Adriano Espaillat: Biography
Adriano de Jesus Espaillat Rodriguez was born on September 27, 1954, in Santiago, Dominican Republic, to Melba Rodriguez and Ulises Espaillat . His father was named after the 19th-century liberal Dominican president Ulises Francisco Espaillat, who was Adriano's great-grandfather . The family's heritage also includes a connection to military hero Pedro Ignacio Espaillat and former Dominican Senate President Mario Fermin Cabral y Baez through his mother's lineage . Espaillat has described himself as a Latino of African descent, reflecting his Afro-Dominican roots .
The Espaillat family immigrated to the United States in 1964, when Adriano was nine years old 5. The family entered the country on a tourist visa and, after overstaying it, became undocumented immigrants . They petitioned for green cards and became lawful permanent residents the following year, in 1965 . His father eventually purchased a gas station, where Espaillat helped out as a young man .
Espaillat grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, a culturally rich and predominantly Dominican area of New York City 9. He graduated from Bishop Dubois High School in 1974 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Queens College, part of the City University of New York, in 1978 . He entered Queens College through the Percy E. Sutton SEEK Program, a support initiative for students from disadvantaged backgrounds . During his time at Queens College, he became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity . He later completed postgraduate coursework in public administration at New York University and the Rutgers University Leadership for Urban Executives Institute .
Before entering elected office, Espaillat built a career in community service and nonprofit work. From 1980 to 1988, he served as the Manhattan Court Services Coordinator for the New York City Criminal Justice Agency, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to those in need and works to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention and post-sentence incarceration costs . He also worked as a state-certified conflict resolution mediator and volunteer with the Washington Heights-Inwood Conflict Resolution and Mediation Center, helping resolve hundreds of disputes . From 1992 to 1994, he served as Director of the Washington Heights Victims Services Community Office, an organization offering bilingual support groups for battered women and counseling and therapeutic services for families of homicide victims . From 1994 to 1996, Espaillat directed Project Right Start, a national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to combat substance abuse through parent education, a pilot program implemented in six cities and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico .
Espaillat was also an active voice on New York City Community Board 12 and served as President of the 34th Precinct Community Council . From 1991 to 1993, he was a member of Governor Mario Cuomo's Dominican-American Advisory Board .
Espaillat lives in Inwood, Manhattan . He married Martha Madera in 1979 and has two children . He is a grandfather 22. Espaillat is a Catholic, though he has noted disagreements with the Church on certain social issues . He is a fan of the New York Yankees .
Overview
Adriano de Jesus Espaillat Rodriguez was born on September 27, 1954, in Santiago, Dominican Republic, to Melba Rodriguez and Ulises Espaillat . His father was named after the 19th-century liberal Dominican president Ulises Francisco Espaillat, who was Adriano's great-grandfather . The family's heritage also includes a connection to military hero Pedro Ignacio Espaillat and former Dominican Senate President Mario Fermin Cabral y Baez through his mother's lineage . Espaillat has described himself as a Latino of African descent, reflecting his Afro-Dominican roots .
The Espaillat family immigrated to the United States in 1964, when Adriano was nine years old 5. The family entered the country on a tourist visa and, after overstaying it, became undocumented immigrants . They petitioned for green cards and became lawful permanent residents the following year, in 1965 . His father eventually purchased a gas station, where Espaillat helped out as a young man .
Espaillat grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, a culturally rich and predominantly Dominican area of New York City 9. He graduated from Bishop Dubois High School in 1974 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Queens College, part of the City University of New York, in 1978 . He entered Queens College through the Percy E. Sutton SEEK Program, a support initiative for students from disadvantaged backgrounds . During his time at Queens College, he became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity . He later completed postgraduate coursework in public administration at New York University and the Rutgers University Leadership for Urban Executives Institute .
Before entering elected office, Espaillat built a career in community service and nonprofit work. From 1980 to 1988, he served as the Manhattan Court Services Coordinator for the New York City Criminal Justice Agency, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to those in need and works to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention and post-sentence incarceration costs . He also worked as a state-certified conflict resolution mediator and volunteer with the Washington Heights-Inwood Conflict Resolution and Mediation Center, helping resolve hundreds of disputes . From 1992 to 1994, he served as Director of the Washington Heights Victims Services Community Office, an organization offering bilingual support groups for battered women and counseling and therapeutic services for families of homicide victims . From 1994 to 1996, Espaillat directed Project Right Start, a national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to combat substance abuse through parent education, a pilot program implemented in six cities and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico .
Espaillat was also an active voice on New York City Community Board 12 and served as President of the 34th Precinct Community Council . From 1991 to 1993, he was a member of Governor Mario Cuomo's Dominican-American Advisory Board .
Espaillat lives in Inwood, Manhattan . He married Martha Madera in 1979 and has two children . He is a grandfather 22. Espaillat is a Catholic, though he has noted disagreements with the Church on certain social issues . He is a fan of the New York Yankees .