New York City’s 2021 Mayoral race will certainly be historic, especially with two of our own running. Amidst the pandemic crisis, climbing budget deficit, job loss and inequality, Bill de Blasio’s successor will face many challenges.

We invite you to join us for a Zoom conversation with Kathryn Garcia ’88 and Dianne Morales ’85, Stuyvesant’s alumnae candidates for NYC Mayor. The event will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7pm EST via Zoom.

Ms. Garcia and Ms. Morales have had different career trajectories since graduating from Stuyvesant. Ms. Garcia has spent much of her career as a leader in public service, and Ms. Morales has been a leader in the non-profit sector. They will be interviewed by Ilya Marritz ’95, a senior reporter at WNYC.

We hope you will join us in this exciting and illuminating discussion.

Tickets are available now for $5 for dues-paying members, and $25 for all other alumni. You can purchase a ticket plus membership at the discounted rate of $50.

Please note: You MUST log into MyStuy to purchase a member ticket. 

Current Stuyvesant students can join this event for free. Please email us at [email protected] for details on how to join.

Dianne Morales ’85 was born in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn to two working- class Puerto Rican parents, a secretary for the leather workers’ union and a building manager on the waterfront, who instilled the value that those who find success lift others as they climb. From a very early age, Dianne watched her parents practice what they preached, serving as a support system for neighbors and family even as the City’s services let them down. She would realize the people her family supported struggled because of inequities and indignities rooted deeply in our society.

This fueled Dianne’s life-long commitment to dismantling structures that block millions from thriving. As Dianne advocated for herself and others, she gained a deep understanding of the deeply ingrained flaws in New York’s education, justice, and health care systems. Dianne’s career has been focused on building partnerships, reimagining new systems, and leveraging massive resources to deliver high-quality services and real opportunity to struggling people and families. She was a founding board member of Jumpstart, a 25-year-old national nonprofit that prepares preschoolers for kindergarten. She earned her undergraduate degree from Stony Brook University and graduate degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Columbia University. Dianne started her career as an educator, teaching 4th grade at PS 154, the same school she attended as a child.

Dianne is the type of leader who can find and execute solutions to big problems. When Hurricane Maria devastated her family’s home island, Dianne provided aid to some of the areas that had been hardest hit. As a result of her experiences, she helped establish the Fundación de Mujeres en Puerto Rico to continue supporting women’s leadership and representation in providing resources and developing solutions that serve and protect women’s interests in the island’s rebuilding. Her leadership and advocacy in education, employment, and social justice have improved the lives of thousands of New Yorkers in Black, Brown and poor communities.

As a leader in the non-profit sector, Dianne experienced on the ground those same inequities and indignities persisting in our society that she saw as a child. Even as she confronted these problems, she recognized that greater leadership was required to address the root-causes of the problems of racism, misogyny and poverty. Dianne Morales is running to be the first Afro-Latina Mayor of New York to bring the structural change New York needs, and a City Hall that works for all people.

Kathryn Garcia ’88 was appointed in 2014 as the Commissioner NYC Department of Sanitation, the world’s largest municipal waste management agency. As Commissioner, Kathryn was responsible for keeping New York City healthy, safe, and clean by collecting, recycling, and disposing of waste, cleaning streets and public spaces, and clearing snow and ice.

In 2018, Kathryn was appointed Senior Advisor for Citywide Lead Prevention. In that role, she spearheaded LeadFreeNYC, NYC’s comprehensive plan to eradicate childhood lead exposure. In early 2019, Garcia was appointed CEO and Interim Chair of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), where she worked to reverse decades of disinvestment in public housing and operationalize the City’s agreement with the federal government.

During the City’s COVID-19 response, Kathryn served as “Food Czar,” and was responsible for building a program of unprecedented scale — 130 million meals — to feed hungry and vulnerable New Yorkers and ensuring a safe, reliable and affordable food supply.

Kathryn Garcia is a skilled and experienced government executive who will govern the same way she has approached every challenge in her career–data-driven and focused. She will surround herself with competent and passionate public servants who share her goal of building a sustainable future for NYC.

Kathryn is a mother of two, a lifelong New Yorker who lives in Park Slope Brooklyn, the neighborhood where she grew up.

Ilya Marritz ‘95 is a senior reporter at WNYC and the co-host of the podcast Trump, Inc.

Ilya was born and raised in Manhattan. His work has been heard on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Marketplace, On The Media, Planet Money, and The World. He has contributed to The Daily News, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, and the Financial Times. Since 2018, he has been the co-host of the duPont silver baton-winning podcast Trump, Inc., produced by WNYC and ProPublica.

He previously hosted The Season, a podcast about a struggling college football team, the Columbia University Lions.

If you have any questions, reach out to [email protected]. The Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association office is currently unable to take phone calls to our main line. Please email us to schedule a phone call.