Jason Aldofo Otaño, General Counsel for the New York City Council.
Jason Adolfo Otaño, the General Counsel for the New York City Council, was born to Puerto Rican parents and grew up in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn. Otaño’s father was a City firefighter for 28 years, his mother a paraprofessional for the Department of Education, and his uncle a captain for the Department of Corrections. (read more…)
Lynn Kelly. Image credit: New Yorkers for Parks.
New York City holds a special place in Lynn Kelly’s life. Ms. Kelly grew up in Old Town, Staten Island, has resided in Brooklyn’s Park Slope and now in Gowanus, and attended New York University in Greenwich Village. In reflecting on her life and career, Ms. Kelly said that “New York City has been the one thread through everything.” Ms. Kelly has dedicated her career to improving the City one job at a time. Currently, Ms. Kelly serves as the Executive Director at New Yorkers for Parks, an independent advocacy organization championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all City neighborhoods. (read more…)
Councilmember Donovan Richards. Image credit: William Alatriste/NYC Council
Donovan Richards was elected to the City Council from the 31st District in February 2013. When you speak with City Council member Donovan Richards, two things become readily apparent: an encyclopedic knowledge of the needs of his Southeast Queens Council district and the drive to pursue solutions for each of those needs simultaneously.
Department of Probation Commissioner Ana Bermudez. Image credit: NYC Department of Probation
Ana Bermudez was named DOP Commissioner in April 2014. Born in the Guaynabo suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Bermudez grew up with her mother’s commitment to social justice and a belief that humans have a responsibility to care for each other. Bermudez left Puerto Rico in 1982 to attend college at Brown University and later Yale Law School. Originally intending to become a hospital administrator, Bermudez quickly found a passion for trial work through Yale’s public interest clinics, specifically representing children and teenagers in family court.
After graduating Yale in 1992, Bermudez first worked for the Legal Aid Society, but felt “something was missing for me” with the legal process as it was. An open position at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services finding an alternative to family court for juveniles proved to be the missing piece for Bermudez. “A lawyer by profession but a teacher by vocation” in her words, Bermudez worked at CASES for ten years before moving on to Children’s Aid Society, eventually joining the Department of Probation as Deputy Commissioner for Juvenile Operations in 2010.
Wayne Hawley. Image credit: NYC Conflicts of Interest Board
Wayne Hawley has served with the Conflicts of Interest Board since 1999. Born in California, Hawley grew up in a military family and moved frequently, completing high school in Virginia before returning to California as an undergrad at Claremont McKenna College. He relocated to the East Coast again for Yale Law School, then in his words, “followed the bouncing ball” back to Los Angeles for two years of private practice. Hawley crossed the country again to work as staff counsel to the Cleveland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, finally arriving in New York City as executive director of MFY Legal Services in 1985. He held that position until joining the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board in 1999.
In a Reader
