Julissa Ferreras

Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (born November 2, 1976) is an American politician. She is the former New York City Council Member for the 21st district from 2009 to 2017, which includes portions of College Point, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Flushing, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Jackson Heights and LaGuardia Airport in the New York City borough of Queens. During her tenure, Ferreras-Copeland served as the chairman of the Finance Committee. She was the first woman, the first person of color, and the youngest member to be elected Finance Chair. She is a Democrat.

Early life and education Ferreras-Copeland grew up in Corona, Queens to mother Josefina Ferreras-Peláez, an office aide who worked at the New York City Human Resources Administration, and father Julio Alejandro Ferreras, a subway car inspector at New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Her parents are both from the Dominican Republic but met in New York City at Madison Square Garden at a Fania All-Stars concert. She attended LaGuardia Community College and Metropolitan College of New York.

Career In 1999, at age 19 and after graduating from high school, Ferreras-Copeland became the director of a Beacon program housed in one of the most crowded public schools in the world, Public School 19Q. She was assistant director of the Community Conciliation Network in Corona, Queens.

Ferreras-Copeland's political career officially commenced in 2001 when she became a Democratic National Convention delegate appointed by Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette.

In 2017, Ferreras-Copeland decided to leave politics and not seek re-election, returning to the private sector in order to focus on her family. Starting in 2010, Ferreras-Copeland served as the head of the Committee on Women's Issues.

After being re-elected for a second term in 2014, Ferreras-Copeland was appointed by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to the serve as the first woman and first person of color to chair the City Council's Finance Committee. In this role, Ferreras-Copeland oversaw the city's $78.3 billion budget as well as the Department of Finance, Banking Commission, Tax Commission, Comptroller's Office, Department of Design and Construction and Independent Budget Office.

Ferreras-Copeland was responsible for building hundreds of school seats in Corona, Jackson Heights, and East Elmhurst. Ferreras-Copeland told The New York Times that she allocated funding to build five new schools in her district and all were scheduled to open in Corona in the coming years to handle increased demand.

Ferreras-Copeland developed and supported the creation of Corona Plaza, a former underutilized parking space which has been transformed in a public square. Corona Plaza, which is located at 103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue, has become a meeting place since it was turned into a pedestrian zone in 2012. Ferreras-Copeland said the plaza has taken on the role of the central squares found in towns and cities in Latin America. "If you go to many of these countries, everyone comes to a centrally located plaza at some point in the day."

In 2016, Ferreras-Copeland sponsored menstrual equity legislation, the first laws of this type in the United States that guarantee access to feminine hygiene products in schools, prisons, and homeless shelters.

Ferreras-Copeland had been considered a favorite in the race to succeed Melissa Mark-Viverito as Speaker of the New York City Council. Like Mark-Viverito, she was considered an ally of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. Her retirement shook up the race and ultimately led to a victory by Corey Johnson, who had billed himself as the "anti-DeBlasio." The family lives in Maryland, where her husband works.

Awards and leadership Corona Youth Council, member Corona-East Elmhurst NAACP Youth Council, president, 3 years 2008: City & State, 40 Under 40 2014: Crain's New York, 40 Under 40 Dominican American National Roundtable, board member NAACP, board member (former) Neighborhood Housing Services, board member Renaissance Music and Sports, board member Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc., board member National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), board member