Where are the first 50 Over 50 now?

Every year, City & State publishes the 50 Over 50, highlighting 50 exceptional New Yorkers who are over the age of 50. While the award is something of a lifetime achievement honor – a designation we’ve used explicitly for a select few 50 Over 50 honorees over the years – many recipients go on to further exploits after appearing on the list. Here’s a look back at some of the members of the original class from the spring of 2016, and what they’ve been up to in the ensuing years.

Lilliam Barrios-Paoli

Lilliam Barrios-Paoli appeared on the 50 Over 50 not long after she stepped down as New York City deputy mayor for health and human services and took over as chair of NYC Health + Hospitals. The veteran bureaucrat has generally kept a low profile since then, but she did make news in 2024 for helping the New York City Council navigate the migrant influx.

Louis Coletti

Louis Coletti spent over a quarter century leading the Building Trades Employers’ Association, a prominent real estate and construction industry organization. In 2023, he left to join Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, where he’s a senior adviser in the law firm’s Government Relations, Real Estate Law and Construction Law practices.

Ed Cox

In 2016, Ed Cox was chair of the state Republican Party, and today he holds the same title. In between, however, he took a forced leave of absence. In 2019, he lost the post to Nick Langworthy, only to gain it back again in 2023 after Langworthy was elected to Congress.

Ernie Logan

In 2016, Ernie Logan was president of the Council of School Supervisors & Administrators, an influential labor union in New York. He retired from the post in 2017, and went on to serve as president of the American Federation of School Administrators from 2018 to 2022. He was also elected as a vice president of the AFL-CIO in 2018, a title he still has.

Eleanor Randolph

Eleanor Randolph had already stepped down from a full-time position as an editorial writer at The New York Times when she appeared on the 50 Over 50. She left the newspaper’s staff entirely in 2018, and in 2019 she published “The Many Lives of Michael Bloomberg,” a biography of the former New York City mayor.

William C. Thompson Jr.

In April 2016, former New York City Comptroller WIlliam C. Thompson Jr. appeared on the inaugural 50 Over 50. The next month, he was nominated by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to chair the CUNY board of trustees. He remains CUNY chair and is also an executive at Siebert Williams Shank.

Merryl Tisch

Merryl Tisch stepped down as chancellor of the state Board of Regents in March 2016. But she wasn’t done shaping educational policy in New York. In 2019, she was appointed chair of the SUNY board of trustees, an office she has now held for more than six years.

Peter Ward

When Peter Ward resigned as president of what was then called the Hotel and Motel Trades Council in 2020, he had established himself as one of the most influential labor leaders in New York. He’s still pretty powerful as a consultant, appearing in New York magazine’s 2023 list of “The Most Powerful New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard Of.”