2024 Power Players in Education

Dr. Christine Mangino is the sixth president of Queensborough Community College, CUNY. Previously, she served in several faculty positions and as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Hostos Community College. Dr. Mangino has led the college in creating its first five-year strategic plan, established a Truth, Transformation, and Racial Healing Center, a Men’s Resource Center, an LGBTQIA+ Resource Center, and an equity dashboard for the campus to follow their progress in eliminating equity gaps. 

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Many NYC college students graduate high school having benefited from free metro cards, breakfast, lunch, and textbooks. Just two months later, they enter college, but despite no change in their financial situation, they lose access to these heavily relied-upon resources. This sudden shift impacts their ability to focus on their academic goals. Policymakers can continue to advocate for students by ensuring that access to a college degree is within reach for every New Yorker.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
My favorite moments in my education were during my student teaching experience. I loved learning from both classroom teachers and college professors while having the chance to apply my pedagogical skills in a real classroom setting. The opportunity to engage directly with students and practice what I had learned was invaluable, as it deepened my understanding of teaching and learning. The experience solidified my passion for the profession.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
The best advice I received from a mentor was to prioritize self-care. There will always be an endless list of tasks that demand attention, but you can’t be truly effective if you don’t take care of yourself first. Whether it’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being, making time to recharge allows you to perform at your best. Self-care isn’t selfish – it’s essential for sustaining energy and being fully present for others, both professionally and personally.

Pamela Maraldo, Ph.D., RN., is the CEO of Girls Inc. of New York City. Previously, Dr. Maraldo served as CEO of two national organizations: Planned Parenthood Federation of America and The National League for Nursing. Dr. Maraldo started one of the nation’s first primary care nurse practitioner practices at Columbia University. She has consulted on health care policy for health institutions and pharmaceutical companies and served on the New York City Board of Health.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Policymakers must prioritize making mental health services more accessible for students, given the mental health crisis among teen girls. Policymakers should find creative ways to improve the teacher workforce and pay teachers more, on a level commensurate with doctors and lawyers, to attract the best and brightest. NYC should become a hub for innovation, testing new education models and training teachers to incorporate cutting-edge technology and customize learning approaches to meet individual student needs.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
When pursuing my Ph.D., it was exhilarating to learn that knowledge, and the way we live our lives, evolves according to current scientific paradigms. For instance, Newtonian physics used the metaphor of a clock to inform our view on the division of labor, bureaucracy, hierarchical leadership, what we value, and centralized moral authority. Later, with Einstein and the quantum physicists, we moved to a dynamic and interconnected worldview, thinking in terms of ecologies and organisms.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Two lessons have always stayed with me. Follow your passion, do what you love. Learning how to think is much more important than memorizing content.

As executive director of Democrats of Education Reform New York, Jacquelyn Martell drives impactful education policy and politics. This year, she helped raise $640K for state candidates, co-led strategy for $1.2 million in spending, knocked on 150,000 doors, and ran GOTV ads with millions of impressions. A native New Yorker and public school graduate, Jacquelyn previously worked as New York State director of advocacy at Achievement First and as a labor organizer for 32BJ SEIU.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
New York students have struggled academically for too long, despite the state’s high per-pupil spending. In some districts, only 1 in 10 children read at grade level. Policymakers must prioritize evidence-based solutions, especially for high-needs communities. This year, we’ll continue advocating for more school choice, high-impact tutoring, and policies like banning legacy admissions to better serve students and teachers. It’s time for bold action to ensure all students receive the support they deserve.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
During my high school years at Beacon HS in Manhattan, I was able to take college courses during my junior and senior years at John Jay College. I loved the experience as it gave me a sense of autonomy and allowed me to explore interests while offsetting college costs. Dual enrollment and early college programs such as the one I attended should be afforded to students across the state.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
This work is a marathon, not a sprint, so be patient but never back down for what is right. As an avid marathoner, this advice serves as both professional and personal, and I carry it with me in this work.

Anthony W. Marx is president of The New York Public Library, the nation’s largest library system, with 92 locations.  Since joining NYPL in 2011, Marx has strengthened the Library’s role as an essential provider of educational opportunities for all ages. Under his leadership, the Library has created new early literacy and after-school programs for children and teens, dramatically increased free English language classes and citizenship support for immigrants, and improved services for scholars who rely on the Library’s world-renowned research collections. Under Marx, the Library has also become a national leader on bridging the digital divide.

Karol V. Mason is a legal pioneer and voice for criminal justice reform. At John Jay, she raised over $33 million to support student success and launched the Future of Public Safety Initiative. She previously served as assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, leading the Obama Administration’s juvenile justice and re-entry programs. As a partner at Alston & Bird, Mason was the first Black woman to chair a major firm’s management committee.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Internships are critical for students to develop professional skills and networks. Students with at least one internship have a greater chance of post-graduation career success than their peers without this experience. A large percentage of our students cannot afford to participate in unpaid internships. While recent state budgets have supported transformative initiatives, additional investment in paid internship opportunities and infrastructure will address this equity gap and help propel more students to academic and career success.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
I did not have any classes taught by Black professors until my senior year in college. It was invaluable to have professors who looked like me, understood my journey as a Black person at the University of North Carolina and prepared me for a world that would not always accept me. Professor Lee Greene taught us how to see our Blackness as a strength and I take his advice into every space I have occupied.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
To make choices that maximize my options and my opportunities.

Chancellor Matos Rodríguez is the eighth leader of The City University of New York, serving 233,000 students across 25 New York City colleges. He has focused his tenure on championing student equity, building career opportunities for graduates and creating innovative academic offerings. These priorities feature prominently in the University’s strategic roadmap, CUNY Lifting New York, adopted in 2023.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
As the largest urban public university in the United States, CUNY is incredibly thankful for the support from our elected officials who recognize the essential role of public higher education in serving New Yorkers of all backgrounds. Their continued commitment to CUNY will ensure we continue to serve as New York’s engine of upward socioeconomic mobility.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
When I first started college, I thought I was going to major in something related to business. But I ended up falling in love with history, and finding this passion really made my pursuit of a higher education more fulfilling. It has been an incredible honor to share the many inspirational stories I have researched throughout my career as a result.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
I am lucky to have had many mentors who have guided me throughout the years. I became a historian in large part because of the mentorship and inspiration of Fernando Picó, one of Puerto Rico’s most prolific historians. He encouraged me to be committed to and advocate for important social causes and showed me how I could use history as a tool for that advocacy.

State Senator Shelley Mayer is a passionate, effective advocate for her district and issues statewide. She has been a recognized leader on issues regarding children and families throughout her career as an attorney, Assistant Attorney General,  State Assemblymember and Senator. Shelley has represented the 37th Senate District in Westchester since April 2018. In 2019, Shelley was appointed to serve as the chair of the State Senate Education Committee and has served as chair since then.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
First, spend time in schools talking to students, educators, staff and parents. Minimize your assumptions and learn from what they say. Second, evaluate how funds are spent and whether they are directed towards students. Third, fight for the full education experience – from birth to maturity – including early childhood, after school, special needs, ELLs and more. Our democracy requires schools to do more, not less.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
Among others, I was fortunate to have outstanding, passionate educators in the Yonkers Public Schools during my years there, including the tumultuous days of the Vietnam War. Among my favorites were my 4th-grade art teacher, who required us to consider the displacement of tenants while Lincoln Center was being constructed, and my 7th-grade social studies teacher, Walter Tice, who supported the War while I opposed it. We debated with each other.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Be persistent; accept incremental victories; do your homework and improve your writing. Listen and know your facts before you speak; make your argument easy to understand and directed at the listener. Know your audience.

David D. Meyer is president and Joseph Crea dean of Brooklyn Law School and is among the longest-serving deans at a U.S. law school. A leading scholar of constitutional and family law, he has published extensively on topics at the intersection of the two fields. Meyer earned his B.A. in history with highest honors from the University of Michigan and his J.D. magna cum laude from Michigan Law School.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Government can help students by partnering with educational institutions, private and public, to create learning opportunities, including through scholarships, research grants, and internships. An enormous asset for Brooklyn students is the opportunity to work as interns in courts, agencies, and public legal services. Policymakers can also keep the cost of education down by being alert to the administrative expenses imposed by new regulations and reporting obligations; transparency is important, but comes at a cost ultimately borne by students.

What was your favorite experience in your own education?
There is nothing like learning through experience – including the jolt of confidence that comes from conquering a challenge that seems impossibly daunting and learning that you’ve actually developed the skills needed to do it well. For me, that was being an editor on my college newspaper. For many Brooklyn Law students, it’s representing real clients through our clinics and having a major impact on their communities.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
To set your own expectations for yourself according to the very best work you’re able to deliver, rather than the minimum work required for the task. Consistently outperforming minimum expectations leads to more opportunities and better work and avoids mediocrity and stagnation.

Linda G. Mills is NYU’s 17th president and the Lisa Ellen Goldberg professor of social work, public policy, and law. A social worker and NSF- and NIJ-funded social scientist who has reshaped the treatment of domestic violence; an attorney who advocated for people’s Social Security benefits; and an award-winning filmmaker, Mills, an NYU faculty member since 1999, has been president since July 2023. She holds a Ph.D., a J.D., an MSW, and a B.A.

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
Expanded efforts – and partnerships – to make higher education more affordable; fostering collaborations across industry and city and state governments; expanded support for science and tech, setting New York up to be #1 in innovation, discovery and jobs; assistance in making our campuses safe and inclusive; and more help to prepare our students to flourish in a global society.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
My education taught me how to have an impact by helping others. Right after law school, I started a nonprofit called The Hawkins Center, an advocacy organization that supports people applying for disability benefits. After my Ph.D. program, I began to rethink how we address domestic violence in this country; today, NYU’s Center on Violence and Recovery supports communities and families across America through an innovative intervention called Circles of Peace.

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
One of my foremost mentors is Martha Minow, former dean of Harvard Law School, who served on my Ph.D. dissertation committee. Martha encouraged me to think across disciplines and challenge conventional wisdom. That guidance shaped not only my doctorate and scholarship but also my outlook on how to approach the big questions of the day.

Scott is the NYC executive director of iMentor, the largest mentoring organization partnering with the NYC Public schools. Each year, iMentor supports 3,000 mentoring relationships that empower first-generation students to graduate high school, succeed in college and career, and achieve their ambitions. Scott has worked in a variety of senior leadership roles in the NYC nonprofit sector for more than 25 years and is an active volunteer mentor with iMentor and several other mentoring organizations.    

How can policymakers support New York’s students and educators?
We all believe that our education system should be an engine for opportunity. The reality is that the ingredients to accessing opportunities are not purely based on what you learn in the classroom.  It is important to invest in programs that bring career-connected learning, real-world exposure, and valuable social capital into the curriculum (like CTE programs) that pair skill building with network building.  (And please make sure the FAFSA application works this year!)

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
During my first year in college, I stumbled into an Urban Studies seminar exploring the city of Philadelphia. That class was the start of my education into how cities are shaped by people and their policy decisions, both good and bad. It opened my eyes to a career in public service and I remain forever grateful for it. 

What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Recognize that the greatest expertise is usually held by those closest to the work. Your job as a senior leader is not to have all the answers. Rather it is to create the conditions that allow that expertise to be authentically heard inside an organization.