Rosalie (Ricky) Gaull Silberman

Ricky Silberman (born 1937 – died February 18 2007) was a conservative American activist who co-founded the Independent Women's Forum together with Barbara Olson.

Biography

Born as Rosalie Gaull in Jackson, Michigan, Ricky Silberman graduated in government studies, with honors, from Smith College in 1958. She met her husband-to-be, future federal Judge Laurence H. Silberman, in 1955 at a college mixer during summer school at Harvard University.

Career

Silberman raised three children while the family lived in Hawaii during the 1960s, but she also worked as a teacher in suburban Washington before getting involved in politics and public affairs.

President Richard Nixon appointed her to the Presidential Commission for the Education of Disadvantaged Children, and she worked as a press secretary for U.S. Sen. Robert Packwood (R-Oregon). When the Silbermans moved to San Francisco in 1979, she did development work for the San Francisco Conservatory.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she served until 1995, rising to the positions of vice-chair and commissioner. From 1995 to 2000, she was executive director of the Office of Congressional Compliance, an independent authority established by Congress to oversee the new law requiring that Congress abide by many of the same workplace regulations that covered the rest of the nation.

In 2002, Rumsfeld appointed her to the Defense Department Advisory Commission on the Status of Women (DACOWITS), where she served as Boardmember, and, later, Chairperson Emeritus until her death five years later.

Death

Silberman died from complications from breast cancer on Sunday, February 18 2007 at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., aged 69. She is survived by her husband of 49 years; three children and eight grandchildren

External links

* [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2007/02/23/rosalie_silberman_69_conservative_activist "Boston Globe" obituary]
* [http://www.iwf.org/articles/article_detail.asp?ArticleID=1032 IWF tribute]
* [http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/display.php?weekof=2007-02-24#P5563 Obit @ Lifeinlegacy.com]