Jay Bernstein Elected President of The Washington Institute

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy today elected Jay Bernstein of Old Westbury, NY, and Palm Beach, FL, to be president of its Board of Directors.

Mr. Bernstein succeeds Shelly Kassen of Westport, CT, who will become the chairman of the organization’s Board of Trustees, a position currently held by James Schreiber of Greenwich, CT, who will become chairman emeritus.

“I am honored to have been elected to this position,” said Mr. Bernstein. “I look forward to devoting my term as president to helping the Institute continue its vital mission of providing U.S. policymakers with cutting-edge advice on Middle East policy, which is an especially difficult task at this time of profound uncertainty here and around the world.”

“We are delighted to congratulate Jay on his election," said Ms. Kassen and Mr. Schreiber. “With his proven commitment to the Institute and strong background in both business and foreign affairs, we are confident he will be an outstanding leader.” 

Mr. Bernstein has served since 1988 as chairman and CEO of NIC Holding Corp., a privately owned company that trades petroleum on futures exchanges and spot markets in the Atlantic basin. NIC owns and operates petroleum and pipeline distribution terminals on Long Island. It also built a 91-mile pipeline across Panama in 1981 in partnership with the government of Panama that has since shipped several billion barrels of crude oil.

Mr. Bernstein is a longstanding member of the Institute’s Board of Directors. He and his wife Jill support the Institute’s Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy. They were honored at the Institute’s 2017 Scholar-Statesman Award event in New York City for their outstanding support for the Institute and other non-profit organizations in the United States and abroad. They have three daughters.

About The Washington Institute: The Washington Institute is an independent, nonpartisan research institution funded exclusively by U.S. citizens that seeks to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them. Drawing on the research of its fellows and the experience of its policy practitioners, the Institute promotes informed debate and scholarly research on U.S. policy in the region.