| When Ira Silverman was a teenager growing up on Long Island, NY, he wasn't sure what career path he wanted to take. All he did know was that he yearned to be in a creative field where he could utilize his quick mind, writing skills, and his desire to "help people."He never dreamed that his two main passions at the time sports and entertainment would turn out to be his life's work, as well as the path to reaching his humanitarian objectives.
"Being Creative" and "Making a Difference" always seemed to be the defining factors of everything Ira did right from the time he entered Syracuse University in the late 1960's. While at SU, Ira got involved in numerous campus activities and projects, including serving as President of Hillel freshman council and as a freshman advisor, writing for the school's daily newspaper and weekly news magazine,Coordinating ticket sales for off-campus concerts, getting involved in campus and state-wide elections and assisting the Orangemen's Sports Information Director at basketball games. Despite all of these extracurricular activities Ira still had time to earn dual BA degrees in Newspaper Journalism from the Newhouse School of Communications and in Political Science from the Maxwell School of citizenship.
Following graduation from SU, Ira earned a Master's Degree in Public Administration from American University in Washington ,DC, where he majored in Urban Affairs. While in DC, he helped launch Ralph Nadar's Public Interest Research Group ( PIRG), wrote a weekly college basketball column for the university newspaper and served as a graduate assistant to one of his professors.
From there, Ira's first job in the Public relations field was with M. Silver Associates in Manhattan, where he served as an Account Executive from 1974-78. He then he joined Padilla & Speer's NYC office as a Sr, AE; and then, in 1980, became a partner in the Taylor & Silverman Communications firm. In 1984, he opened the Silverman,Warren/Kremer agency; and in 1996,established the full-service Silverman Media & Marketing Group firm as the company's sole proprietor.
While Ira Silverman has become known throughout the industry as one of the most creative, inventive, resourceful and well-connected executives in the public relations, marketing, special events and celebrity representation fields, he also has been recognized for his integrity and honesty;his strong writing talents; his ability to integrate ideas, people and companies together for the mutual benefit of all parties; and his remarkable talent to get a job done expeditiously, in a first-class manner and within a set budget.
Because of his knowledge and communications skills, Ira has served as an Adjunct Professor in Sports Management in the Masters Program at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY and as a columnist for Long Island Golfer magazine. He also has volunteered countless hours of his "spare" time to serving as vice president of the New York City Board of Directors of the National Music Foundation, as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Nassau County (NY) chapter, as a member of the National Public Relations Advisory Board of Syracuse University and many other commitments.
In 2009, Ira has again joined the planning committee for Island Harvest's "Taste of the Harvest" fundraising event, has been asked to sit on the Board of Directors of the newly-formed Powerful Radio Foundation and has been invited to be a member of the Advisory Board for Teennewsnet.com
In addition, on the "giving backfront, Ira has been involved in countless other activities for non-profit, civic and educational organizations, including assisting in the launch of Jim and Jill Kelly's Hunter's Hope Foundation, the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, the Boomer Esiason Foundation, Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Foundation, the Tariq Abdul -Wahad Youth Foundation and Nicole Bobek's Touching the Heat-Raising The spirit Campaign; as well as working directly with Schneider Children's Hospital, Special Olympics, The Boys' Club of New York , Guvat Haviva Educational Foundation in Israel, numerous individual Boys & Girls Clubs around the U.S, the Association for the Help of Retarded Children, the Tourette Syndrome Foundation, Huntington Hospital, the Trey Whitfield School and many more.
"To me, being successful" both in business and in life has always meant being able to commit your time and resources to helping people by making a difference in their lives" ,Ira states. " If that definition is correct, then I think I've been very successful in my life."
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