Say Hello: Get to Know NYCHA Leadership
Q: What are your job responsibilities?
A: In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the Chair’s office, I support the planning and implementation of policies and directives; communicate with NYCHA departments on agency initiatives; and serve as a liaison to the Authority’s many external partners.
Q: You worked in several key positions for the City Council and before that in political organizing for campaigns. What sparked your strong interest in government?
A: My father’s parents were Holocaust survivors and my mother’s parents, who are Chinese, escaped China to Trinidad and Tobago as the Japanese invaded during WWII. The persecution and challenges my grandparents faced and overcame instilled a strong sense of social justice in my upbringing and led me to pursue public service.
Q: What are some of your impressions of NYCHA staff?
A: I am impressed by our staff and their commitment to NYCHA’s social mission. What people do here, individually and collectively, is not appreciated enough by some city officials and most New Yorkers. NYCHA faces some huge challenges, but at the same time we have a tremendous amount of talent.
Q: How was your work in the City Council different from working at NYCHA?
A: Working as policy director at the City Council, I took more of a bird’s-eye view of how the city and its agencies operated. I now have to take a much closer look at policies and procedures and think about how they will be operationalized. The challenge here is to foresee the real implications and practical effects of implementing a new policy.
Q: What part of your City Council experience is most helpful here?
A: Similar to my work at the City Council, I am working here to bring stakeholders with diverse concerns together to build momentum around new policies and priorities. I am also working, as I did at the Council, to gain government support for different initiatives and goals. A lot of this now pertains to NextGeneration NYCHA, where we are building a sense of common cause among internal and external stakeholders.
