Douglas W. Shorenstein

Douglas W. Shorenstein (February 10, 1955 – November 24, 2015) was a San Francisco-based real estate developer and former chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Early life and education Shorenstein was one of three children born, in San Francisco, California, on February 10, 1955, to real estate developer Walter Shorenstein and Phyllis Finley. His father was born Jewish and his mother underwent conversion to Judaism. He had two sisters: Broadway producer Carole Shorenstein Hays and CBS news producer and The Washington Post journalist Joan Shorenstein (who died of cancer in 1985). He graduated with a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and with a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Career In 1980, he moved to New York City where he worked for three years in the real estate department of the law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP. Under his tutelage, he transitioned the company from a traditional local based real estate developer to a national real estate investment company By 2006, Shorenstein Properties was the 20th largest owner of office buildings in the United States.

In 1991, Shorenstein Properties started its first closed-end fund tasked with making real estate investments nationally and requiring a minimum $25 million investment and a 20-year commitment. After the death of his father, he bought out his sister's interest and shifted the company to a pure fund platform with each fund typically being composed of 10-15% of his own money.

In 2007, he was appointed to the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; in 2010, he was elevated to deputy chairman; and in 2011, he was appointed chairman.

Philanthropy and board memberships Shorenstein served on the board the Environmental Defense Fund; the executive council of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center; the executive committee of The Real Estate Roundtable; and Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government (named in honor of his late sister).

Personal life Shorenstein was married to Lydia Preisler; they had 3 children: a son, Brandon, and two daughters, Sandra and Danielle. He was a practitioner of yoga and was a collector of Southeast Asian and Nepalese art with an emphasis on Khmer and Cambodian pieces. Shorenstein died due to cancer on November 24, 2015.