2024 Election Results

Joel Desouve currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff to a New York City  Council Member and the Chair of the Committee on Education. Before this  role, he was the Director of Policy, Budget & Infrastructure at the  New York City Council. In that position, Joel managed large budgets,  conducted legislative research, and worked closely with city agencies  and nonprofits. He played a key role in overseeing a budget of over $60  million and allocating more than $22 million for capital projects and  local organizations. In the past, he has worked at the Baruch College  and interned for Jumaane D. Williams, the Public Advocate of New York  City, and Assembly Member Mathylde Frontus. In these roles, he proposed  impactful policies and collaborated with community leaders and  officials. Joel also currently serves as the Secretary of ASPA New York  Metro.

Joel  holds a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College’s Marxe  School of Public & International Affairs, where he also served as  the President of the Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society. Joel also has a BS in  Public Affairs with honors and a minor in Communication Studies.  Volunteering with organizations such as the Salvation Army and the  International Rescue Committee has given Joel a strong background in  community engagement and social services. Additionally, his ability to  speak French, Haitian Creole, and intermediate Spanish enhances his  capacity to collaborate with professionals from diverse backgrounds and  in diverse environments. 

Jennifer’s path to pursuing a Master of Public Administration was rooted in her  Political Science studies at SUNY Geneseo and her experience working at a  law firm in Westchester County with a primarily focus on real estate  transactions. She knows the local community—as a paralegal, agent, and a  neighbor—and can navigate the local market and nuances of real estate.  Jennifer is a co-chair of the Pace University Master of Public  Administration Student Association, a member of the American Society for  Public Administration, and the International City/County Management  Association.

Jessica Ganus currently works as the Department Head for the City of Peekskill Section 8 Department in Peekskill, New York. In her position, she manages a portfolio of $8.2 million in federal housing subsidies in which she provides housing vouchers to families in the City of Peekskill. Jessica was born in Yonkers, New York, and has lived in various areas of Westchester County, NY, and currently resides in Croton on Hudson, New York. She has worked with federal housing subsidies since 2012 and is passionate about affordable housing in her community. 

She first began her career in housing as a Housing Specialist for a housing agency named CVR New York, dealing with the Westchester County Housing Choice Voucher Program in White Plains, New York. In this agency, she excelled from Housing Specialist to Housing Supervisor, then found her way to the City of Peekskill to manage their entire program as the Section 8 Director. 

She is currently a Pace University Alumni with her undergraduate degree in Accounting and will receive her master's in public administration in August 2023 from Pace University. In her free time, she is involved in various organizations, such as the Order of the Eastern Star, where she participates in community service activities for the community in Harlem, New York. She has also served on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Village of Croton in Hudson, NY.

Shilpa Viswanath is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Management. Her research focuses on public sector human resource management with an emphasis on gender equity, diversity, and inclusive workplace practices. Dr. Viswanath also studies comparative public administration with a focus on South Asia. At John Jay College she serves as a faculty advisor for the MPA student association and the ICMA student chapter.