|
In 1996 President Clinton nominated Cuomo to serve in
his Cabinet as Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Under his leadership, HUD was
transformed from a bureaucratic backwater rife with
waste, fraud and abuse to a revitalized engine for
economic development and unprecedented housing
opportunities. Cuomo brought dramatic reforms to make
government efficient and competent while saving
taxpayers millions of dollars.
Cuomo's work earned HUD the prestigious "Innovations
in American Government Award" from the Ford Foundation
and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University, on three separate occasions.
As Secretary, Cuomo made fighting racial
discrimination a key focus and brought 2,000
anti-discrimination cases all across the country. In
addition, Cuomo led a national coalition of 400 mayors
and law enforcement officials to fight the scourge of
gun violence. The effort included the successful
negotiation of a global settlement designed to change
the way gun manufacturers design, market and distribute
hand guns.
Cuomo established Housing Enterprise for Less
Privileged (HELP) in 1986, which became the nation's
largest private provider of transitional housing for the
homeless. Based on his pioneering work through HELP,
Cuomo was appointed by New York City Mayor David Dinkins
in 1991 to lead the New York City Commission on the
Homeless.
Cuomo first practiced law as an Assistant District
Attorney in Manhattan. He has also worked as a partner
in a New York City law firm and was Of Counsel at Fried,
Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.
Cuomo graduated from Fordham University in 1979 and
Albany Law School in 1982. He is the father of three
daughters, twins Mariah and Cara who are 11 years old
and Michaela who is 9.
|
