Michelle R. Paige Paterson (born April 1, 1961) is a healthcare professional who served as the first lady of New York state from 2008 until 2010.

Biography

Michelle Paige Paterson was born in

Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, United States, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The city has a diversified economy, with government, manufac ...

, and spent her early years in the Crown Heights neighborhood of

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 ...

in New York City. She later moved to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, another New York City borough, where she was raised by her mother, a Postal Service manager. She attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

and earned a graduate degree in health-care management from Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy. As the wife of New York Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer, who resigned, and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to ...

, she became the first lady of New York on March 17, 2008, when her husband was sworn in as governor, following the resignation of

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...

. Michelle was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

first lady in state history. Michelle is director of the integrated-wellness program at the Health Insurance Plan of New York

HMO In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...

, a program that assists individuals with chronic health problems to better manage their conditions by helping them to improve their life skills. She previously worked as a

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

for

North General Hospital North General Hospital (NGH) was an American private, not-for-profit, voluntary teaching hospital located in New York City in the East Harlem section of Manhattan at Marcus Garvey Park. It was founded in 1979 to replace, as tenant, the Hospita ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Personal life

Michelle married David Paterson on November 21, 1992. They have a son together, born February 1994, named Alex. Michelle has a daughter, Ashley, from her first marriage, who was raised by Gov. Paterson. On March 18, 2008, Michelle and her husband both admitted to having had affairs with other people. Making these admissions was a strategy she supported in order to start Paterson's governorship with full disclosure and to avoid "stoking the rumor mill".

References

External links

Biography on New York state's website
15 March 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Michelle Paige 1961 births Living people 21st-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American lobbyists First ladies and gentlemen of New York (state) People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn People from Fairfield, California People from Staten Island Syracuse University alumni The New School alumni David Paterson 21st-century American businesswomen

Biography

Personal life

Further reading

References

External links