Biography
Dottie Conway Lebron is a trusted public affairs professional with extensive government, policy and community relations experience. For more than a decade she has served as an expert advisor to New York City elected officials working behind the scenes in New York’s political landscape proffering innovative ideas and problem solving support to advance progressive policies.
A results oriented strategic thinker and writer, in her most recent role, Conway Lebron served as a policy research scientist at the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University where she wrote and lectured on issues related to race, poverty and trauma. In this capacity Conway Lebron authored a new analysis of the cumulative negative impact of racism on the lives of people of color as the lead author of their report entitled the Facts Matter! Black Lives Matter! The Trauma of Racism.
Conway Lebron’s effective use of her policy advocacy experience and education at the NYU McSilver Institute exemplifies her versatility in supporting an organization to achieve key goals and objectives. The report she authored serves as a communication tool used by McSilver to demonstrate its values and commitment to integrating poverty reduction research with dismantling structural racism.
As Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director for City Council Member Albert Vann, Conway Lebron led efforts to enact legislative reforms that improved the lives of low income families and individuals living in New York City. While at the Council, she served as a behind the scenes advisor and crafted the agenda of the Committee on Community Development from 2005 to 2013, an oversight committee that was focused specifically on City efforts to address poverty. In this role Conway Lebron skillfully leveraged the committee’s unique independence to help press the Mayor to devise policies and programs to improve the lives of New Yorkers living in poverty, organizing more than 20 hearings from 2008 to 2013 showcasing promising anti-poverty initiatives.
Her legislative accomplishments at the City Council include the passage of laws that reform the City’s lien sale program, legislation that encourages bank community reinvestment and a local law requiring the Mayor to annually report city efforts to reduce the poverty rate.
With a proven track record as a confidential employee, Conway Lebron has been entrusted to serve as a representative in legislative affairs, budget matters, and has served on various interagency, policy, and advisory boards. Over the years, Conway Lebron has developed an extensive professional network that includes: elected city, state and federal officials and their staff, agency heads, executive directors, industry experts, business professionals and community advocates.
Conway Lebron’s experience includes city contracting, having served as a procurement analyst managing the responsibility determination of more than $300 million in human service contracts within New York City’s Human Resources Administration, including WeCare, the BEGIN program, and Back to Work.
Over the years as an inside advocate and expert advisor, Conway Lebron’s efforts have helped to:
· Secure 16 units of supportive housing for families in living in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. As a policy analyst working for then Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden, Dottie analyzed the growth of families living within NYC’s shelter system. Using her influence, she recommended the Borough President support housing models for families facing homelessness. With an early capital grant from the Borough President, Fifth Avenue Committee renovated the abandoned residential building at 588 Park Place into supportive housing for homeless families.
· Created employment opportunities for Brooklyn Teens. Dottie served as the inaugural staff directing Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s signature youth program, Brooklyn Summer HEAT (Help Employ Ambitious Teens). Her efforts helped to create a solid foundation for a program that provided valuable summer employment opportunities and experiences for teens in the workforce.
· Advocated to fund Pratt Center for Community Development – Block-by-Block Neighborhood Retrofitting pilot. Conway Lebron successfully advocated for Speaker’s Discretionary funding for a model residential housing energy efficiency program. The Pratt Center for Community Development first initiated this pilot program within several blocks in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Her advocacy led to its selection to receive Speaker Discretionary funding in FY 2012 and FY 2013 for energy efficiency retrofitting in residential homes in 5 neighborhoods across the City.
· Reform of the Lien Sale Laws. Conway Lebron worked closely with legal and housing advocates, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project and the Legal Aid Society to find ways to reduce the negative impacts of the City’s lien sale process on economically vulnerable homeowners. She managed the City Council’s Committee on Community Development as staff to Chairman Vann, overseeing three years of City Council hearings on the City’s lien sale program, which successfully led to the passage of several lien sale reform laws in 2011 and in 2013, adding comprehensive protections to the lien sale process to help more New Yorkers to retain their homes while managing their municipal debts.
· Poverty Reduction Reporting legislation. Managing the Committee on Community development which provided oversight regarding City effort to address poverty, Conway Lebron was instrumental in the passage of legislation requiring the Mayor to develop and submit an annual report on poverty reduction planning.
· New York City Responsible Banking Act. Emphasizing the need for banks committed to the community’s financial needs, as CM Vann’s Legislative Director, Conway Lebron worked with City Council Finance and the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD) to craft the New York City Responsible Banking Act of 2012. The law established an advisory board to assess the banking needs of communities at the neighborhood level.
· Protect Child Care and Social Services funding threatened during Bloomberg Administration budget cycles. During City budget negotiations, Conway Lebron supported Deputy Majority Leader Vann as a member of the City Council Budget Negotiating Team. Participating in budget briefings, while meeting with groups across the City, has provided Dottie with an intimate understanding of the mechanics of the City’s budgetary process. With strong community ties, Conway Lebron made important assessments about the impacts of service reductions to individuals and communities during critical negotiating periods, equipping the Councilman to advocate effectively in budget negotiations.
Dottie Conway Lebron studied Law and Society at the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. where she earned a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree. She moved to Brooklyn to pursue her graduate studies at the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University where she earned a Master’s of Public Administration while focusing on Public Policy.