Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez

Lorraine A. Cortés-Vázquez is an American government official who served as the commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging, and previously served as the 65th Secretary of State of New York, appointed by Governor Eliot Spitzer and serving in the cabinets of both Spitzer and his successor, David Paterson.

Early life and education Cortés-Vázquez was born in East Harlem, New York City. She earned her undergraduate degree from Hunter College, and a Master of Public Administration from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. She has pursued further studies at Columbia University's School of Non-Profit Management, as well as at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 2020, Cortés-Vázquez was appointed by Mayor Bill De Blasio and confirmed by the New York State Senate to serve on the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Personal life Cortés-Vázquez is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent and is the second person of Puerto Rican ancestry to serve as Secretary of State in a state of the Union, preceded only by Pedro Cortés, of Pennsylvania.