Promotes internal Council leaders, while adding experienced government professionals 

City Hall – Today, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne E. Adams announced new members of her senior staff leadership, naming seasoned government professionals to her team. In addition to adding staff with previous experience in the Council and New York government, Speaker Adams also promoted longtime internal staff members to new leadership positions. 

“It has been a priority for me to strengthen the essential work of the Council, enabling our legislature to be a strong co-equal branch of city government that delivers results for New Yorkers,” said Speaker Adrienne E. Adams. “This diverse group of effective leaders from within the Council, and with past Council and government experience, will help us advance the interests of New Yorkers in all 51 Council Districts of our city. I’m thrilled to recognize and elevate current Council staff leaders, who have been dedicated to serving this legislative body, our city and their colleagues. It is also exciting to bring extraordinarily talented and thoughtful public servants – who value our essential role and have contributed to its success over the years – onto my team and in many cases back to the Council.” 

Jeremy John has been named First Deputy Chief of Staff, helping to coordinate and lead senior staff in support of the Speaker, Council members and staff. He brings two decades of experience in government, organized labor, and public affairs. Jeremy joins the Council after serving as the Director of Political Action for District Council 37 (DC 37), New York City’s largest public employee union that represents 150,000 city employees and 50,000 retirees. He coordinated the municipal union’s legislative agenda, ensuring its members were represented at Council hearings on the City budget and a range of issues that affect them. Prior to his time at DC 37, Jeremy served as campaign manager for current New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s 2014 campaign. He also previously served in the roles of Director of Conference Services and Director of Operations for the New York State Senate, supporting senators and their staff to represent their districts. A Brooklyn native, Jeremy is a graduate of John Jay College (CUNY) and earned a master’s degree from Brooklyn College (CUNY). 

Carlos Beato has been named Special Counsel to the Speaker to provide legal and legislative counsel to the Speaker. Most recently, Carlos was a partner at Pitta LLP and a member of Pitta, Bishop & Del Giorno LLC, where he provided counsel in labor and employment law and litigation, including employee benefits litigation. He also engaged in direct government and legislative advocacy at all three levels of government on behalf of labor, corporate, not-for-profit and small business clients. From 2014 to 2019, Carlos served under previous New York City Council Speakers Mark-Viverito and Johnson, as the Director of the Office of State and Federal Affairs. He received his B.A. from Temple University and J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law. While at St. John’s, Carlos received an “Excellence for the Future Award” and participated in and coached the Hispanic National Bar Association’s National Moot Court Team. Carlos is a Queens native, a member of the New York State Bar, and fluent in Spanish. 

Tanisha Edwards will become Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff of Finance, leading the Council’s Finance Division. She has nearly two decades of government finance experience, most recently as the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer of the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF), the largest workers’ compensation insurer in the state and one of the top 10 largest workers’ compensation carriers in the nation with more than $19 billion in assets. Prior to her time at NYSIF, Tanisha served for more than three years as Assistant Counsel to the Governor for Taxation and Financial Services. In that role, she oversaw the legal affairs of the Department of Taxation and Finance, Department of Financial Services and NYSIF, while advising the executive branch on issues involving taxation, insurance, and banking. Before her state service, she spent 10 years at the New York City Council as Chief Counsel to the Finance Division and Finance Committee. Prior to her previous service at the City Council, Tanisha served as the Legislative Counsel at the Office of the New York City Comptroller. Tanisha was raised in Southeast Queens, earned a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law, and graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University after transferring from York College (CUNY). 

Faiza Ali will be promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff of Community Engagement, overseeing the Council’s Community Engagement Division and its efforts. She is an organizer, strategist and policy advocate, whose work has been dedicated to empowering communities of color across New York. Faiza has served in the City Council since 2014, first as a liaison and most recently as Director of the Community Engagement Division, focused on deepening relationships between the Council and communities across the city. She was the former Advocacy & Civic Engagement Director for the Arab American Association of NY, where she led campaigns on criminal justice, immigration reform, language access and policing. Faiza was one of the key leaders on the successful campaign to incorporate two high holy Muslim Holidays into the New York City public school system, making our city the largest school system in the nation to recognize the holidays of its Muslim students. In 2013, she co-founded the Muslim Democratic Club of NY, the first of its kind in the city, to mobilize community members to be more active in the political process. Faiza is Muslim American and the daughter of Pakistani immigrants. One of the first women from her family to attend college, she earned her B.A. from Pace University. 

Jeffrey Baker will be promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff of Legislation and Policy to oversee the Council’s legislative and policy efforts. He brings sixteen years of legislative experience at the New York City Council, working as a Committee Counsel, Deputy Director, and most recently, as the Director of the Legislative Division. Jeffrey has worked across many issue areas, including education, housing, public safety, environmental protection, disaster recovery, social safety net services, and sanitation. He graduated from the University of Utah and earned a J.D. and M.B.A. from the College of William and Mary. 

Andrea Vazquez will be promoted to Director of the Legislative Division, managing its day-to-day operations. She has been with the Council for nearly a decade, most recently serving as Deputy Director of the Human Services Division. Andrea previously worked as counsel to the City Council’s General Welfare Committee for five years, and later as Assistant Deputy Director. She earned a B.A. from NYU and a J.D from Fordham Law School, where she focused on civil legal services in the areas of domestic violence and consumer rights. Andrea lives in Brooklyn with her husband Patrick, six-month old daughter Francesca, and their cat, Larry. 

Charles “Chuck” Davis has been promoted to Director of the Administrative Services Division, overseeing and managing the Council’s annual budget and operations. He has served in the Council for over two decades, most recently as the Acting Director of Administrative Services. Previously, Chuck was Chief Compliance Officer for the Council and Director of the Appointment Investigations Division. Prior to that, he held numerous roles in the Appointment Investigations Division. Chuck is an adjunct lecturer at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY), and earned his B.S. and M.P.A. at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY).  

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