Power Women

Suri Kasirer is a born New Yorker and advocate. She founded Kasirer in 1997 out of a studio apartment — and with a lifelong commitment to championing people, progress, and policy in the city. Suri grew her business into the #1 lobbying firm in New York City, assembling and leading a team that has established an unparalleled record of success in the city on behalf of clients who are leaders in a wide range of industries, corporate to not-for-profit, education and culture, real estate to technology, hospitality to media to health care.

What steps still need to be taken to increase gender parity?
A key step in increasing gender parity is increasing the number of women in the workforce and in government. Women understand and are sensitive to the issues behind gender parity, and having more women in the workforce and involved in government allows us to highlight those issues and the steps that still need to be taken.

What can New York policymakers do to support the interests of women across the state?
Many issues can’t be legislated, but having policymakers highlight the issues that are important to women, by pressing the private sector to discuss women’s issues, is an important factor in supporting our interests.

It is amazing to see the number of female deputy mayors in this administration. Having women in government allows us to highlight the key issues and champion the importance of women’s leadership in all areas of government, for-profit, and not-for-profit.

If you could have dinner with any three women from history, who would they be and why?
Eleanor Roosevelt. She understood the power of her position. She saw herself as a woman with a platform, and she did an amazing job at using it. She understood that it is not about the title, but about what you do with what you have. Madeleine Albright, the first woman secretary of state. She traveled the world, met with world leaders, and gave so much thought into who she was meeting with. Coco Chanel. She did groundbreaking work and changed fashion for women. She understood what it meant for women to be comfortable, because she was a working woman herself.

What advice or wisdom would you share with a younger version of yourself?
When you feel hurt, insulted, or disrespected, recognize the importance of treating people with grace and patience. As you get older, you realize there is a longer game.

As chief housing officer, Jessica Katz oversees the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York City Housing Authority, the Housing Development Corporation, the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Katz most recently served as executive director of the research nonprofit Citizens Housing and Planning Council. She previously served for over 10 years at HPD, most recently as the associate commissioner for new construction. Katz holds a B.A. in Urban Geography from McGill University and a master’s in City Planning from MIT.

What steps still need to be taken to increase gender parity?
The Adams administration’s leadership in filling five of six deputy mayor roles with women shows how New York City continues to be at the forefront of equality efforts. That is what we need to see more broadly across our country, having women at the table where key decisions are being made. It cannot just be one woman that is always a lone voice. This is the only way to ensure decisions get made that protect women and promote gender parity. 

What can New York policymakers do to support the interests of women across the state?
Tackling the housing and homelessness crisis is key to supporting women across New York State. The lack of affordable housing disproportionately impacts women in many ways. Women have less income to pay for housing due to the gender wage gap. Women are more likely to raise children on a single income and balance childcare costs with a mortgage or rent. Creating more affordable homes and helping residents move into them faster will help women.

If you could have dinner with any three women from history, who would they be and why?
I would love to start with the incredible colleagues I have at City Hall. We are all too busy with the day-to-day to get to spend real time together. From the inspiring deputy mayors to our teams, City Hall is full of some of the most powerful women. But I wouldn’t say no to a dinner with Hillary Clinton either if that were ever an option!

What advice or wisdom would you share with a younger version of yourself?
I would say to everyone starting out right now — find your people. Building relationships that you can fall back on over the years is critical.

My friends from my first jobs are now in positions of power across government and the private sector and have incredible advice for me every time I need it, or are there with a glass of wine when I need that too. Building a network shouldn’t be about advancing your career, it is about ensuring you have the support you need when things aren’t always easy, which is a part of life.

Joan joined Oppenheimer in 2015, bringing deep experience leading and developing marketing teams in the retail, wealth, and institutional segments. She previously was CMO for LPL Financial, where she developed the company’s marketing and brand strategy. Prior to that, she served as head of marketing for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, where she refined and repositioned the firm’s wealth management business. Joan earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Wesleyan College. She is a member of the Women’s Forum of New York, which is a network of leaders in the professions, arts, and business.

Monica Klein is a founding partner at Seneca Strategies, where she specializes in communications strategy and media consulting for campaigns, nonprofits, and political parties. At Seneca, Klein recently led communications strategy for Fair Pay for Home Care to increase wages for home care workers, and Invest in Our New York to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers. Klein also runs communications for state and federal electoral campaigns. Prior to founding Seneca, Klein served as communications director for then-Mayor de Blasio’s re-election campaign, and deputy press secretary in City Hall.

Hope Knight is the president, CEO, and commissioner of Empire State Development. Ms. Knight was previously the CEO of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation before being nominated to this role by Governor Kathy Hochul. In 2015, she was nominated to the New York City Planning Commission by Mayor Bill de Blasio. She has over 20 years of experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, including serving as the COO of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, and multiple vice president roles at Morgan Stanley.

Jelena Kovačević became the first woman dean at NYU Tandon School of Engineering in 2018. She received her Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Belgrade and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University. Before joining NYU, she was on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University. Since her arrival, she has garnered numerous accolades, including the IEEE 2022 Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society Career Achievement Award, and is the founder of the Northeast Regional Deans council. Kovačević worked at Bell Labs and co-founded xWaveforms. Her research interests include biomedical imaging.

What steps still need to be taken to increase gender parity?
The STEM field is no different than any other field when it comes to gender equality in that to achieve it there must be broader gender parity within our society, including in our schools, health systems, legal systems, financial systems, and families. Gender gaps in opportunity and interest, particularly in STEM, start very early and it is not only critical that girls and boys are introduced to as many different fields of academia as early as possible, but that they are encouraged to pursue their interests equally and despite fallacious and socially constructed gender role norms.

What can New York policymakers do to support the interests of women across the state?
New York policymakers must acknowledge that women’s rights are human rights; that simply has to be the baseline. Only then can we move forward. Power will then undoubtedly start to shift, decisions will be made to support those who need it most, and merit and ability will be rewarded without consideration of gender, orientation, or other such factors.

If you could have dinner with any women from history, who would they be and why?
Marie Curie, as I have been fascinated by her life since I was a young girl. Katherine Johnson, the mathematician who did orbital calculations for NASA. I would love to know what gave them the confidence to persevere against the ingrained gender and race prejudices.

What advice or wisdom would you share with a younger version of yourself?
Here are a few things I learned over the years that I share with my younger colleagues. Go into spaces where you are uncomfortable; this is where you learn and grow. Try things, the worst is you won’t like them and then you can change (my dad’s advice). Be humble and listen to the voice in your head when it tells you that you are overly confident. Relationships matter — this is what you will remember throughout your life.

As Paramount’s executive vice president of global public policy and government relations, DeDe Lea oversees the development and execution of the company’s government relations strategy and public policy work, both domestically and internationally. Before assuming this role in December 2019, Ms. Lea served as executive vice president of global government affairs for Viacom. Ms. Lea has 20 years of regulatory and public policy experience and has won numerous awards for her leadership, including the 2020 Executive Leadership Award from the T. Howard Foundation.

Lisa Lewin is a strategist and operating executive with over 25 years experience leading and advising private, public, and nonprofit sector organizations. She is CEO of General Assembly, a global education company that helps students transform their lives by transforming their careers, providing in-demand digital skills to pivot from low-wage work to high-paying tech jobs. Prior, she held various roles at Pearson and McGraw-Hill, and founded Ethical Ventures, a New York City-based management consulting firm advising some of the world’s most ambitious social enterprises and mission-driven companies.

What steps still need to be taken to increase gender parity?
Despite the progress made in recent years, the reality is women still have less hands-on discovery in school growing up, fewer role models across in-demand industries, fewer viable pathways to senior leadership, and ultimately less flexibility to parent while staying employed. Gender parity requires wide scale commitment across public and private sectors. We need to find ways to give more women opportunities to reskill for careers with more upward mobility. We need to uplift more women and BIPOC leaders into managerial roles. And we also need to build more flexible and empowered workforces that truly support women–financially and otherwise.

What can New York policymakers do to support the interests of women across the state?
In order to support the interests of women across the state, policymakers can and should do more to expand skills-based training and alternative education pathways to women and other marginalized groups. Overrepresentation of women in low-paying jobs is a major driver of the wage gap — which is why ensuring that women have the tools and resources they need to explore in-demand career pathways is more important than ever.

What advice or wisdom would you share with a younger version of yourself?
Always lead with authenticity. Earlier in my career, I often found myself trying to fit a very specific mold of professionalism that was not designed for my benefit. In doing so, I undervalued some core characteristics that I’ve come to understand as critical strengths at work: honest communication, vulnerability, and empathy for those around you. However, I now understand that emotional depth isn’t a weakness. It allows me to be highly intentional about how I engage with my staff up, down, and across the organization. It also makes me a better partner to clients and other external stakeholders.