May 2, 2019
We are happy to formally announce the hiring of our new Executive Vice President, Kate Dineen. She will be starting at A Better City on May 6th.
Kate Dineen is the former Chief of Staff for State Operations in the Office of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. In this role, Ms. Dineen spearheaded the development and implementation of the Governor's annual State of the State policy agenda and helped negotiate the State's annual $170 billion budget. She oversaw the daily operations of New York State agencies and managed a team of nearly 40 senior policymakers to advance the Governor's priorities. She played a key role in a variety of marquee initiatives, from combating the opioid epidemic, to fighting gang violence, to ensuring gender equity. She has noteworthy expertise in energy and environmental policy, developing and implementing sweeping initiatives to improve community resilience, expand renewable energy, enhance open space, and protect water quality.
Amid more frequent and severe storms, Ms. Dineen also worked closely with key agencies on emergency preparedness and response efforts. Additionally, Ms. Dineen managed New York State's sweeping efforts to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria, including the deployment of more than 1,000 public safety personnel and utility workers, distribution of nearly 4,500 pallets of critical supplies, and the establishment of student volunteer initiative to rebuild hundreds of homes in 10 weeks.
Ms. Dineen previously served as Governor Cuomo's Assistant Secretary for the Environment, negotiating the historic $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act and record $300 million Environmental Protection Fund. She also served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery, established to implement approximately $4.4 billion in federally-funded recovery and resiliency projects post-Superstorm Sandy.
Before joining the Cuomo Administration, Ms. Dineen was U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's Policy Director, covering environmental, energy, and economic development issues. She also worked for the Australian federal government evaluating the world's first national scheme to regulate the creation and trade of carbon credits.
A Massachusetts native, Ms. Dineen holds a Masters in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She graduated cum laude from Williams College with a B.A. in English.
"We are fortunate to have found an individual who has both management and environmental experience to help lead our organization, championing urgent issues while strengthening our team from within. Welcome aboard, Kate! We are thrilled to have you with us." Rick Dimino, President & CEO of A Better City.
Please join us in extending our warmest welcome to Kate Dineen.