WTC Memorial Board Is Announced by Etta Sanders Corporate CEO's, cultural, civic and financial leaders, and seven victims' family members make up the board of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation charged with the job of raising a half-billion dollars for the memorial and two cultural facilities on the site. The 31 board members, announced on Dec. 1, include Disney chief executive Michael Eisner, Kenneth Chenault head of American Express, Agnes Gund, president emerita of the Museum of Modern Art and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Among the most well known names are David Rockefeller, Robert DeNiro and Barbara Walters. Governor George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will serve as honorary trustees. Last month Pataki announced that the four living former U.S. presidents, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton will act as honorary board members. "You probably won't find a board of any higher caliber any where in the city," Bloomberg said, "And that's really exactly what is called for, because there isn't a more noble task before us than to honor the 2,700 souls who lost their lives on Sept. 11." The board will meet next month to choose a head of the foundation. Until that time, John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), will serve as interim foundation head. The board will likely grow to 40 or 45 members, LMDC president Kevin Rampe said after the announcement, including at least one Lower Manhattan resident. The fundraising may begin with an expected donation from the LMDC, from remaining $800 million dollars in federal money earmarked for Lower Manhattan after Sept. 11, Rampe also said, but that amount is still to be determined. In addition to fundraising, the foundation will be the owner and operator of the memorial and cultural buildings. One board member, Lee Ielpi, whose firefighter son Jonathan died in the attacks, called the fundraising mission formidable, but not insurmountable. "The country has not forgotten what happened," Ielpi said, "Our job now is to promote a memorial and to be able to explain why we need the help of not just corporations but individuals." One of those individuals may be Bloomberg, who hinted at a contribution in his speech at the announcement. "As the Mayor of New York and also as a citizen of New York I plan to do my part to ensure these projects reach their full potential."