Alan Albert Rubin

1934 - 2025

Alan Albert Rubin, a humanitarian activist who brought U.S. and Latin American citizens together to build understanding and economic advancement, died in his sleep at home in Newton, Mass., on Sunday, June 22, 2025, at age 91.

Rubin was genial, outgoing, caring and funny, collecting lifelong friends wherever he traveled and lived. These qualities made him well suited for a life of service as the first president of Partners of the Americas, the successor to President Kennedy's Alliance for Progress. His earlier career was in his family's shoe manufacturing company in Maine, Gardiner Shoe.

Rubin's mother started calling him 'Alan in Wonderland' when he left the family business and set off on a new path full of adventure, an opportunity that involved traveling widely through Latin America. Fifteen years later, the University of Maine awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in recognition of lifelong leadership in public diplomacy, international relations and the rights of the disabled. He attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and earned a B.A. at Tufts University. After college he served in the U.S. Army.

He was born February 5, 1934, in Cambridge, Mass., and grew up in Newton and Brookline. He lived in Lewiston, Maine, and Washington, D.C. before retiring to Del Mar, Calif., where he and his late wife Elisabeth (Farber) Rubin enjoyed daily walks on Torrey Pines State Beach and shared a love of Latin American culture, travel, reading, music and tennis. After Liz's death in 2015, Rubin returned to his roots in Massachusetts.

Later in his career, Rubin served as President of the National Park Foundation and was the founding Director of Goodwill Global, Inc., which expands economic opportunities and training for people with disabilities around the world. Rubin founded the International Leadership Development Institute at Colorado College; chaired the National Conference to organize U.S. participation in the United Nations' International Year for Disabled Persons, 1981; and chaired the U.S. State Department's national conference that launched the International Year of the Americas, 1987. He was a trustee of EARTH University in Costa Rica, Prescott College in Arizona, The National Organization on Disability, and vice chair of the International Community Foundation.

Rubin leaves two daughters, Emily Jennewein (Chris) and Sally Rubin (Arthur Applbaum), and two sets of twin grandchildren, Penelope Jennewein, Maddy Vellenga (Kelsey), Isaiah Applbaum and Emma Applbaum. He is also survived by a sister, Judith Bush (Philip) of West Lebanon, N.H. and many loving nieces and nephews. He was a son of Henriette and Joseph Rubin and the brother of Richard H. Rubin.

A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 1:00 p.m., at Lasell Village, 120 Seminary Avenue, Newton, Mass. In San Diego, Interment will follow on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, and Shivah Minyan following at the Jenneweins' home in Del Mar.

Donations in Alan Rubin's memory may be made to Partners of the Americas.