Pat Fahy was appointed to the New York State Department of Labor in March 2007 and serves as Associate Commissioner of Intergovernmental Affairs and Federal Policy. She is the Department’s lead representative on federal relations with the Governor’s Washington, DC Office, Congress and the federal government. She also serves as co-chair of the Disconnected Youth Work Group for the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet.

Previously, Pat served as a consultant on education and workforce training issues for the Big Brothers Big Sisters, the AFL-CIO Workforce Development Institute and the National Commission for Education and the Economy (NCEE).

In December 2005, she completed a four-year term as a citywide elected member of the Albany Board of Education.  She was elected unanimously by the school board to serve as President for the 2003 term, and spearheaded efforts to successfully pass the $140 million operating budget despite state budget cuts; help pass a $175 million voter referendum to rebuild most of the Albany public schools; and search and select interim and permanent superintendents.

Pat was a member of the 2006 Steering Committee for the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce Capital Leadership Class and was a past participant in the program. She is a former Senior Policy Analyst for the Program Development Group of the New York State Assembly.

Pat is a Chicago native and, prior to moving to Albany in 1997, served as Executive Director of the business-led Chicago Workforce Board overseeing Chicago’s workforce-related programs. Prior to her work in Chicago, Pat spent over nine years in Washington, DC, in a number of capacities, including: 
• Political appointee in the Clinton Administration as the Associate Director for Employment and Training, in the U.S. Department of Labor Congressional Affair’s Office.
• Senior legislative analyst in the U.S. House of Representatives, for the Labor Committee’s Subcommittee on Employment, then chaired by Rep. Chris Perkins.
• Legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate, for the Committee on Health, Education and Labor’s Subcommittee on Employment, then chaired by Senator Paul Simon (D-IL).
• President Management Intern (PMI) competitively selected in 1985 for a two-year federal agency appointment. 

Pat is married to Dr. Wayne Bequette, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at RPI, and they have two children attending Albany public schools. She has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northern Illinois University. 


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