Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has employed leaders from all skill levels to serve in his transition committees in a list released on Nov. 24. Among the 400 New Yorkers who were appointed, 20 CUNY leaders were also selected and took their positions on the transition team, according to a press release.
CUNY leaders have made up these committees so far: the Committee on Community Safety, Committee on the Criminal Legal System, Committee on Economic Development & Workforce Development, Committee on Government Operations, Committee on Health and more.
CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodríguez has been appointed to serve on the Committee on Youth & Education.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Barbara Caress has been appointed into the Committee on Health.
Other CUNY faculties on one of these 17 transition committees include Celina Su in the Committee on Community Organizing, Maurice Vann in the Committee on Community Safety and Michael Jacobson in the Committee on the Criminal Legal System.
These newly appointed leaders will advise the mayor-elect on different issues New Yorkers face, which include rising housing costs, transportation, child care and economic development.
“Excellence is the guiding light driving this transition, and today’s committee appointees are no exception,” Transition Executive Director Elana Leopold told CBS News.
Each of the transition committees will be spearheaded by one of the four transition co-chairs: former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, President and CEO of United Way of New York City Grace Bonilla, former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer and President and CEO of The New York Foundling Melanie Hartzog. According to the press release, these co-chairs will guarantee that each committee delivers results that align with the administration’s goals.
In total, there are 17 committees, including the introduction of two new Worker Justice and Community Organizing committees, which “did not exist under previous mayoral transitions.”
“These two committees illustrate the administration’s commitment to honoring and building upon the movement of working class New Yorkers that delivered the Mayor-elect’s historic victory,” a press release from Mamdani’s transition team said.
These transition committees intend to help the Mamdani administration combat the current affordability crisis in New York City, with a focus on housing, healthcare and child care.
“Together, these leaders will help prepare Mayor-elect Mamdani’s administration to take on the city’s toughest challenges—from housing access to emergency preparedness to the day-to-day operations of city government that must be exceptional,” Leopold said in a press release. Appointed committee members will begin their list of duties Jan. 1, 2026.
