Maria Torres-Springer (born January 24, 1977) is an American government official and former nonprofit executive who was the

First Deputy Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...

from October 8, 2024 to March 14, 2025. Previously the vice president for U.S. programs at the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, Torres-Springer has been New York City's Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce; Commissioner of the

New York City Department of Small Business Services The New York City Department of Small Business Services (NYC SBS) is a municipal department of New York City supporting small businesses throughout the five boroughs. NYC SBS provides a wide range of programs, services, and resources aimed at hel ...

; and Commissioner of the

New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for developing and maintaining the city's stock of affordable housing. Its regulations are compiled in title 28 of the '' ...

. She was also the president and CEO of the

New York City Economic Development Corporation New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a public-benefit corporation that serves as the official economic development organization for New York City. NYCEDC gives its mission as strengthening business confidence in New York C ...

. Torres-Springer is the first

Filipina Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino, English, or other Philippine languages. Despite formerly being subject to ...

to serve as

Early life and education

Torres-Springer was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to parents from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

: her father Manny from

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

and her mother Elsa from

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...

. She lived in the Philippines from ages nine to fourteen after her mother died. The family often struggled financially, relying on Section 8 vouchers and

food stamps In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a Federal government of the United States, federal government program that provides food-purchasing assistance for Poverty ...

throughout her childhood. Torres-Springer completed a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

, politics, and

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. She earned a master's in

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

from the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Career

Torres-Springer was a senior

policy advisor Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely televis ...

in the office of the

deputy mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...

for economic development and rebuilding. She was the

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

of Friends of the

High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway, and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Op ...

. She worked as the executive vice president and chief of staff of the

(NYCEDC). Torres-Springer served as vice president for U.S. programs at the

from 2019 to 2021. In 2025 she returned to the foundation as a senior fellow.

de Blasio administration

While

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

was the Mayor of New York City, Torres-Springer served as the commissioner of the

before becoming the president and CEO of the NYCEDC in June 2015. De Blasio later appointed Torres-Springer to lead the

. In those roles, she redeveloped the

Spofford Juvenile Center Hunts Point is a neighborhood located on a peninsula in the South Bronx of New York City. It is the location of one of the largest food distribution facilities in the world, the Hunts Point Cooperative Market. Its boundaries are the Bruckner E ...

into an arts center with affordable housing. Torres-Springer also oversaw the

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County li ...

neighborhood plan. In February 2019, she stepped down from the department of housing preservation in what real-estate magazine ''The Real Deal'' called part of "the latest in a wave of top officials leaving the de Blasio administration." During her time in the De Blasio administration, Torres-Springer worked under Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen.

Eric Adams administration

In December 2021, New York City mayor-elect

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...

named her the incoming deputy mayor for economic and workforce development. Torres-Springer and

Meera Joshi Meera Joshi is an American attorney and government official who served as Mayor of New York City#Deputies, New York City deputy mayor for operations from January 2022 to March 2025. She previously served as the deputy and acting administrator of ...

are the first

Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans with Asian diaspora, ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are Immigration to the United States, immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). A ...

to serve as

deputy mayors of New York City Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

. They assumed those positions effective January 1, 2022. In December 2023, it was reported that Torres-Springer was influential in fast-tracking

FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, ...

inspection of

50 Hudson Yards 50 Hudson Yards is a 58-story, -tall building that was developed as part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project in Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City. The building is located to the north of 30 Hudson Yards, and on the east side of the ...

- owned by political donor

Related Companies Related Companies, L.P. is an American real estate firm with headquarters in New York City, and with offices around the country including in West Palm Beach, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, as well as in London. Related developed t ...

- ahead of several schools, apartments, and other buildings. In October 2024, Torres-Springer was appointed

after the resignation of

Sheena Wright Sheena Wright (born January 6, 1970) is an American nonprofit executive and civil servant. She served as the First Deputy Mayor of New York City and was previously the president of the United Way of New York City. In August 2021, she was appointed ...

. Torres-Springer announced that she would resign from the role on February 17, 2025, leaving office on March 14.

Personal life

Torres-Springer resided in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. She is married to Jamie Torres-Springer, President of Construction & Development at the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...

, and has two daughters.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres-Springer 1977 births 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American women politicians American women of Filipino descent in politics American politicians of Filipino descent Asian-American people in New York (state) politics Deputy mayors of New York City Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Brooklyn Women in New York (state) politics Yale University alumni 21st-century New York (state) politicians