Giselle Cordero

Giselle Cordero has over five years of professional experience leading and serving in the public sector. Her professional career has offered her the opportunity to spearhead policy, research, and advocacy efforts in the nonprofit sector and various levels of government. Most recently, Giselle served as the Deputy Director for Communications and Intergovernmental Affairs for the NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services (CHS). In this role, she oversaw the agency’s internal and external communication strategies – with a focus on elevating CHS’ work as one of the nation’s leading correctional health care systems – and ensured the development and dissemination of culturally competent content for clients served throughout CHS. As an agency representative, she fostered media relations and served as the primary media contact during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her work resulted in the development of various cross agency criminal justice reform and systems change efforts. Prior to CHS, Giselle was the advocacy associate at Girls Who Code where she was essential in managing the organization’s national and legislative agenda. There, Giselle successfully advocated for the passage of two laws mandating the collection and tracking of gender data for computer science classes in Colorado and Washington state to assess the inequitable representation of marginalized populations in the technology industry. She also co-authored the publication of the first volume of The State of Girls in K-12 Computer Science Classrooms report, centered on the existing gaps in computer science classrooms across the nation. 

Preceding her time at Girls Who Code, Giselle participated in the New York City Urban Fellows Program, a nationally competitive, nine-month New York City based program that introduces participants to local government, public policy and public service. She concurrently volunteered as a Fellowship Advisor for New York City’s Public School Alumni Network, an initiative that serves and empowers the next generation of New Yorkers for life after public school. She remains a resource for participating students and offers her time and expertise as they navigate the application process for fellowship opportunities. 

Giselle is a proud cum laude graduate from Queens College with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government. During her time at Queens College, Giselle was a member of the Pre-Law Association and was inducted into the Pi Sigma Alpha Honors Society. She was also awarded The Saul Weprin Memorial Scholarship and the John “Tito” Gerassi Scholarship Award on the basis of academic excellence and demonstrated evidence of a commitment to the public interest. She is also a proud alumna of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), New York State Assembly Internship program, and DiscoverLaw PreLaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Program. 

Giselle Cordero is a native New Yorker who values equity and social justice. She strives to continue to be a change agent and leader in the public policy arena to disrupt inequitable systems and advocate for underrepresented BIPOC communities. Giselle is currently a graduate student pursuing a Master’s degree in Policy Management at Georgetown University, McCourt School of Public Policy through the National Urban Fellows program.