Over the last month, Governor Kathy Hochul has announced several administration nominations and appointments. Some of the most notable include:
- Robert J. Rodriguez as Secretary of State – Robert Rodriguez most recently has served as Assemblyman for District 68 since 2010. While in the Assembly Rodriguez has been Co-Chair of the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reappointment, founding Chair of the Assembly Sub-Committee on Infrastructure, and he has been a Member of the Ways and Means, Housing, Labor, Baking, Corporations & Authorities, and Mental Health Committees. In the private sector, Assemblyman Rodriguez is a Director at Public Financial Management, and was previously Vice-President at A.C. Advisory, Inc. He has also held multiple management and operations roles at Bloomberg LP. Assembly Rodriguez has also served as Chairman of the Manhattan Community Board 11 and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.
- Kerri Neifeld as Commissioner for the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) – Most recently, Ms. Neifeld was Assistant Secretary for Human Services & Mental Hygiene in the Governor’s Office and Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) where she managed the Division of Shelter Oversight and Compliance. Prior to those positions, she was Special Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner at OTDA, and has worked as a Project Manager at the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties, a Child Protective Services Caseworker at the Albany County Department of Child and Family Services, and a Youth Care Worker at WAIT House Homeless Youth Shelter.
- Jeanette M. Moy as Commissioner of the Office of General Services (OGS) – Jeanette Moy most recently served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Public Health Solutions. Prior to this, she worked as COO at the Office of the New York Attorney General and Chief Strategy Officer at the Brooklyn Public Library. She has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor in the NYC Office of the Mayor.
- Hope Knight as Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development and President and CEO of Empire State Development – Most recently, Ms. Knight has served as President & CEO of Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC) since 2015. She also serves as a Commissioner on the New York City Planning Commission. Previously, she has worked as Chief Operating Officer of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, as Vice President at Morgan Stanley in the Institutional Equities Division, U.S., and Vice President of Strategic Planning and E-Commerce at Morgan Stanley, Japan. She also serves on various boards, including the Regional Plan Association as Vice Chair, TruFund Financial as Vice Chair, Grameen America, Morgan Stanley Community Development Advisory Board, East Harlem Tutorial Program, and Jack and Jill of America Foundation as Treasurer.
- Kevin Law as Director of the Urban Development Corporation and Chair of the UDC – Kevin Law is currently a Partner and Executive Vice President at Tritec Real Estate Development Company where he Chairs the firm’s Affordable Housing Team. For the past ten years, he has been the Co-Chair of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the Long Island Association (LIA), as President and CEO of the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), as Chief Deputy County Executive for Suffolk County, and as Managing Partner of Nixon Peabody LLP’s Long Island office. He is also the Chairman of the Stony Brook University Council, Chairman of the Long Island Housing Partnership, Chairman of Accelerate Long Island, and serves on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board.
- Lucy Lang as Inspector General of the State of New York – In 2006, Lucy Lang began her career as an Assistant DA in Manhattan, beginning in the Appeals Bureau and later moving to the Trial Division. During her career, she has also served as Special Counsel to the District Attorney, as well as Executive Director of the Manhattan D.A. Academy. Most recently, Lang served as Director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution (IIP).
- Rossana Rosado as Commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) – Ms. Rosado was most recently New York’s 67th Secretary of State. Prior to joining the Department of State (DOS) she was a highly-respected journalist, holding the positions of Editor-in-Chief and then Publisher & CEO of El DiarioLa Presna, the oldest Spanish-Language newspaper in the country.
- Nivardo Lopez as Deputy Secretary for Transportation – Most recently, Mr. Lopez served as Bronx Borough Commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), where he started as Director of Legislative Affairs in 2014. Before working at NYCDOT, Mr. Lopez worked for New York City Comptroller as Director of City Legislative Affairs. He has also worked for the Bloomberg Administration as the Bronx Director for the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit. At the start of his career, Mr. Lopez worked for the New York City Council, working for Councilman James Vacca and then as Legislative Policy Analyst for the City Council’s Committee on Transportation.
- Kate C. Harris as Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and Technology – Ms. Harris most recently served as Director of the Reimagine New York Commission. Previously she was Minority Counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. She also worked on domestic and international economic policy including access to credit for small businesses, smart financial regulation, consumer protection, global anti-corruption, and broadband technologies with President Obama’s administration. She was a member of the Policy Planning Staff ad the State Department under Secretary John Kerry and worked on the Treasury Department’s financial crisis response under Secretary Tim Geithner.
- Jihoon Kim, LMSW as Deputy Secretary for Human Services & Mental Hygiene – Previously, Mr. Kim served as Special Assistant to the Executive Deputy Commissioner at the Office of Mental Health (OMH), and he has served as Deputy Director of Policy for the Executive Chamber. He also worked for the Executive Chamber as Senior Policy Advisor for Human Services & Mental Hygiene. Before joining the Executive Chamber, Mr. Kim worked for the New York Attorney General as Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs.
- Terryl Brown to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) – Currently, Ms. Brown serves as Chief Legal Counsel, Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs and Administration for the Fire Department of New York City. Throughout her career, Ms. Brown has worked for two New York Governors and three New York Attorneys General, serving as Acting Counsel to the Governor and First Assistant Counsel to the Governor, and Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer to the Attorney General. She was also the first woman to serve as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the New York Power Authority.