
John Kuo Wei Tchen	Director & Historian, Asian/Pacific/American Program & Institute, NYU
Robert B. Tierney	Chair, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

The resource group will provide insight and hands-on experience to the Committee. Members of the resource group include:

Sara Bloomfield	Director, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Ric Burns	Historian/ Filmmaker, President Steeplechase Productions
Sarah Henry	Deputy Director of Programs, the Museum of the City of New York
Robert Kuhn	State Archeologist for Government and Public Policy, NY Historic Preservation Office
Jan Seidler Ramirez	Director, Museum Division, New York Historical Society
Mark Schaming	Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs, New York State Museum
Lowery Stokes Sims	Director, The Studio Museum of Harlem (LMDC Memorial Competition Juror)

The meetings will be facilitated by Todd Jick from Center for Executive Development (CED).

The Committee will assist the LMDC Board's Memorial Working Group, Paul Crotty, Christy Ferer, Tom Johnson, Stanley Shuman, and Madelyn Wils. Through a series of facilitated meetings, the Advisory Committee will produce a set of recommendations related to the Memorial Center that will be submitted to the public for review and comment. The recommendations will relate to the curatorial mission and possible program elements of the Memorial Center. A particular area of focus will be to assist LMDC in the review of comments and suggestions from the public with respect to the installation or display of the artifacts from the World Trade Center Site.

Additional information about the LMDC and the Memorial and Cultural program is available at www.RenewNYC.com.