PROGRAM

Students Only

Join three prominent NYC political reporters on Wednesday, March 23 for an in-depth analysis of Albany politics and Governor Hochul’s ambitious 2022 budget proposal, which will impact millions of New Yorkers.

Moderated by Dr. Basil A. Smikle Jr., Director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Program, the program will feature Rebecca Lewis, Deputy State Politics Reporter, City & State NY; Ben Max, Executive Editor, Gotham Gazette; and Laura Nahmias, Senior Reporter, Bloomberg News.

Speaker Bios:

Rebecca C. Lewis is deputy state politics reporter at City & State, the weekly magazine and website focused on all things political in New York City and Albany. Before joining City & State more than four years ago, Rebecca worked for the public radio station WFUV in a variety of roles including reporter, anchor, and podcast producer. A native of New York, she graduated from Fordham University with a degree in communications and can be found on Twitter @_rebeccaclewis.

Ben Max is the executive editor of Gotham Gazette, an independent news publication of Citizens Union Foundation that closely covers New York government and politics. He is also the host of the “Max Politics” podcast. Before shifting to journalism in 2012, Ben worked in education for 10 years, most of them as a high school history teacher. He grew up in Queens lives in Brooklyn, and he’s on Twitter @TweetBenMax.

Laura Nahmias is a senior reporter covering city and state politics for Bloomberg News. Before joining Bloomberg, she wrote political features for New York Magazine and served for two years as a member of the Daily News Editorial Board. She has worked as a political reporter covering both Albany and City Hall for POLITICO, where she also wrote the “New York Playbook.” Laura has a masters degree in journalism from Columbia, and graduated with a degree in history from Wesleyan University. She is a native of Memphis, Tennessee.

Dr. Basil A. Smikle Jr. is Distinguished Lecturer and Director of the Public Policy Program at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. He was appointed by former Governor David Paterson to serve as the Executive Director of the New York State Democratic Party during the 2016 presidential cycle where he was the “second highest ranking Democrat” in the State. He holds a Ph.D. in Politics and Education and an MPA from Columbia University and received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.