NYCHA’s Deputy Press Secretary Highlights the Rewards of Military Service
The NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) celebrated Veterans Day this year with a Veterans in City Government CityTalk Panel. The virtual event featured a panel of veterans who now work at City agencies such as NYCHA, ACS, DORIS, DOT, DoITT, FDNY, and DVS. The five inspiring panelists discussed their professional journeys, from enlisting in the Military to their current careers within City government.
NYCHA’s own Deputy Press Secretary Rochel Leah (Roxi) Goldblatt was among the esteemed group of speakers who have dedicated their lives to service, first as military personnel and then as civil servants.
The Las Vegas native enlisted in the United States Air Force at the age of 19 to make of her life what she envisioned it could be. As a Security Forces Senior Airman, her duties included guarding exit and entry points and airplane flight lines as well as overall base security and policing. Ms. Goldblatt was deployed twice throughout her service: to Kyrgyzstan in 2007 and then to Iraq in 2008.
“I absolutely think my time in the Air Force helped prepare me for my current position with NYCHA,” she said. “The skills and perspective that I developed while enlisted still serve as a framework for tackling difficult tasks in a fast-paced environment. I gained invaluable skill sets that ultimately allowed me to pursue the future I wanted for myself. I love my job now and, in hindsight, I can see that each step was necessary to achieve the next.”
Ms. Goldblatt eased back into civilian life, first spending two years on active reserve while attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) before fully ending her military service. At UNLV, she majored in journalism and media studies. After several journalism jobs later, and earning a post-graduate degree in international security, Roxi moved to New York, where she quickly fell in love with the energy and vibrancy of the city.
“I’ve lived all over this country and the world,” she noted. “From California to Nevada, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas, Germany, England, Australia, and Alaska, but nothing compares to New York. This city is my home, and I love being a part of what makes it tick.
“A lot of people depend on NYCHA’s services. I can think of no better way to give back to the city I love than working with the incredibly talented and dedicated people in NYCHA’s Department of Communications. Led by Chief Communications Officer Barbara Brancaccio, it’s a team effort. It’s truly one of the most supportive, smart, and hard-working teams I’ve ever been a part of…and that’s saying a lot.
“I think the skills that have proved most valuable in the transition from military to civilian life have been my communications skills and professionalism in any situation. In the military, you need to communicate in a variety of ways to a variety of people. As a military police officer, you need to be comfortable in any situation and able to talk to anybody, regardless of rank or position. As a former journalist and current press agent, I find myself leaning on those skills often to optimize my job performance.”
Roxi feels fortunate to be a part of NYCHA at the present time, in this time of transition. “The Authority is working to transform in innovative ways, and it is both fascinating and challenging to be on the ground floor as we work on ideas such as our recently introduced Blueprint for Change, which discusses how we can transform our business practices and service, raise much-needed capital, add to the City’s long-term economic recovery, and work toward achieving the goals set out in our 2019 HUD Agreement.”
In summing up the reasons she believes that veterans are vital to the workforce, Ms. Goldblatt quotes the Air Force motto: Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. “These are fantastic ideals for any employee, and they are deeply ingrained in those who have served in the military.”
