Degan Leopold

Degan Leopold    Degan Mercado Leopold is the Chief Partnerships Officer at the New York Jobs CEO Council (Jobs Council), a market-driven nonprofit intermediary focused on scaling workforce solutions that benefit both jobseekers and businesses. Led by CEOs of large employers, the organization is dedicated to building an education and workforce development system that puts every New Yorker on a pathway to a family-sustaining career. In her role, Degan leads public-private partnerships that accelerate economic mobility for New Yorkers to advance the Jobs Council’s goal to hire 100,000 low-income New Yorkers into in-demand careers by 2030, including 25,000 jobseekers from the City University of New York (CUNY).

Prior to joining the Jobs Council, Degan worked at Bloomberg L.P. for over a decade in various leadership roles across diversity recruiting and corporate philanthropy. She worked to expand talent pipelines to talent from underrepresented backgrounds. Degan also has extensive public sector experience, having served as Chief of Staff for the National Constituencies and Coalitions team for Mike Bloomberg 2020, as head of Brooklyn volunteer outreach for Bloomberg’s 2009 mayoral campaign, and in the New York City Mayor’s Office during the Bloomberg Administration for seven years.

Degan is passionate about public service and advancing equitable access to opportunity for all. Degan received her MPA in Public & Nonprofit Management from New York University and holds a BA from Wesleyan University.  She is a member of the NYC Workforce Development Board and the NYC Public Schools Pathways Advisory Council and serves on the boards of directors of New York City-based nonprofits, BASTA and Green City Force. A native New Yorker, Degan currently lives in Brooklyn with her family.

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