Adrienne Eadie Adams is the Speaker of the New York City Council. Elected in January 2022 by her colleagues, she leads the most diverse and the first women-majority Council in New York City history as the first-ever African American Speaker. Elected to the City Council in November 2017, she is also the first woman to represent District 28, which encompasses the Queens neighborhoods of Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village, and South Ozone Park.

During her first term, Speaker Adams secured a record level of funding for her district, which had endured years of disparity and disinvestment, including investments in schools, parks, libraries, housing, and sanitation services. As a member of the Budget Negotiating Team, she championed funding for cultural institutions, health care, digital access, child and adult literacy, community-based food pantries, small business assistance, as well as Fair Futures, an initiative providing mentorship and services for foster care youth. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she fought to secure additional testing and vaccine sites in her district, which lacked equitable resources despite having one of the highest COVID-19 case rates in the entire City. While serving as Co-Chair of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus (BLAC) of the Council, Speaker Adams advocated for additional investments in foreclosure prevention programs, CUNY’s research institutions, and many other community support initiatives. Under her leadership, the City Council also funded the Education Equity Action Plan, an initiative to implement a comprehensive K-12 Black Studies Curriculum for all students in New York City’s public schools.

Read more about Adrienne Eadie Adams.