Veronica M. White

Biographical Information
"Veronica M. White is Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, which is steward of more than 29,000 acres of land including 1,700 parks, 14 miles of beaches, 500 community gardens, and 2,500 Greenstreets. Parks also manages the City's athletic fields, playgrounds, tennis courts, public pools, nature centers, golf courses, monuments, and historic house museums. The Department of Parks & Recreation plays a key role in the PlaNYC and MillionTreesNYC initiatives, Mayor Bloomberg's signature projects to green the city and develop a more sustainable future.

"Commissioner White has worked on behalf of New York City as a public official under the administration of Mayors Edward I. Koch, Rudolph Giuliani and Michael R. Bloomberg. She has also served in the private and non-profit sectors. Prior to her appointment to the Department of Parks & Recreation, Commissioner White was the founding Executive Director of the Center for Economic Opportunity. Commissioner White has worked as a consultant specializing in strategic business planning and management for non-profits, real estate development and environmental issues, and public-private partnerships. She has served in various executive positions, including as Chief Operating Officer of the New York City Partnership and President and CEO of the New York City Housing Partnership. She also worked as Deputy Commissioner of Planing, Policy, and Intergovernmental Affairs at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and practiced law at the firms of Brown & Wood and Sidley & Austin. Commissioner White served for eight years on the New York Advisory Council of The Trust for Public Land and for seven years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Taconic Foundation.

"A lifelong New Yorker, Commissioner White grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and now lives in Manhattan with her husband, Victor Marrero and two sons, Andrew and Robert. A graduate of Niagara University, she received a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Juris Doctorate from the Harvard Law School."

Affiliations

 * Trustee ex offico, New York Restoration Project