SIPA Alumni, Faculty, Fellows Appointed to Roles in NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani’s Administration and Transition Committee

On November 10, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani appointed Elle Bisgaard-Church MPA ’20 as his chief of staff. Bisgaard-Church, who concentrated in Urban and Social Policy while at SIPA, previously served as Mamdani’s chief of staff in the New York State Assembly and his 2025 campaign manager.

On November 24, the mayor-elect appointed more than 400 New Yorkers to 17 transition committees, who together will provide personnel and policy insights to the incoming administration. 

Several members of the Columbia SIPA community were among those appointed:

• Drashti Brahmbhatt MPA ’21, Advisor to Mayor Zohran Mamdani for 100 Day Planning and Implementation
• Francesco Brindisi, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs (Committee on Government Operations)
• Laura Feyer MPA ’24, Policy Advisor
• Laura Kavanagh EMPA ’21, 34th New York City Fire Commissioner (Committee on Government Operations)
• Sara Lind MIA ’17, Coexecutive Director, Open Plans (Committee on Transportation, Climate, & Infrastructure)
• Christine Marinoni MIA ’17, Public School Advocate (Committee on Youth & Education)
• Kelly McKinney MPA ’95, Vice President, Emergency Management and Enterprise Resilience, NYU Langone Health (Committee on Emergency Response)
• Ai-jen Poo, IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellow (Committee on Worker Justice)
• Haley Van Dyck, Lecturer of International and Public Affairs (Committee on Technology)