Dr. Michael Silverstein was appointed as the Assistant Director for Industrial Safety and Health at L&I. In this capacity he leads the Department's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) with responsibility for managing the state's OSHA program. Dr. Silverstein returned to L&I on October 5, 2009, having worked in a similar position with L&I from 1997 to 2005 before spending 4 years away from state government as a Clinical Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Washington School of Public Health and a private consultant.

Prior to these positions Dr. Silverstein worked for the Washington State Department of Health as State Health Officer and Epidemiologist and spent two years in Washington, D.C. as Director of Policy for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. For 15 years before this he was Assistant Director for Occupational Health and Safety with the United Automobile Workers Union in Detroit, Michigan.

Dr. Silverstein has practiced family and occupational medicine in Michigan and California. He has degrees from Harvard University, Stanford Medical School and the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He is board certified as a specialist in occupational medicine. Dr. Silverstein has served on several Institute of Medicine panels, including those addressing the safety and health of older workers, the protection of youth at work, hearing loss prevention and the medicine of extreme environments.

Dr. Silverstein has been an active member of several professional associations including the American Public Health Association, where he served as the Chairman of the occupational safety and health section, and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, where he is a member of the Ethics Committee. He has authored numerous scientific research and policy articles, including recent publications on the regulatory process, the future of OSHA, and asbestos cancer risk assessment.

Dr. Silverstein is an active member of the Olympia Mountaineers and in addition to his love of hiking and alpine scrambling he is an avid fan of jazz and opera. He and his wife Barbara have one son, Jeremy, and live in Olympia with their dog, Rhody.