Governor Hochul Announces Administration Appointments, Nominations and Recommendations

 

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced new appointments, nominations and recommendations to her administration.

"There's no doubt that New York faces enormous challenges, and it's absolutely vital that we attract the best and brightest minds to govern our state and fight for our people," Governor Hochul said. "These individuals will fill important roles and help our administration shore up its responses to a host of critical challenges, from protecting New Yorkers during emergencies to regulating the state's financial system."

Jeanette M. Moy will be nominated as Commissioner of the Office of General Services (OGS). She most recently served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Public Health Solutions, an organization committed to reducing health inequities across New York City. In this role, she oversaw PHS' Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities and Real Estate Management, and Contracting and Management Services teams. Previously, Ms. Moy served as COO at the Office of the New York Attorney General, overseeing its business operations with a $225 million budget and 1,800 employees across 33 locations, and enterprise-wide modernization program. Ms. Moy served as the first Chief Strategy Officer at the Brooklyn Public Library, driving its mission-critical strategic initiatives to deliver innovative services, generate revenue and improve operations. She served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor in the NYC Office of the Mayor, focused on customer service strategies, technology, and innovation. Prior to her time in public service, she worked at management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and health insurance company Anthem. Ms. Moy received her BA in Political Science and MS in Management from the University of Rochester. Ms. Moy will serve as Acting Commissioner until confirmation by the Senate.

Maria Imperial will be nominated as Commissioner of the Division of Human Rights (DHR). Most recently, Ms. Imperial served as the CEO of the YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester, whose mission is eliminating racism and empowering women. Under Ms. Imperial's leadership, the YWCA completed a $26 million green renovation of its Residence, a $4 million bond refinancing of its North St. Activity Center, re-aligned the organization's programs to better reflect its mission, including the creation the Center for Racial Equity opening April 2021. Ms. Imperial has been recognized by Westchester 914 as a 2018 Women in Business Awardee and received Fordham Law School's Feerick Center for Social Justice Champion of Justice Award, the Westchester Human Rights Commission Award for promoting human rights in the County and also the Westchester Community Opportunity Program (WESTCOP) Community Service Award. She serves on the Board of Directors of Nonprofit Westchester, and the Advisory Board for the Women in the Courts Committee for the Ninth Judicial District. Ms. Imperial began her career working as an associate at O'Melveny and Myers law firm. She is a graduate of Harvard University, the Robert Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Harvard Law School. Ms. Imperial will serve as Acting Commissioner until confirmation by the Senate.

Jackie Bray will be nominated as Commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES). She joins the HochulAdministration after coordinating hospital surge capacity during the height of COVID for New York City, serving as the Deputy Executive Director of NYC Test and Trace Corps, and a senior advisor for the City's vaccination campaign. She previously served as the inaugural Director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants where she built a new office from the ground up focused on tenants' rights and protecting the City's 2 million renter households. Prior to that, she served as the First Deputy Commissioner at the New York City Department of Homeless Services, the nation's largest and most comprehensive homeless system, where she oversaw day to day operations and implementation of the City's Turning the Tide on Homelessness Plan. Before joining NYC government, Ms. Bray served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Chief of Staff at the National Weather Service. There she focused on stabilizing the nations' weather satellite programs, implementing the Weather Service's vision to provide quality decision support services to States and localities, and developing climate adaptation policy. She is an alumna of the University of Michigan and has a Masters of Public Health from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Ms. Bray is passionate about public sector change management and making bureaucracies work. Ms. Bray will serve as Acting Commissioner until confirmation by the Senate.

Lucy Lang has been appointed Inspector General of the State of New York. Lang most recently served as Director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution (IIP) working with prosecutors and communities to promote safety, fairness and dignity in the criminal justice system. Under her leadership, the IIP advocated for criminal justice reforms and focused on reducing police involved shootings and fatalities, creating national prosecutorial guidelines to increase accountability and calling for increased support for victims of police violence. In 2006, Lang began her career as an Assistant DA in Manhattan, first in the Appeals Bureau and later in the Trial Division. She also served as Special Counsel to the District Attorney as well as Executive Director of the in-house think tank, the Manhattan D.A. Academy, which expanded legal training for prosecutors and developed prosecutorial reform policy. There she created a program called Inside Criminal Justice, a first-of-its kind college class for prosecutors and incarcerated students to study criminal justice together inside of a prison. Lang was named a Rising Star by the New York Law Journal in 2015. She was a member of the 2017 Class of Presidential Leadership Scholars a program launched in 2014 by former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and serves as a term member on the Council on Foreign Relations. Lang received the 2020 Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award from the American Psychological Association, for her work as an educator who inspired her students to make a difference in their communities. She was appointed to and served on the New York State Bar Association Task Forces on Racial Injustice and Police Reform in 202, and on Racism, Social Equity, and the Law in 2021.She is the author of March On! achildren's book about women's suffrage released in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. In 2021 Lang was named one of Worth Magazine's 50 Women Changing the World. Lang received her B.A. in Political Science with High Honors from Swarthmore College and her J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Governor Hochul recommends the Commissioners of the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) appoint Gaurav Vasisht as Executive Director. Mr. Vasisht has served as an advisor to a former Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as a lawyer to three Governors of New York, and in key roles at the New York Department of Financial Services, its predecessor, the New York Insurance Department, and the New York Attorney General's Office. As Senior Vice President and Director of the financial regulation program at the Volcker Alliance ("Alliance") from 2014 to 2020, Mr. Vasisht advised former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker and numerous Volcker Alliance board members on financial stability and regulatory matters. Mr. Vasisht also guided the development of reform proposals and promoted the Alliance's policy priorities before the federal government, including the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the House Financial Services Committee, and an array of financial regulatory agencies. Before joining the Alliance, Mr. Vasisht spent a decade in New York State government. Most recently, he served as Executive Deputy Superintendent of DFS, heading the agency's Banking Division, and prior to that was Senior Deputy Superintendent of DFS's predecessor agency, the NYS Insurance Department. Mr. Vasisht has also worked as First Assistant Counsel and Assistant Counsel to three Governors of New York and Assistant Attorney General in the Investment Protection Bureau of the NYS Attorney General's Office. A graduate of New York University and St. John's University School of Law, Mr. Vasisht has been a Non-Resident Fellow at the Global Financial Markets Center at Duke Law School and a Contributor to Penn Law's Regulatory Review.