Alan Solow

Last updated
Alan Solow
Education University of Illinois (AB Pol Sci-summa cum laude)
Harvard Law School (J.D.-cum laude)
Occupation(s)public affairs consultant
political advisor
Known forGrover Strategies LLC (founder)
Movement2012 Obama-Biden re-election campaign (national co-chair)
2003 Barack Obama's Illinois Senate campaign (finance committee)

Alan P. Solow, founder of Grover Strategies LLC, is a public affairs consultant, political advisor, not-for-profit activist and former lawyer. He is a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations [1] and was a national co-chair of the successful 2012 Obama-Biden re-election campaign. [2]

Contents

Professional career

Solow practiced law full-time until April 1, 2016, when he transitioned into public affairs advisory work and joined Resolute Consulting. [3] At Resolute, he provided advice to clients, focusing on government relations-based strategy. He specializes in infrastructure and technology projects and also works on communications issues.

Prior to joining Resolute, he was a principal at the Chicago law firm Goldberg Kohn and was a partner at the international law firm, DLA Piper, LLC. [4] Solow began his career as a litigator, but practiced bankruptcy law for over 30 years. He was elected by his peers as a Fellow in the prestigious AmericaCollege of Bankruptcy and was a Co-Editor of several editions of the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education's Bankruptcy Practice handbook. [5]

Community leadership

From January 2009 through May 2011, Solow served as Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, through which he met with the leaders of dozens of countries and traveled the world. Solow previously served as Chairman of JCC Association of North America between 2006 and 2010. [6] He was the chairman of Chicago's Jewish Community Relations Council from 2004 to 2006. [7] He served as President of the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago between 1995 and 1997 and was President of Young Men's Jewish Council from 1986 to 1987. He served many terms on the board of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, including on its executive committee. [8] He also served as a Trustee of the Jewish Federations of North America and was a Director of Sinai Health Systems. [9]

Solow currently is Chairman of Interfaith Youth Core, [10] a national organization promoting interfaith dialogue and service projects on college campuses. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Truman National Security Project, [11] and serves on the boards of the Jewish People's Policy Institute and Israel Policy Forum, for which he also is a member of the executive committee. [12]

Solow is a recipient of many awards for his work, including the American Jewish Committee's Learned Hand Award [13] and JCC Association's Weil Award [14] for outstanding contributions to the field.

Political engagement

Solow has been an advisor to and activist on behalf of many politicians. In 2003, he served on the finance committee for Barack Obama's Illinois Senate campaign. [15] He subsequently accompanied Senator Obama on his first trip to Israel in 2006. [16] Solow was a charter member of Obama's National Finance Committees for the 2008 [17] and 2012 [18] presidential campaigns and was a national co-chair in 2012. He also served as a surrogate for the candidate in both presidential elections.

Solow has been a frequent White House visitor and an advisor to President Obama and his team on Middle East policy. He was deeply involved in defending the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran [19] and wrote a widely published opinion piece defending President Obama. [20]

He was an official member of the United States delegation to the funeral of Shimon Peres and accompanied President Obama on Air Force One. [21] Solow was recognized as the eleventh most influential Jew in the world by the Jerusalem Post. [22]

Biography

Solow graduated summa cum laude in 1976 from the University of Illinois, with highest distinction in Political Science. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1979. While at Harvard, Solow served as President of the Harvard Law School Forum. At the University of Illinois, he was a Charles Merriam Scholar, as the outstanding undergraduate student in the Political Science Department, and was the founder and first president of the Orange Krush, the basketball team's official fan group and philanthropic organization.

Solow was married at 20 years old to his wife and had children shortly after. His first son was born in 1979 and his second son was born in 1983.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Alan Solow". Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. 2013-08-08. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  2. ↑ "Obama campaign announces co-chairs". Politico. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  3. ↑ "Nationally Recognized Attorney Alan Solow Joins Resolute Consulting". Resolute Consulting. Archived from the original on 2016-11-03. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  4. ↑ "Alan Solow, DLA Piper LLP: Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  5. ↑ "Directory | American College of Bankruptcy". www.americancollegeofbankruptcy.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  6. ↑ "Community Leaders Honored for Their Work at Biennial - JCC Association". JCC Association. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  7. ↑ "JUF News : New leadership for JCRC". JUF News. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  8. ↑ "Jewish Federation Past Presidents and Chairmen" (PDF).
  9. ↑ "JUF News : Sinai Health System receives McCormick Foundation grant". JUF News. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  10. ↑ "About IFYC". IFYC. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  11. ↑ "Board Leadership and Staff | Truman Center". trumancenter.org. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  12. ↑ "Leadership | Israel Policy Forum". www.ipforum.org. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  13. ↑ "JUF News : New chairman brings knowledge of the world, vision to JCRC post". JUF News. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  14. ↑ "Community Leaders Honored for Their Work at Biennial - JCC Association". JCC Association. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  15. ↑ "Illinois Senate Candidates Eyeing State's Jewish Voters". The Forward. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  16. ↑ "The Go-Between - Tablet Magazine – Jewish News and Politics, Jewish Arts and Culture, Jewish Life and Religion". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  17. ↑ "Meet Obama's bundlers". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  18. ↑ "Obama's Top Fund-Raisers". The New York Times . Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  19. ↑ "Obama team scrambles for Illinois Dems' votes on Iran deal". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  20. ↑ "Op-Ed: Obama is 'dog whistling' about Jews? Ridiculous". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  21. ↑ "President Obama Announces Presidential Delegation to the State of Israel to Attend the State Funeral of Former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres". White House. 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2016-11-01– via National Archives.
  22. ↑ "World's 50 most influential Jews". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.

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