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Lorraine A. Cortés-Vázquez is an American government official who serves as the commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging, and previously served as the 65th Secretary of State of New York, appointed by Governor Eliot Spitzer and serving in the cabinets of both Spitzer and his successor, David Paterson.

Early life and education

Cortés-Vázquez was born in East Harlem, New York City. She earned her undergraduate degree from Hunter College, and a Master of Public Administration from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. She has pursued further studies at Columbia University's School of Non-Profit Management, as well as at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Career

A former vice president for Government and Public Affairs with Cablevision, she was chief of staff to former New York Assemblyman Roberto Ramirez. From 2001 to 2007, she served on the New York State Board of Regents. Since April 2019, she has been serving as Commissioner for the Department for the Aging under New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

As Secretary of State, she was formally responsible with accepting Spitzer's resignation from the governorship on March 17, 2008, due to a sex scandal. She also accepted the resignation of U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton when she resigned after she accepted the position of United States Secretary of State.

She serves as Executive Vice President for Multicultural Markets and Engagement for the AARP, resuming employment in the non-profit sector which included previous stints as executive director of Aspira of New York during the 1990s and president of the Hispanic Federation.

In 2020, she was appointed by Mayor Bill De Blasio and confirmed by the New York State Senate to serve on the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Personal life

Cortés-Vázquez is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent and is the second person of Puerto Rican ancestry to serve as Secretary of State in a state of the Union, preceded only by Pedro Cortés, of Pennsylvania.

Further reading

• Paterson, David “Black, Blind, & In Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity.” New York, New York, 2020

References

1. ^ "Mayor de Blasio Appoints Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez as Commissioner of the Department for the Aging" (Press release). New York City Office of the Mayor. April 9, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
2. ASPIRA Congratulates ASPIRAnte Lorraine Cortes on her new Appointment at AARP Archived 2010-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, ASPIRA.org; accessed August 2, 2017.
3. Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez to Head AARP's New Multicultural Strategy, aarp.org, July 29, 2010.
4. "MTA Board Members". MTA. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
5. New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés - Vázquez To Address The DANR 11th Annual National Conference in Providence from The Dominican American National Roundtable, date September 22, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2009.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

v t e Secretaries of state of New York
J Scott L Scott Hale T Tillotson Jenkins T Tillotson Jenkins Hale Jenkins Rensselaer Porter R Tillotson Cooper Yates Flagg Dix Spencer Campbell* Young Benton Morgan Randall Leavenworth Headley Tucker Floyd-Jones Ballard Depew Barlow Nelson Scribner Willers Bigelow Beach Carr Cook Rice Palmer McDonough O'Brien Whalen Koenig Lazansky May Hugo Lyons Hamilton Knapp Moses Flynn Walsh Curran DeSapio Simon Lomenzo Ghezzi Cuomo Paterson Shaffer Treadwell Daniels Milano* Jacobs Cortés-Vázquez Colón* Perales Rosado Rodriguez Mosley
* denotes Acting

• 1950 births
• 2004 United States presidential electors
• 21st-century American politicians
• 21st-century American women politicians
• American politicians of Dominican Republic descent
• Commissioners in New York City
• Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
• Hunter College alumni
• Living people
• New York (state) Democrats
• People from East Harlem
• Politicians from Manhattan
• Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics
• American politicians of Puerto Rican descent
• Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service alumni
• Secretaries of state of New York (state)
• Women in New York (state) politics