Few figures in modern American state politics have generated as much fascination — and controversy — as Melissa DeRosa. She rose from intern to the highest unelected office in New York State government, stood at the center of a pandemic that shook the nation, and then walked away from it all. This is her complete story.
Who Is Melissa DeRosa?
Melissa DeRosa is an American politician from Albany, New York, best known for serving as Secretary to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. Born on September 29, 1982, she grew up in a household where politics was never just background noise — her father introduced her to politics when she was just eight years old.
That early exposure shaped everything that followed. She attended Emma Willard Institution, a private all-girls school outside of Albany, for her secondary education. From there, she went on to Cornell University, where her ambitions sharpened considerably.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations, as well as a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Before she even graduated, she was already accumulating real-world political experience that most people never get in a lifetime.
Melissa DeRosa’s Early Career: From Intern to Insider
The Internships That Built a Political Foundation
At 16, DeRosa was an intern for the political director of the New York State AFL-CIO. That early exposure to organized labor politics gave her an understanding of working-class concerns that would shape her policy work for years.
While an undergraduate student at Cornell, she worked in the Senate office of Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C. during a summer. That connection to one of the most prominent women in American political history left a visible mark on her career philosophy.
After graduating, her path was anything but linear. After graduation, she worked for a year as a publicist for Theory, a fashion house in New York, and then worked as a lobbyist for Bolton-St. Johns, where her father, Giorgio DeRosa, is a partner. That combination — communications, lobbying, and policy — proved to be the perfect preparation.
Joining the Cuomo Administration
She first worked as deputy press secretary for Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign in New York, and later joined New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration. Once inside, she moved quickly.
From April 2013 to August 2021, she served in a series of senior roles for Governor Andrew Cuomo — including Communications Director, Strategic Advisor, Chief of Staff, and Secretary to the Governor. That progression, spanning nearly a decade, is remarkable by any measure in state-level politics.
The Secretary to the Governor: A Historic Appointment
Breaking a Barrier That Had Stood for Decades
Melissa DeRosa became the first woman to serve as Secretary to the Governor, the highest unelected position in New York State government. The significance of that milestone extends beyond symbolism — the Secretary to the Governor controls access, manages crises, and shapes the daily agenda of the state’s chief executive.
She is the state’s most powerful appointed official, and she was both the first and one of the youngest women to hold that post. The dual distinction underscores just how fast she had moved through a system that historically moved slowly for women.
The 38-year-old began her career as the governor’s secretary in 2017, after serving as the communications director since 2013. In state government, that position is the most powerful unelected position.
Policy Wins Under Her Watch
During her tenure, Melissa DeRosa was far more than a gatekeeper. She was a policy driver. Key legislative achievements she helped advance include:
- New York’s $15 minimum wage and paid family leave program
- The Excelsior Scholarship, making New York the first state to provide free public college tuition for many middle- and low-income families
- Mandated insurance coverage for medically necessary IVF
- Codifying and strengthening abortion protections under state law
- Making “revenge porn” illegal in New York
These were not minor administrative wins. They were landmark pieces of legislation that directly affected millions of New Yorkers.
Melissa DeRosa at the Center of the COVID-19 Crisis
Managing a Pandemic in Real Time
When COVID-19 hit New York in March 2020, the state became the global epicenter of the outbreak almost overnight. DeRosa was more visible on Cuomo’s briefing platform than even the state health commissioner during the peak of the outbreak in New York.
DeRosa founded and served as Chair of the New York State COVID-19 Maternity Task Force and the COVID-19 Domestic Violence Task Force — two bodies that addressed the often-overlooked human costs of pandemic lockdowns on vulnerable populations.
New York recorded over 32,000 COVID-19 deaths in 2020 alone, making the decisions made in that period among the most consequential in state history. DeRosa was at the table for most of them.
Biden Transition and National Role
DeRosa served on then President-elect Biden’s transition committee, advising the incoming administration’s COVID response. That national role reflected how her influence had grown well beyond Albany’s borders during the pandemic.
As of June 2021, she was working with the Biden Transition team on the project of reopening New York City. Her team declared that all coronavirus restrictions would be lifted once 70 percent of New York’s adult population had been vaccinated.
The Cuomo Scandal and Melissa DeRosa’s Resignation
A Governor Under Fire
The same political machine that had achieved so much began to fracture visibly in early 2021. Multiple women came forward with sexual harassment allegations against Governor Cuomo. The New York State Attorney General launched a formal investigation, and the political walls closed in fast.
Melissa DeRosa, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s top aide since 2017, resigned less than a week after the New York State attorney general released a report concluding Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women. Her resignation on August 8, 2021, effectively marked the end of the Cuomo era.
She has been actively employed as a political strategist and consultant, specialising in public policy and communications, since departing her position as Secretary to the Governor of New York in August 2021.
Her Own Account of Events
DeRosa never fully disappeared from public life after her resignation. Instead, she began building a new platform — one grounded in her own perspective on what happened.
She is the founder of a strategic advisory firm focused on public affairs, communications, and crisis strategy, and her writing appears in a broad range of publications. She is a frequent television commentator, with appearances including Fox News, CNBC, and NewsNation.
What’s Left Unsaid: Melissa DeRosa’s Tell-All Memoir
The Book That Broke Her Silence
DeRosa published her memoir, What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis, on October 24, 2023. The book was one of the most anticipated political memoirs of that year, and it did not disappoint those expecting candor.
Melissa DeRosa’s firsthand account of her journey through the COVID-19 crisis and the tumultuous events surrounding Governor Andrew Cuomo’s rise and fall is a gripping narrative of politics, leadership, and unwavering resilience.
The memoir spans a wide range of deeply personal and political terrain:
- Her journey as a young woman in politics rising to the highest levels of government
- The personal challenges she faced — a failing marriage, infertility, and death threats
- A front-row seat to the white-knuckle ride from the epicenter of the deadliest pandemic in US history
- Countering the sexual harassment allegations, asserting they “didn’t comport with the Andrew Cuomo I knew,” whom she portrays as compassionate, respectful, and dedicated
- Pointed criticism of political figures including Joe Biden, Kathy Hochul, Letitia James, and The New York Times
Critical Reception
Kirkus Reviews called it “an angry, raw, and briskly told memoir.” The Guardian described it as “deliberate and focused.” Readers on Amazon called it one of their favorite books of 2023.
What sets the book apart is DeRosa’s unfiltered candor. She takes readers on a rollercoaster ride of personal and professional challenges, including a failing marriage, infertility, death threats, and the harsh realities of misogyny in politics.
Melissa DeRosa’s Personal Life
Education and Family Background
Melissa DeRosa studied at Albany Girls Academy before continuing her undergraduate studies at Cornell University. Her upbringing was rooted in Albany politics — she is the daughter of the prominent Bolton-St. Johns firm’s chief Albany lobbyist.
Her husband, Matthew Wing, used to be the press secretary for Governor Cuomo. Their relationship — two people deeply embedded in the same political orbit — gives a window into how all-consuming life inside a governor’s office can become.
Women’s Advocacy as a Personal Mission
DeRosa founded and served as Chair of the New York State Council on Women and Girls. Her advocacy for paid family leave, IVF coverage, and domestic violence protections during the pandemic were not abstract policy positions — they reflected her own lived experience navigating fertility struggles and workplace pressures.
Life After Government: Strategist, Author, and Commentator
Building a New Platform
Melissa DeRosa has indicated that she would like to run for office in the future, which would keep her active in politics and public affairs even when she is not employed by the government.
Her commentary draws on years of firsthand experience at the center of government decision-making and public-facing leadership. That kind of credibility is hard to manufacture — it either exists or it doesn’t.
Her official website describes her as a senior political strategist, crisis-tested executive, and media commentator with firsthand experience at the highest levels of government.
What She Represents in American Politics
Melissa DeRosa occupies an unusual space in the American political conversation. She is simultaneously a trailblazer — the first woman to hold the most powerful unelected position in New York — and a polarizing figure whose loyalty to Cuomo drew fierce criticism. Neither narrative is the complete picture.
Her career forces a harder question: what does it take for women to reach the top levels of political power, and what price do they pay when they get there?
FAQ: Melissa DeRosa
1. What is Melissa DeRosa most known for? Melissa DeRosa is best known for serving as Secretary to the Governor of New York under Andrew Cuomo from 2017 to 2021. She was the first woman ever to hold that position — the highest unelected role in New York State government. She became a national figure during the COVID-19 pandemic and later resigned following the sexual harassment scandal that ended Cuomo’s governorship.
2. Why did Melissa DeRosa resign? DeRosa resigned on August 8, 2021, shortly after the New York State Attorney General released a report concluding that Governor Cuomo had sexually harassed eleven women. Her departure was widely seen as one of the most significant signals that the Cuomo administration had reached its end.
3. What is Melissa DeRosa doing now? Since leaving government, Melissa DeRosa has worked as a political strategist, media commentator, and author. She founded a strategic advisory firm focused on public affairs and crisis communications, appears regularly on television networks including Fox News and CNBC, and published her memoir What’s Left Unsaid in October 2023.
4. What is Melissa DeRosa’s book about? Her memoir, What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis, published in October 2023, covers her nearly decade-long career inside the Cuomo administration. It addresses the COVID-19 crisis, the events surrounding Cuomo’s resignation, and personal challenges including infertility and a difficult marriage. The book is notably critical of figures including Joe Biden, Kathy Hochul, and Letitia James.
5. Did Melissa DeRosa go to college? Yes. Melissa DeRosa attended Cornell University, graduating in 2004 from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and completed training through the Democratic National Committee’s Forum Network for public leadership.
Conclusion: A Career That Refuses to Be Defined by One Chapter
Melissa DeRosa’s story does not fit neatly into a single narrative. She was a barrier-breaking first, a crisis manager tested by a once-in-a-century pandemic, a loyal aide whose loyalty became her most controversial trait, and ultimately a woman who stepped away from power only to build something new on her own terms.
Her trajectory — from teenage intern at the AFL-CIO to the most powerful unelected official in New York State — reflects both the possibilities and the pressures facing ambitious women in American political life. Her memoir adds dimension to a public persona that was long defined by other people’s framing.
Whether you agree with her politics or her choices, Melissa DeRosa remains one of the most substantive figures to emerge from a generation of New York governance. Her next chapter — including a possible run for office — is still being written.
Want to understand more about the inner workings of American state politics? Read What’s Left Unsaid for an unfiltered look at how power really operates — and what it costs those who wield it.
