Capitol NY
By Gloria Pazmino | Aug. 20, 2014
The City Council’s Progressive Caucus has hired Alana Cantillo as its new coordinator.
In her new role, Cantillo will be a central figure in the caucus’ push for new legislation and the shaping of its updated progressive agenda.
Cantillo is a former public school teacher who spent three years working at a school in Washington Heights. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and has a master’s degree from the City College of New York.
“I’ll be coordinating a lot of the members’ policy priorities. There will be opportunities for collaboration, team building and partnering on different issues,” Cantillo told Capital in an interview.
Cantillo said she hopes to help ensure that “people know the Progressive Caucus is active, engaged and seen as an important resource.”
Drawing on her experience as a public school teacher, Cantillo said, she will be able to use what she learned while navigating multiple city agencies and trying to help parents and students as a tool to craft policy and legislation.
“They [the caucus] have a diverse set of members and dynamic people who want to reinvent the legislative process through something such as participatory budgeting, but also with engagement and involvement with communities,” Cantillo said, adding that her first challenge would be to look at all the legislative priorities of each of the caucus’ 18 members.
Most recently, Cantillo was a fellow in public affairs at the Coro New York Leadership Center. She takes over for Mary Tek, who is now working as innovation projects coordinator in the council’s policy and innovation division.
Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council 