Melissa Quesada, Chief Diversity Officer

As Chief Diversity Officer, Melissa develops and implements diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for NYSDOL. This includes creating, managing, and optimizing all efforts related to making the workplace a fairer, more-equitable environment for all employees.

Career Background: For 15 years, Melissa has served in various government, non-profit, and private sector roles. She previously served as Director of Latino Affairs, the Governor's primary representative to the Latino community. Melissa also served as Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Worker Protection at the DOL. In that role, she implemented multi-agency, statewide outreach efforts.

Throughout her career, she has also served non-profits such as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and the Institute for Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly.

Education: Melissa holds a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and a B.A. from Binghamton University. She was the President of the Delta Phi Epsilon, Binghamton Chapter.