Queens.
Born and Raised.

We need to demand a new relationship between government and its citizens. The social contract is broken, and I am running to work on changing that.

I was born in Queens and raised by Italian immigrant parents. My roots in the community go back to 1959, when my dad, my grandparents, and my six aunts and uncles settled in Astoria.

My father was a small business owner and community leader. He taught me what it takes to overcome obstacles, and instilled in me lifelong beliefs in the value of education, a strong work ethic, and building a strong community.

A Little About Me

I feel so fortunate to have lived in the Boulevard Gardens for the last 12 years. It is a beautiful model of what a supportive community should be. My pastimes include martial arts, playing the guitar and listening to my beloved New York Mets on the radio. I draw my inspiration from people, especially from the love of my big Italian family, and from my faith. My own personal joy and purpose comes from serving others and helping people reach their fullest potential.

A Career of Service

I pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Marketing at New York University, graduating Cum Laude. Eager to provide others with similar opportunities, I was a Co-Founder of a media-themed high school that continues to provide real world learning, internships and mentoring services to over 425 public school students. 

Throughout my career I continued to dedicate efforts towards closing the opportunity gap for low-income youth. I returned to school and earned a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where my focus was policy and management. At Columbia, I was elected School Treasurer and upon graduation I served as an Executive Board Member of the Alumni Association. 

I continued my work in education as the Chief Program Officer at Sweat Equity Education, an innovative “project-based” learning program, that helped underserved youth become engaged and complete high school while learning the skills they needed for success at college or career. We took this program from a pilot program to school districts in three states and internationally to Brazil. Our work also included the development of a scalable technical assistance model to help schools implement new education practices and integrate new technologies.

To better understand how the government affects change, I joined the New York City Department of Education’s Office of Innovation as a Program Director of a federally-funded innovation grant. At this role, I managed the expansion of program sites, managed program evaluation, and oversaw contracts, purchasing and vendors. Additionally, the role required reporting project progress internally and managing relationship with the U.S. Department of Education.

My Commitment to You

This campaign will be built on “Putting Community First” by investing in what matters – supporting schools to give young people the skills they’ll need to succeed, providing viable transit options to get to and from work and family, championing small businesses so they prosper and grow as anchors in our community, and providing services for our seniors so they can live with dignity and continue to share their wisdom.