 When the Silbermans moved to San Francisco in 1979, she did development work for the San Francisco Conservatory.In 1984, President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she served until 1995, rising to the positions of vice-chair and commissioner.Her support of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas led to the formation of the Independent Women's Forum (IWF), which had its origins in 1991–92, when Mrs. Silberman, along with Barbara Olson and Anita Blair, among others, started an informal network of women who supported the Thomas nomination despite allegations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill, a former colleague at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.