Zohran Mamdani
Who’s who in Zohran Mamdani’s administration?
Meet the folks who are running New York City.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Chief of Staff Elle Bisgaard-Church and appointed First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
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As soon as a New York City mayoral candidate wins election – and in most cases for several months before –the city’s political class and media corps eagerly anticipate news of who he will hire to actually carry out his vision.
That fervor may be especially strong for this mayor. Zohran Mamdani pulled off a stunning victory to rise from two-and-a-half-term Assembly member to mayor. But his youth (a young millennial at 34 years old) and scant management experience have attracted particular attention to the balance of old hands and newcomers that will fill his administration, as well as their diversity along the ideological spectrum.
Keep up with Mamdani’s hires and appointments below, as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Hours after Mamdani sealed his victory on Election Day, Mamdani began announcing members of his transition team, some of whom could potentially join the administration. See those names here,
Dean Fuleihan
If Mamdani is a relative newbie, faced at every turn with concern about his youth and lack of experience, his pick for first deputy mayor is the opposite. Dean Fuleihan, at 74 years old, has been around the block, having served as first deputy mayor to Bill de Blasio, and before that, as his budget director. The pick is widely seen as both a smart strategic and tactical choice: Fuleihan’s profile helps mollify those concerned about Mamdani’s relative lack of experience, and his practical experience in Albany could help advance Mamdani’s policy promises. Fuleihan’s appointment was announced on Nov. 10, 2025.
Elle Bisgaard-Church
Mamdani faces pressure to expand his tent, but he’s certainly not going to kick out the people who were instrumental in building that tent. Choosing his former Assembly chief of staff turned mayoral campaign manager to continue on as chief of staff in his administration was an unsurprising, if still satisfying choice, for Mamdani’s base. Bisgaard-Church does not come from the political consultant class. She, like Mamdani, is a DSA member and (at the time of her hiring) 34 years old. The fact that her hiring and Fuleihan’s were announced in a joint presser illustrated the kind of balance Mamdani will try to strike in building out his administration. Bisgaard-Church’s appointment was announced on Nov. 10, 2025.
Leila Bozorg
Housing is central to Mamdani’s promise to make New York City more affordable. To lead his housing efforts, he tapped Leila Bozorg, a well-known civil servant who most recently was Eric Adams’ executive director of housing. In that role, she helped negotiate the City of Yes for Housing rezoning policy with the City Council, ultimately getting it passed. She’s also worked closely with Adams’ former Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer, who is a co-chair of Mamdani’s transition committee. (Bozorg’s role is not an exact replica of Torres-Springer’s under the Adams administration, as Mamdani has updated the title to “deputy mayor for housing and planning,” and will include some different agencies under its portfolio.) Bozorg previously served as city planning commissioner and a deputy commissioner in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. She was a senior policy adviser at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration. Bozorg’s appointment was announced on Dec. 19, 2025.
Julie Su
Mamdani created a new deputy mayor role with a portfolio that includes the Taxi and Limousine Commission, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Small Business Services and several other agencies. Julie Su was formerly acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor under the Biden administration. She was never confirmed by the Senate despite two nomination attempts, but received praise from Mamdani supporter and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, who called her an “outstanding leader of the Labor Department.” Su is brand new to New York, and has moved to Queens for the position. Su’s appointment was announced on Dec. 19, 2025.
Helen Arteaga
A prosperous city, Mamdani said (paraphrasing W.E.B. DuBois), is defined by an absence of poverty and a prevalence of health. Leading the Mamdani’s administration’s efforts on the latter will be Helen Arteaga, who most recently served as CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. She took on that job roughly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and called it the place where her advocacy was born. Previously, she was an executive at Urban Health Plan and co-founded Plaza del Sol Family Health Center. Arteaga was born in Ecuador and compared herself to Mamdani, calling herself “just another immigrant kid from Queens.” She described the work that will soon be under her portfolio – typically covering the Department of Health, NYC Health + Hospitals and the Department of the Social Services, among other agencies – as the “safety net” for many New Yorkers. Mamdani announced her appointment on Dec. 30, 2025.
Julia Kerson
If there’s one person who truly “keeps the city running” it’s the deputy mayor for operations, who oversees agencies like Transportation, Sanitation and Emergency Management. On Dec. 31, 2025, Mamdani announced his pick is Julia Kerson, who has served as deputy to the state director of operations in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. But like so many others in Mamdani’s orbit, she’s a de Blasio administration veteran, where, among other roles, she was a senior adviser to Deputy Mayor of Operations Laura Anglin – working in the very office she’ll now lead. A Brooklynite active with the Flatbush Jewish Center, according to Mamdani’s transition team, Kerson also previously worked at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on major projects including the Second Avenue Subway extension.
Jessica Tisch
The question every mayoral candidate faced during the 2025 election: Would you retain Jessica Tisch as police commissioner? Mamdani answered that twice: just before the last general election debate, with a stated desire to hire Tisch, and a few weeks after being elected, with an announcement that she accepted the offer. Tisch, a 17-year bureaucrat, three-time city commissioner and scion of a billionaire family, diverges from Mamdani on some key policing issues. Both say they’re committed to working together to make the city safer despite those differences. Tisch’s appointment was announced on Nov. 19, 2025.
Lillian Bonsignore
It may be called the fire department, but most of the calls are for emergency medical services, and Mamdani’s pick on Dec. 23, 2025 is an acknowledgment of that. Bonsignore retired from the FDNY in 2022 as chief of the EMS division after a decadeslong career as an emergency medical technician. She’ll take over as just the second female and first out gay fire commissioner. Her appointment was welcomed by EMS workers who have been lobbying for pay parity with other first responders.
Kamar Samuels
On Dec. 31, 2025, Mamdani announced Manhattan District 3 superintendent Kamar Samuels would take over as schools chancellor, starting Jan. 1. News of the appointment was first reported by City & State. Samuels, who began his career as a Bronx elementary school teacher nearly 20 years ago, rose through the ranks of the DOE, becoming a principal, then leading two different Brooklyn school districts as superintendent and deputy superintendent before he took over on Manhattan’s west side. Samuels is known for successfully overseeing school mergers, a tricky process involving passionate staff, students and parents. Mamdani also touted Samuels’ success improving literacy scores.
Sherif Soliman
The budget director’s influence over how the city spends $115 billion makes them among the most powerful people in the administration. Sherif Soliman joins Mamdani’s administration after stints in the administrations of the past three mayors, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and, most recently, CUNY. Under Adams, he led the Mayor’s Office of Policy and Planning. Under de Blasio, he was commissioner of the Department of Finance. He has also previously served as executive director of the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform, experience that may come in handy as Mamdani has vowed to reform the city’s notorious property tax system. His appointment was announced on Dec. 18, 2025.
Jahmila Edwards
To achieve some of his top policy promises, Mamdani will need a hand from other levels of government. To lead that coordination between city, state and federal officials, Mamdani tapped longtime union operative Jahmila Edwards. Edwards was previously the associate director of District Council 37, the politically powerful union representing 150,000 public sector workers. She served in the role for 11 years, according to her LinkedIn profile. DC 37 formed a close relationship with Mamdani after ranking him on their endorsement slate in the Democratic primary when most major unions backed Andrew Cuomo. Edwards is also a former staffer of Bill de Blasio, working in his administration’s Department of Education and as his deputy chief of staff while he was public advocate, and is currently a district leader for central Brooklyn’s Assembly District 43. Edwards’ appointment was announced on Dec.17, 2025.
Steven Banks
Another Bill de Blasio alum is poised to join the Mamdani administration in a top-level post with the nomination of Steven Banks to corporation counsel. The former commissioner of the Department of Social Services and former attorney-in-chief at the Legal Aid Society will – City Council confirmation pending – lead the Law Department after working both in alignment and against it, including on protecting the city’s right to shelter mandate. As corporation counsel, Banks will be involved in any litigation with the Trump administration, though neither he nor Mamdani shed much light on their strategy. Banks will also be leading a department that Mamdani has said he wants to beef up with a few hundred more lawyers amid a staffing shortage. Mamdani announced Banks’ nomination on Dec. 30, 2025, but Banks will need to be confirmed by the City Council.
Sam Levine
Mamdani is pulling from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission class of 2021 yet again to fill out his team. Sam Levine, who called himself a recent New Yorker, led the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC under Biden. That experience will overlap with many of the facets that he and Mamdani have highlighted in describing the work ahead of him as DCWP commissioner, including going after delivery app companies exploiting workers, and protecting consumers and small businesses from scammers. Levine’s appointment was announced Dec. 22, 2025.
Mitchell Katz
Mamdani announced on Dec. 29, 2025 that he would be renominating Dr. Mitchell Katz as president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals. Katz first took the post in 2017 and was reappointed in 2021. Things are not quite official yet: Just as it did in 2021, the public hospital system’s board of directors will need to vote to approve Katz following Mamdani’s nomination, but it’s very likely it will give Katz the green light. Notably, this is separate from the New York City Council process approving members of the city’s Board of Health – the chamber had rejected Eric Adams’ nomination of Katz to that board in November, wanting to leave it up to the incoming administration.
Ramzi Kassem
Mamdani’s right-hand adviser on legal issues will be Ramzi Kassem, a former senior adviser in the Biden White House on immigration, among other topics. More recently, he served on Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team and is the founding director of a legal clinic at CUNY that aims to protect Muslim and other communities unfairly targeted by the government. (That work led him down an unexpected path of moonlighting as a consultant on the TV show “Homeland.”) Kassem said he has felt a call to service in New York City after growing up in “war-torn countries in the Middle East” and under “authoritarian regimes.” As chief counsel at City Hall, Kassem said that he will work with the mayor to “defend the rights of all New Yorkers, without exception.” Mamdani announced Kassem’s appointment on Dec. 30, 2025.
Louise Yeung
After joining the Mamdani campaign to serve as policy director back in September, Louise Yeung is set to be the Mamdani administration’s chief climate officer. It’s a title she will be well accustomed to – albeit on a slightly smaller scale, having been former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s climate chief. Before that, she worked as director of resiliency at the city Department of Transportation during the de Blasio administration and was vice president of energy at the New York City Economic Development Corp. In her new role, Yeung will oversee the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. Though under Adams, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala was also the administration’s chief climate officer, Yeung will not follow suit and hold both roles. According to transition team spokesperson Dora Pekec, the Mamdani administration will have a separate DEP commissioner.
Mike Flynn
In his first act as mayor in the old City Hall subway station on Jan. 1, 2026, Mamdani appointed transportation planner Mike Flynn as his transportation commissioner. Overseeing the city’s transportation networks will be a high-profile job under a mayor who has promised to make buses free. (Though of course the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is a state agency.) Flynn joins the administration from the private sector, where he worked as a consultant for TYLin City Solutions (formerly known as Sam Schwartz Engineering). Before that, Flynn worked for years in the DOT.
Jason Graham
Dr. Jason Graham is another one of those Adams administration members who are keeping their jobs in 2026. Graham has served as the city’s chief medical examiner since 2022. His appointment was the culmination of many years in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Before serving in his current role in an acting capacity for five months, Graham was first deputy chief medical examiner for the better part of a decade. He has worked at the OCME since 2006. In recent years, he has developed a focus on the examination of overdose deaths. Graham was appointed on Dec. 29, 2025.
Michael Garner
Eric Adams created many roles as New York City mayor. And while it’s not clear if Mamdani intends to keep them all, he did reappoint Michael Garner, who in 2023 became the city’s first citywide chief business diversity officer. Prior to that, Garner had been the chief diversity and inclusion officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for 14 years. He has also served in numerous leadership and advisory roles for various business and diversity-related organizations. Mamdani announced he’d keep Garner on Dec. 29, 2025.
Mir Bashar
Mir Bashar is practically a City Hall staple at this point, having served there in some financial capacity since Rudy Giuliani was mayor. He’ll stay on board with the Mamdani administration, and was reappointed chief administrative officer on Dec. 29, 2025. Before his current role, Bashar was then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s senior budget director.
Emmy Liss
Child care policy consultant Emmy Liss brings her experience shaping the city’s 3-K and pre-K programs under former Mayor Bill de Blasio to the Mamdani administration – which will be crucial. Universal child care was among Mamdani’s key platform points on the campaign trail, and is one Gov. Kathy Hochul is particularly keen on collaborating on. Liss, who had reportedly been advising the Mamdani campaign on child care, will be focused on “building a high-quality, accessible early childhood education system for all New York families,” according to a release from the transition team. It’s not immediately clear who Liss will report to, but Amber Cartwright, executive director of the Adams administration’s equivalent Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, reported to Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Ana Almanzar. Liss’ appointment was announced on Dec. 31, 2025.
Ahmed Tigani
On Dec. 31, 2025, Mamdani announced Ahmed Tigani would serve as his buildings commissioner. Tigani served as acting commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development under Adams, during which he oversaw the launches of major mixed-income housing projects on city-owned land at 100 Gold Street in lower Manhattan and 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Brooklyn. He’s also a de Blasio alum, having served in the former mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs as a housing and economic development adviser. Tigani, a planner by training, has been in and around housing organizing for 15 years. He started his career at the Department of Cultural Affairs in 2007. As Department of Buildings commissioner, Tigani will be responsible for the agency that regulates the construction industry, permits projects and enforces city zoning law.
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