Andrew Gounardes, New York State Senator, 26th Senate District
State Senator Andrew Gounardes represents New York’s 22nd State Senate District, which includes the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park, Red Hook, Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights, Vinegar Hill, and DUMBO. He was elected in November 2018.
Senator Gounardes is the Chair of the Committee on Budget and Revenue and a strong champion for working families across New York. He has written and passed key legislation to fight skyrocketing hospital costs, expand school zone speed cameras, and protect workers’ rights. Since his first term in the State Senate in 2019, Senator Gounardes has worked tirelessly for a better New York that is fair, affordable, and gives everyone an opportunity to thrive.
Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Senator Gounardes graduated from Fort Hamilton High School and earned degrees from Hunter College and the George Washington University Law School. Senator Gounardes’ passion for public service began as an aide to former City Councilmember Vincent Gentile. He later served as Counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for five years and a trustee of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, one of the largest municipal pension funds in the country.
Gary P. Jenkins, Managing Director of Not-for-Profits and Social Services, Oaktree Solutions
Gary was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams in January of 2022 as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS), which oversees both the Human Resources Administration (HRA) and Department of Homeless Services (DHS). In this capacity, he was responsible for leading the largest local social services agency in the country. HRA serves over 3 million New Yorkers through the administration of major public assistance programs and strives to combat poverty and income inequality in New York City. DHS is the largest municipal shelter system in the nation and works to prevent homelessness, when possible, address street homelessness, provide safe temporary shelter, and connect New Yorkers experiencing homelessness to suitable housing. Together, DSS-HRA-DHS have a combined staff headcount of nearly 15,000 and a combined operating budget of nearly $13 billion.
Gary’s 30-plus-year history with DSS-HRA-DHS began with a front-line position in HRA, where he rose through the ranks to become Administrator of HRA, eventually reaching the organization’s pinnacle when he was appointed to serve as Commissioner of DSS. During his tenure as Commissioner, he led the agency’s response to multiple crises, including the COVID-19 public health emergency and a humanitarian crisis when thousands of asylum seekers entered the DHS shelter system.
In addition to HRA Administrator, Jenkins previously served as HRA First Deputy Commissioner, where he oversaw HRA’s Homelessness Prevention Administration (HPA), Career Services, the Office of Child Support Services, and the Fair Fares program. Prior to that, he served as Executive Deputy Commissioner of the Family Independence Administration, where he was responsible for and oversaw the administration of temporary cash assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and employment services for HRA clients.
Gary received his master’s in public administration from Metropolitan College of New York in 2006 and his bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 1999.
He resides in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and three adult daughters
Carolyn Maloney, Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Leader in Residence at Roosevelt House
Former Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney has spent her entire career working to advance women’s rights. In 2014, Ms. Maloney suggested to Jessica Neuwirth that they should work together to create an organization dedicated to passing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which prompted Ms. Neuwirth to form the ERA Coalition. Ms. Maloney is thrilled to join as the Fund for Women’s Equality Chair as part of the ERA Coalition to focus on ensuring that the ERA becomes part of the Constitution.
First elected to city council 1982-1992, she created and chaired the contracts committee which oversaw a quarter of the city’s budget. She authored and passed many accountability and reform contract laws and what was called, at the time, the toughest and best campaign finance bill in the nation. For 30 years, Ms. Maloney represented parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Ms. Maloney was first elected to Congress in 1992 during the “Year of the Woman. She became the 13th woman in History to chair a congressional committee first serving as the chair of the Joint Economic Committee as well as the first woman to chair the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
During her tenure in Congress, Maloney authored and passed more than 80 measures, 12 of which had presidential bill signings which are reserved for the most historic and transformational pieces of legislation. Ms. Maloney passed a series of bills that secured health care and compensation for the 9/11 heroes and others harmed by the toxins released when the Twin Towers fell. She passed the Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights to protect consumers from abuses by financial institutions, saving them roughly $16 billion a year. She passed the Postal Reform Act to help the U.S. postal service become solvent. She passed the Never Again Education Act to expand Holocaust education across the United States. And she obtained roughly $10 billion in federal funding for major infrastructure projects such as the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access, the replacement of the Kosciuszko Bridge and repairs to the L Train.
Among the measures she was most proud to author and pass were bills designed to improve women’s lives, including legislation to expand Medicare to cover annual mammograms for women, to require colleges and universities to publicize information about their records on sexual violence, to encourage law enforcement to target those who patronize sex trafficking victims and to create the Smithsonian National Women’s Museum on the Washington Mall.. Ms. Maloney also secured passage of the nation’s first ever paid parental leave to care for newborn or newly adopted children. She then passed paid family and medical leave for all federal employees and continues to fight for paid leave for all Americans.
Ms. Maloney began her professional career as a teacher and administrator for New York City’s Board of Education and has recently returned to her teaching roots as a result of her appointment as an Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Leader in Residence through the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College CUNY.
Melva M. Miller, Executive Leader and Community Development Strategist
Melva M. Miller is an accomplished executive, recognized for her distinguished career in community economic development within both the public service and non-profit sectors. Melva’s experience as a senior executive is marked by her achievements in building community assets through public policy integration and forging strong alliances with elected officials, government agencies, grassroots organizations, and entities with shared interests. Her expertise lies not only in navigating the intricacies of community development but also in translating vision into impactful, realworld initiatives that shape positive change.
As the inaugural Chief Executive Officer at the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), Melva played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s trajectory. She not only directed its day-to-day operations, strategic initiatives, programmatic goals, and advocacy positions through strategic planning and implementation, she oversaw the combined $3.2 million budgets of ABNY’s 501(c)6 membership organization and The ABNY Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit. Melva first made her mark by leading the organization’s census effort where she created a broad and diverse coalition of partners to ensure that every New Yorker was fairly counted in the 2020 Census. As CEO, she continued to amplify the voices of New Yorkers throughout all five boroughs, ensuring that their concerns and aspirations were not only acknowledged but became integral to ABNY’s programmatic and advocacy efforts.
Melva’s transformative approach and visionary leadership was further highlighted by her efforts to grow the organization’s membership, expand the ABNY Women and Young Professionals networks, and launched the ABNY Talks and ABNY Chats programming, providing comprehensive platforms for diverse perspectives. Her commitment to inclusivity and community representation extended to refining ABNY’s grant-making process, resulting in grant recipients from every corner of New York City, showcasing her dedication to fostering equitable development across diverse communities. Additionally, Melva played a crucial role in diversifying ABNY’s boards, bringing in influential leaders from significant institutions, thereby ensuring the organization reflects the breadth and diversity of New York City.
Melva’s dynamic approach to executive leadership is underscored by a diverse skill set encompassing large-scale project and logistics management, land use planning and policy implementation, stakeholder engagement, grants management, neighborhood place-making, marketing and branding, MWBE and local hiring strategies, community coalition building, and strategic partnerships.
Before ABNY, Melva championed community economic development through her role as the founding Executive Director of the Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement District (BID). During her tenure, she created and administered programs that catalyzed economic revitalization along Sutphin Boulevard in downtown Jamaica, Queens. Her multifaceted approach included providing supplemental sanitation and security services, advocating for local small businesses, and implementing marketing strategies to boost economic development.
Melva’s public service journey led her to the Office of the Queens Borough President in 2007, where she initially served as a key advisor to small businesses throughout Queens. Her role expanded in 2008 when she was promoted to Director of Economic Development, overseeing a $13 million capital improvement program aimed at encouraging economic growth in commercial corridors throughout the borough. In 2015, Melva’s leadership was recognized with her appointment as Deputy Queens Borough President, where she served as second in command in the highest executive office in Queens County. In addition to this role, she continued as the Economic Development Director, creating and implementing borough-wide strategies for job creation and neighborhood economic development.
During her tenure at the Borough President’s Office, Melva’s crowning achievements include the creation of the Jamaica NOW Neighborhood Action Plan, a $153 million stakeholder-driven strategy aimed at bolstering quality employment and economic diversity in downtown Jamaica. She also spearheaded the Western Queens Tech Strategic Plan, a five-year initiative that produced a blueprint for the equitable growth of the Long Island City and Astoria tech ecosystem.
Melva Miller holds a Bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a Master’s degree in Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work, and a second Master’s degree in Philosophy from The Graduate Center at the City University of New York. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Social Welfare program at CUNY’s Graduate Center, Melva continues to be a trailblazer in community economic development, bridging academic insight with real-world impact.
Dr. Basil Smikle Jr., Distinguished Lecturer and Director of the Public Policy Program, Roosevelt House Institute for Public Policy
Dr. Basil Smikle Jr. is a Distinguished Lecturer and Director of the Public Policy Program and the Roosevelt House Institute for Public Policy at Hunter College. With over 15 years in higher education and 25 years of a career dedicated to public service, Basil regularly shares insights on electoral politics, governance, and public policy on national media outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg TV. Basil holds a PhD in Politics and Education and an MPA from Columbia University, and received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.
In the midst of racial unrest and a health care crisis brought on by the pandemic, Basil has become a leading voice on criminal justice reform, improved ballot access and against voter suppression. He moderated or joined discussions with national civil rights leaders, Members of Congress and local advocates to educate the public about opportunities to mobilize around the most pressing issues of the day. A direct result of his leadership on these issues, Basil helped design and co-teach a class at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs with New York State Attorney General Tish James entitled Rethinking Policing for the 21st Century.
From 2017-2019, Basil served as the Distinguished Lecturer of Politics and Public Policy at the City University of New York’s School of Labor and Urban Studies. Prior to that, he was appointed by former Governor David Paterson to serve as the Executive Director of the New York State Democratic Party where he was the “second highest ranking Democrat” in the State. Basil worked closely with elected officials and community leaders to manage electoral and fundraising strategies for the State. He recruited candidates for political office and worked closely with the Democratic National Committee to create grassroots mobilization programs and act as a Party surrogate during the 2016 cycle. Under Basil’s leadership, Democrats flipped county legislatures, and county-wide seats – laying the foundation for returning the State Senate to full Democratic control in 2018 and flipping three Congressional seats. He received awards from the Governor and from the New York State Comptroller for his commitment to public service and education equity.
Basil was a senior aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton on her Senate staff where he advised Senator Clinton on state-wide policy and politics. His work and collaboration had a substantial impact on the State of New York….Mrs. Clinton called Basil a “key advisor and tremendous public servant…who makes sure all voices are heard”
A life-long New Yorker and raised in the Bronx by Jamaican immigrants, he is inspired by his father, a retired textile worker, and mother, a long-time public school special education teacher.
Basil is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Prince Hall Free and Accepted Masons, and 100 Black Men of New York where he helped start the Eagle Academy in the Bronx which has grown to 6 schools in New York and New Jersey. He is also a founding Board Member of the Harlem Hebrew Academy Charter School and sits on the Board of the New York City Charter School Center, The Association to Better Children, and Pa’lante Harlem, a tenant and affordable housing advocacy organization.
