Dr. Gail O. Mellow

Executive Director, NY Jobs CEO Council

Dr. Gail O. Mellow is the inaugural Executive Director of the non-profit NY Jobs CEO Council, an organization that seeks to strengthen the City by bringing business, education & the local community together to equip under-served New Yorkers for the jobs of tomorrow.

The Jobs Council was launched in August, 2020, with twenty-seven leading companies. Its goal is to hire 100,000 low-income New Yorkers, with a particular focus on Black, LatinX and Asian communities, with 25,000 coming from the City University of NY (CUNY).

Dr. Mellow served as President of LaGuardia Community College in Queens from August 2000 to August 2019. LaGuardia educates more than 50,000 New Yorkers annually through degree, certificate, and continuing education programs.

Under her tenure, LaGuardia became a catalyst for economic development, providing hands‐on education and specialized technical assistance to thousands of employers that have secured them over $500 million dollars in contracts. Under her leadership, a partnership between LaGuardia and Goldman Sachs was formed to launch 10,000 Small Businesses in New York, an initiative to help entrepreneurs grow. She is a graduate of Jamestown Community College and the State University of New York at Albany, and holds a PhD in social psychology from George Washington University.