User:Mwinog2777/derosa

Melissa DeRosa is the Secretary for New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Early life and education
Melissa Derosa was raised in Albany and Saratoga Springs, New York. She had an early start in politics; at age four she campaigned door to door for Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. At nine, after accompanying her father, a lobbyist, to Take Your Daughter to Work Day at the state capital, she wrote a school report bemoaning the budget. At 16 she interned with the AFL-CIO's political director. She attended Cornell University, graduating in 2004 with degree Industrial Relations. In 2009 she obtained an MPA from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs focusing in government, politics and public policy. While studying at Cornell, DeRosa spent a summer in Washington D.C., working in the office of former Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Political career
At age 27 she became director of Barack Obama's PAC, Organizing for America. This was followed by a stint as acting Chief of Staff for for New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. In March 2013, she became Director of Communications for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and in 2015 Chief of Staff.  In 2017 she was promoted to Secretary for the governor, overseeing the daily government operations for the State on New York. At age 34 she was the youngest to have this position and the first female. This position has been described as the top and most powerful staff position. DeRosa has become one of his closest advisers and known for aggressively going after critics.

COVID-19 pandemic
DeRosa was part of a concerted effort to prevent state officials from releasing the true total of nursing home patients to COVID-19. This was at the same time Cuomo was being criticized for discharging COVID-19 patients from hospital to nursing homes; and, at the same time Cuomo was writing his book on his handling of the crisis.

Cuomo harassment allegation
On August 5, 2021, The New York Times described DeRosa as the one who "spearheaded efforts to discredit a woman who had accused Cuomo of sexual harassment." Personnel files on Lindsey Boylan were leaked to undermine her credibility.

Selling feminism for profit
In 2018 DeRosa was on billboard in Times Square wearing a $228 Rebecca Minkoff dress, part of Ms. Minkoff’s for-profit Superwoman advertising campaign. As a public official, her ethics were questioned for partaking in "commercial feminism."

Personal
In 2016 she married Matthew Wing, an Uber executive. They met in 2013 when both worked for Governor Cuomo. Her father is Georgio DeRosa, an Albany based lobbyist, called the "best lobbyist in town."