New York ( CNN ) -- Jon Stewart , host of `` The Daily Show , '' was appointed to the board of directors of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum 's board of directors . New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg , the chairman of the board , introduced Stewart to the board during its quarterly meeting this week , according to a news release from the memorial and museum . Memorial President Joe Daniels explained why Stewart was an obvious choice . `` Jon Stewart is an incredibly important figure in today 's news media , but he 's also a New Yorker who felt -- as we all did -- the world changed in a matter of minutes on September 11 . `` Since then , he has taken a definitive stance on so many issues that relate directly to our organization 's mission of commemoration and education . '' Stewart garnered national attention after dedicating an entire broadcast of `` The Daily Show '' on Comedy Central to pushing for federal money to be used for health care of first responders at ground zero . President Obama signed the 9/11 health bill into law earlier this month . `` Jon loves New York as much as I do , '' Bloomberg said in news release . `` He understands how important the memorial and museum are , both to the city and the whole country . '' `` I 'm very humbled , '' Stewart told the New York Times . `` Luckily for me , it appears as if they 've done 95 percent of the hard labor on this . So I 'm hoping to help in any way I can offer . '' And he added , the Times said , , `` I 'm like their intern at this point . '' Victims ' family members , 9/11 survivors , business pioneers and leading philanthropists are also members of the now 48-member board . Other members who have careers in the entertainment industry include Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal . The memorial and museum will be located on eight of the 16 acres of the former World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan . The memorial is scheduled to open to the public on September 12 of this year and the museum on September 11 , 2012 .
Jon Stewart has been a strong supporter of the project and 9/11 causes . He dedicated a broadcast of `` The Daily Show '' to pushing for a bill for first responders . Mayor Bloomberg : `` He understands how important the memorial and museum are ''