As Executive Director of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC), Elizabeth Silkes guides the strategic growth and direction of a thriving coalition of over 350 museums, historic sites, and memory initiatives in 65 countries. Committed to using memory to advance truth and justice around the world, ICSC builds the capacity of these vital institutions through grants, networking, training, transitional justice mechanisms, and advocacy. While members and partners remember a variety of histories and come from a wide range of settings – including long-standing democracies, countries struggling with legacies of violence, as well as post-conflict contexts just beginning to address their transitional justice needs – they are all united by their common commitment to use the lessons of the past to find innovative solutions to related social justice issues today.

Prior to joining ICSC, Liz served as CEO of Cinereach, a foundation supporting film and media projects focused on social change, and as Executive Director of FilmAid International, a humanitarian relief organization using film and video to address the needs of refugees and other displaced communities. Prior to joining FilmAid, she led the major gifts program at Amnesty International USA to record growth while advocating for human rights in the U.S. and abroad. Her extensive experience with community-based media projects gives her a unique perspective on the power of the personal story to engage broad audiences in moving from past to present and memory to action. As a featured speaker at conferences and workshops around the world, Liz has addressed issues ranging from psycho-social relief initiatives in displaced communities to the role of memory in building civic engagement in emerging democracies and post-conflict settings. She has served on the board of ICOM-US, the U.S. National Committee of the International Council of Museums; is a member of the Law Advisory Council for the Fetzer Institute; and serves as an International Advisor to the Accounts of the Conflict project at the University of Ulster INCORE and as an International Advisor to UNESCO and the World Heritage Programme.