NYU Wagner has Strong Presence in Mayor de Blasio's New Appointments

NYU Wagner congratulates one of our faculty members, two alumni, and a current student for their newly announced appointments to leadership positions in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration. Mayor de Blasio announced in a press conference on February 8 that Vicki Been, Shola Olatoye, Gary Rodney, and Mindy Tarlow will join his leadership team.

The Mayor announced the formation of a housing “dream team” focused on the preservation and development of affordable housing, and named Professor Vicki Been as the city’s Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development. Professor Been works at the cutting edge of legal scholarship in land use, urban policy, and housing, and is Director of New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, a joint initiative of NYU Wagner and the NYU School of Law. She is an Associated Professor of Public Policy and the Boxer Family Professor of Law, with her recent research examining the effects of widespread mortgage foreclosures on neighborhoods, families, and children, and the role of zoning and other regulations in shaping development patterns.

Mayor de Blasio also named Shola Olatoye (MPA, 2001) as Chair of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) – the nation’s largest public housing authority, overseeing 180,263 units throughout the city. Shola previously served as Vice President of the New York Market Leader for Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit organization that builds and preserves affordable housing for low-income residents. She was Vice President and Senior Community Development Manager at HSBC Bank, and Director of Community Outreach at the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.  

Gary Rodney (MPA, 1999) was appointed as Director of the Housing Development Corp (HDC). HDC finances the creation and preservation of affordable housing for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. Gary was the Executive Vice President for Development of Omni New York, which finances community-based affordable housing projects. He previously worked at the city’s Housing Development Corporation in the Bloomberg and Giuliani administrations.

NYU Wagner student Mindy S. Tarlow was recently appointed as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, where she is responsible for ensuring that City Hall is efficient, as well as fiscally and social responsible. While currently on leave from her studies, she remains enrolled in Wagner’s Executive MPA program and is on track to graduate in 2016. This past fall, she was a guest speaker in a Wagner course on Strategic Leadership. She has taught strategic management and managing public services organizations as an adjunct professor in the program.

NYU Wagner proudly congratulates Vicki, Shola, Gary, and Mindy, and is proud to be affiliated with these accomplished New York City public service leaders.