Bill de Blasio

Bill De Blasio served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. He guided the country’s largest city through the pandemic, and among his many other accomplishments he created a groundbreaking early childhood education initiative which became a national model, financed the construction and preservation of more affordable homes than any other New York City administration, and drove the City Council to pass a New York City Green New Deal. 

During his administration, the city rolled out a number of smart city solutions and tech education initiatives in every borough, earning New York the “Best Smart City” accolade in 2016. In recent months he has also become increasingly concerned about the rise of AI and other emerging technologies, and their impacts.

Before his mayoral terms, de Blasio held the office of New York City Public Advocate from 2010 to 2013. De Blasio's entered city politics came in 1989, when he worked as a volunteer coordinator for David Dinkins' mayoral campaign. He then ran the successful 1994 reelection campaign for U.S. Representative Charles Rangel. In 1997, he was appointed to serve as the regional director for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for New York and New Jersey under the administration of President Bill Clinton. In 2000, he served as campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's successful United States Senate bid. Then followed service in the New York City Council from 2002-2009.

He received a Bachelor of Arts from New York University in metropolitan studies and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He is a 1981 Harry S. Truman Scholar.