Adams appoints new deputy mayor for strategic initiatives

Mayor Eric Adams has appointed Ana Almanzar deputy mayor for strategic initiatives, a high-profile position that oversees several city agencies.

Almanzar, who previously served as the director of community relations at Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, will step into the role current First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright previously held, the mayor said in a press release Friday. Adams promoted Wright to her current position in December.

“For more than a decade, Ana Almanzar has built bridges between non-profits and government,” Adams said in a statement. “From improving health outcomes in diverse communities at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to overseeing a $25 million poverty reduction initiative on the state level, Ana has shown her ability to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers.”

Almanzar will officially take on the role in early June, the release said. She will oversee several mayoral offices, as well as the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development, the City University of New York and the Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence, according to the release.

Before her time at Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Almanzar was chief of staff to the New York state director of nonprofits for six years, the release said.

She is the city’s first Dominican deputy mayor, Hispanic Federation President and CEO Frankie Miranda said in a statement included in the release.

“My journey from Las Palmas-Santo Domingo to City Hall has been filled with great challenges and opportunities that made me who I am and fuel my desire to help others reach their goals and dreams,” Almanzar said in a statement. “I am ready to ‘Get Stuff Done’ to build a better city for all New Yorkers.”