Press Release - The International Freedom Center

October, 2004

Assistant Publisher of The Wall Street Journal Appointed President of the International Freedom Center

Richard J. Tofel, the assistant publisher of The Wall Street Journal, was named today as the president of the International Freedom Center, a new cultural center planned for the World Trade Center site.

The appointment was announced by Tom A. Bernstein, chairman and co-founder of the International Freedom Center, which will be a world-class institution dedicated to humankind’s quest for freedom.

“Dick Tofel is the ideal choice to help lead the International Freedom Center. He has the skills and experience necessary to help ensure that this institution becomes a reality,” Mr. Bernstein said. “Dick shares our commitment to creating an institution that will leave a powerful legacy to our children and future generations.”

“Like many people, for the last three years, I’ve been looking for a way to meaningfully participate in the principal struggle of our age,” Mr. Tofel said. “The International Freedom Center will serve as a powerful forum for courage, and a museum of conscience on behalf of individual freedom, free societies and freedom around the world.”

As the day to day executive charged with the development and eventual operations of the International Freedom Center, Mr. Tofel’s duties will include: raising funds for the development of the Center and coordinating the planning and construction of the Center at Fulton and Greenwich Streets. In addition, he will direct the Center’s staff and serve as a liaison with the Center’s key constituencies, including the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and other government agencies, 9/11 families, the Center’s Committee of Scholars and Advisors, and other Historic Site Museums of Conscience.

Mr. Tofel will report to Mr. Bernstein and the Center’s Board of Directors. He will work closely with Peter Kunhardt, co-founder and creative director of the Center. Mr. Kunhardt also reports to Mr. Bernstein. In addition to Mr. Bernstein, the directors of the Center include Paula Grant Berry of the Families Advisory Council; Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; and Daniel Tishman, president of the Tishman Construction Company.

Mr. Tofel has served as a vice president of the Dow Jones & Company since 1997 and as the assistant publisher of The Wall Street Journal since July 2002. In the latter capacity, the Journal’s international editions reported to him. He has also been a director on the joint venture boards of SmartMoney and Vedomosti, the leading Russian business newspaper. His earlier roles at Dow Jones included vice president of corporate communications, assistant general counsel and assistant managing editor of the Journal.

A native New Yorker, Mr. Tofel’s previous public service included stints during the administration of New York City Mayor Edward Koch as executive director of the Beattie Commission on reorganizing the Human Resources Administration and as a member of the Liman Commission investigating the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Mr. Tofel earned a bachelor’s degree, a law degree and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University. He is the author of two books, “A Legend in the Making: The New York Yankees in 1939” and “Vanishing Point: The Disappearance of Judge Crater, and the New York He Left Behind.” Mr. Tofel, 47, and his wife, Jeanne Straus, have a son and daughter.

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