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==Personal life==
==Personal life==


In 2016 she married Matthew Wing, an [[Uber]] senior communications officer, who was formerly a Cuomo press secretary in 2013 and 2014, and then communications director for the governor’s re-election campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/who-is-melissa-derosa.html|title=Who Can Say ‘No’ to Cuomo? His Top Aide, Melissa DeRosa|first=Ruth La|last=Ferla|date=May 14, 2020|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2016-08-28|title=Melissa DeRosa, Matthew Wing|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/fashion/weddings/melissa-derosa-matthew-wing.html|access-date=2021-08-05|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> They met in 2013 when both worked for Governor Cuomo.<ref name="La Ferla 2020" /> Her mother-in-law is [[Audrey Strauss]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Archive|first=View Author|last2=Author|first2=Email the|last3=Twitter|first3=Follow on|last4=feed|first4=Get author RSS|last5=Archive|first5=View Author|last6=Author|first6=Email the|last7=feed|first7=Get author RSS|date=2021-02-13|title=Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo aide in nursing home cover-up, is related to top fed prosecutor|url=https://nypost.com/2021/02/13/cuomo-aide-melissa-derosa-is-related-to-top-fed-prosecutor/|access-date=2021-11-20|website=New York Post|language=en-US}}</ref> former Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In October 2021 it was announced that the couple was getting divorced.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://texasnewstoday.com/how-cuomos-former-top-aide-melissa-derosa-celebrated-her-birthday-weeks-before-announced-divorce/502180/|title=How Cuomo's former top aide Melissa DeRosa celebrated her birthday weeks before announced divorce|date=October 17, 2021}}</ref>
In 2016 she married Matthew Wing, an [[Uber]] senior communications officer, who was formerly a Cuomo press secretary in 2013 and 2014, and then communications director for the governor’s re-election campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/who-is-melissa-derosa.html|title=Who Can Say ‘No’ to Cuomo? His Top Aide, Melissa DeRosa|first=Ruth La|last=Ferla|date=May 14, 2020|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2016-08-28|title=Melissa DeRosa, Matthew Wing|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/fashion/weddings/melissa-derosa-matthew-wing.html|access-date=2021-08-05|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> They met in 2013 when both worked for Governor Cuomo.<ref name="La Ferla 2020" /> Her mother-in-law is [[Audrey Strauss]], former Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In October 2021 it was announced that the couple was getting divorced.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://texasnewstoday.com/how-cuomos-former-top-aide-melissa-derosa-celebrated-her-birthday-weeks-before-announced-divorce/502180/|title=How Cuomo's former top aide Melissa DeRosa celebrated her birthday weeks before announced divorce|date=October 17, 2021}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 22:10, 6 December 2021

Melissa DeRosa
Melissa DeRosa, 2017
DeRosa in 2017
Secretary to the Governor of New York
In office
April 17, 2017 – August 24, 2021
GovernorAndrew Cuomo
Preceded byWilliam J. Mulrow
Succeeded byKaren Persichilli Keogh
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Matthew Wing
​
(m. 2016)​
RelativesAudrey Strauss (mother-in-law)
Alma materCornell University

Melissa DeRosa is an American government official who served as Secretary to the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, from 2017 until 2021.

Early life and education

DeRosa was raised in Albany and Saratoga Springs, New York.[1] She is the daughter of Georgio DeRosa, an influential lobbyist who is a partner at Bolton-St. Johns, an Albany-based lobbying firm.[2][3][4]

At 16, she was an intern for the political director of the New York State AFL-CIO.[2][5]

DeRosa attended Cornell University, graduating in 2004 from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. While an undergraduate student at Cornell, she worked in the Senate office of Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C. during a summer.[6]

After graduation, she worked for a year as a publicist for Theory, a fashion house in New York.[3] She then worked as a lobbyist for Bolton-St. Johns.[3] In 2009, she completed an MPA from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs.[6]

Career

Early years

DeRosa worked as the New York state director of Barack Obama's PAC, Organizing for America, and as the director of communications and legislation for the Albany-based lobbying firm Cordo and Company.[5] In 2011, she became deputy chief of staff and acting chief of staff for New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.[5][2]

In March 2013, she became director of communications for Governor Andrew Cuomo.[7][5] DeRosa later became strategic adviser.[2] In 2015 DeRosa was appointed Chief of Staff.[2]

Secretary to Governor Cuomo

In 2017, she was promoted to Secretary to the Governor of New York[7][8] and became one of his closest advisers.[9][2] The Secretary to the Governor was described by The New York Times as the most powerful appointed official in the state,[3] and she was the first woman to have been appointed to the role.[9]

She helped steer bills through the legislature, including the $15 minimum wage, paid family leave and expanded insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization.[10][3] She was also the chair of the New York State Council on Women and Girls and head of the Covid-19 maternity task force,[3] and in 2017, DeRosa spoke publicly about her experience with sexual harassment and encouraged women to "speak up and speak out."[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she had a major role in coordination and management of the New York response.[10] DeRosa has been accused of playing a part in an alleged effort to prevent state officials from releasing the true total of nursing home deaths related to COVID-19,[12] while her efforts were described by an attorney for the governor's office as an attempt to ensure accurate information was available before it was released.[13]

DeRosa was named in an August 3, 2021, report by the New York State Attorney General as having spearheaded efforts to retaliate against and discredit a woman who has accused Cuomo of sexual harassment.[4][7][14][12] An attorney for DeRosa said she acted after obtaining advice from legal counsel.[15]

DeRosa resigned as Secretary to the Governor on August 8, 2021.[16][17][18] Her resignation was effective August 24.[19]

Personal life

In 2016 she married Matthew Wing, an Uber senior communications officer, who was formerly a Cuomo press secretary in 2013 and 2014, and then communications director for the governor’s re-election campaign.[20][21] They met in 2013 when both worked for Governor Cuomo.[3] Her mother-in-law is Audrey Strauss, former Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In October 2021 it was announced that the couple was getting divorced.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ Salerno, Heather (March 2018). "Corridors of Power". Cornell Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Foderaro, Lisa W. (April 17, 2017). "Cuomo Promotes Chief of Staff, Melissa DeRosa, to Be His Secretary". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g La Ferla, Ruth (2020-05-14). "Who Can Say 'No' to Cuomo? His Top Aide, Melissa DeRosa". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  4. ^ a b "Cuomo's Top Aide, Melissa DeRosa, Resigns as He Fights to Survive - The New York Times".
  5. ^ a b c d Kaplan, Thomas (March 15, 2013). "Cuomo Drafts Communications Director From Attorney General's Staff". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b Oza, Anil (April 30, 2020). "From Ithaca to Albany: How Cornell's Melissa DeRosa is Leading New York's COVID Response". The Cornell Daily Sun. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Dawsey, Josh (August 3, 2021). "Cuomo report spotlights role of top aide Melissa DeRosa in trying to contain sexual harassment crisis". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  8. ^ Vilensky, Mike (April 20, 2017). "New York's First Female Secretary to the Governor Faces Ethical Minefield". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b Lovett, Kenneth. "Melissa DeRosa named New York's first female secretary to the governor". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  10. ^ a b Minutaglio, Rose (April 13, 2020). "How Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa Is Leading Cuomo's Coronavirus Response". ELLE. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  11. ^ Vielkind, Jimmy (October 18, 2017). "DeRosa recalls sexual harassment, urges women to speak up". Politico. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  12. ^ a b Williams, Zach (March 19, 2021). "Melissa DeRosa was on the rise, then the last two months happened". City & State. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  13. ^ Rosa-Aquino, Paola (2021-04-28). "Cuomo Aides Accused of Hiding COVID Nursing Home Death Toll: Report". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  14. ^ Niedzwiadek, Nick; Gronewold, Anna (August 5, 2021). "All the governor's men — and women". Politico. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  15. ^ Ferré-Sadurní, Luis; Bromwich, Jonah E. (2021-08-05). "How Cuomo and His Team Retaliated Against His Accusers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  16. ^ Dawsey, Josh (August 8, 2021). "Melissa DeRosa, top aide to Cuomo, resigns in wake of state attorney general's report". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  17. ^ Gronewold, Anne; Mahoney, Bill (August 8, 2021). "Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo's top staffer, resigns". Politico. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  18. ^ Ferré-Sadurní, Luis (August 8, 2021). "Cuomo's Top Aide, Melissa DeRosa, Resigns as He Fights to Survive". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  19. ^ Goldmacher, Shane (10 August 2021). "Cuomo Will Resign Amid Sexual Harassment Scandal". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 2021. Melissa DeRosa is still serving as Cuomo's top aide. Though she submitted her resignation, she did so without a date. She set the date to be 14 days away — lining up with Cuomo's own resignation.
  20. ^ Ferla, Ruth La (May 14, 2020). "Who Can Say 'No' to Cuomo? His Top Aide, Melissa DeRosa" – via NYTimes.com.
  21. ^ "Melissa DeRosa, Matthew Wing". The New York Times. 2016-08-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  22. ^ "How Cuomo's former top aide Melissa DeRosa celebrated her birthday weeks before announced divorce". October 17, 2021.
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