Mayor-elect Eric Adams appoints NYC’s first Asian American deputy mayors as part of 5 all-women team
By Carl Samson
December 21, 2021
New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams appointed five women as deputy mayors on Monday, two of whom are of Asian descent.
Who they are: The incoming Asian American female deputy mayors are Meera Joshi and Maria Torres-Springer. They are joined by fellow deputies Lorraine Grillo, Anne Williams-Isom and Sheena Wright.
- Joshi, who is Indian American, will serve as deputy mayor for operations. She is currently the deputy administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, according to WABC.
- “I am deeply honored to serve Mayor-elect Eric Adams and all New Yorkers,” Joshi said, according to the New York Post. “Our work ahead is clear. The operations of our city must meet and exceed the needs of every community, respond in real-time and be a model of excellence for all urban centers.” Joshi also led the Taxi and Limousine Commission for five years.
- Torres-Springer, who is Filipino American, will serve as deputy mayor for economic and workforce development. Currently the vice president for U.S. Programs at the Ford Foundation, she previously served as commissioner of NYC’s Small Business Services for 15 years.
- “The pandemic and its economic fallout have impacted New Yorkers across the five boroughs, with lower-income and Black and brown New Yorkers hit the hardest. Under Mayor Adams’ leadership, we will ensure that our economic recovery leaves no one behind and that we implement policies that match the scale of this challenge,” Torres-Springer said, adding that she is ready to work with partners to help the city create “real ladders to the middle class for all of its residents.”
- Grillo, who serves outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio as the city’s COVID-19 “recovery czar,” will serve as Adams’ first deputy mayor.
- Williams-Isom, a Fordham University professor, was selected as deputy mayor for health and human services, while Wright, president and chief executive officer of nonprofit United Way of New York City, was appointed as deputy mayor for strategic initiatives.
Why this matters: Joshi and Torres-Springer will be the first deputy mayors of Asian descent in New York City’s history, NBC New York reported. Monday’s appointment also marked the first time the city will have as many female deputy mayors.
- “Far too often, men have been making decisions that impact women, children and families. That stops on Jan. 1,” Adams said in his announcement on Monday, as per Spectrum News NY1.
- The mayor-elect vowed that his administration will understand the people of the city it serves. He also expressed confidence in his appointees’ experience and skills to “help us turn this city around the right way.”
Adams previously appointed David Banks as school chancellor and Keechant Sewell as police commissioner. His transition team confirmed Ydanis Rodriguez as the next transportation commissioner, according to FOX 5 NY.
Featured and Article Images via Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams
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