Senator Roxanne J. Persaud ** represents **New York State Senate District 19, covering southeast Brooklyn communities including Canarsie, East New York, and Brownsville, as well as Queens sections of Lindenwood and Howard Beach. Born in Guyana, South America, she is a longtime Brooklyn resident who was elected to the State Senate in November 2015 after previously serving in the State Assembly. She currently chairs the Social Services Committee, serves on committees including Children and Families, Cities 1, Disabilities, Labor, and Transportation, and is a member of the Joint Senate Task Force on Opioids Addiction & Overdose Prevention, the Women’s Caucus, and the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus. Notable achievements include her prior roles as President of the 69th Precinct Community Council in Canarsie, member of Community Board 18, and Commissioner on the New York City Districting Commission; she also served as Deputy Democratic Conference Whip starting in 2018. Her legislative priorities focus on safer communities, affordable housing, school and library funding, youth and senior services, gun violence prevention, small business support, education, and social services.

Education and Political Experience

Persaud's career before the legislature was in higher education administration, where she executed and informed institutional policy. Politically, she advanced from the State Assembly in 2015 to the Senate , building on extensive community advocacy in Brooklyn.