Melanie Hartzog is the president and CEO of New York Foundling. Previously, she worked in various positions in the administration of former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), including as the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services from 2020 to 2021, as a budget director from 2018 to 2020, and as a Deputy Director for Health and Human Services from 2016 to 2018. ¹

In November 2025, Hartzog was named as a co-chair of the then-New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D) transition team.  ²

Career

As of February 2026, Melanie Hartzog was the president and CEO of New York Foundling. In November 2025, she was named as a co-chair of then-New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D) transition team. ¹

Prior to that, Hartzog held various positions in the administration of former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), including the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services from 2020 t0 2021, budget director in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget from 2018 to 2020, and Deputy Director for Health and Human Services from 2016 to 2018. ¹

Previously, she had been the executive director for the Children’s Defense Fund from 2013 to 2016, a family services coordinator in the NYC Office of the Mayor from 2011 to 2013, and a deputy commissioner in the Division of Child Care and Head Start NYC Administration for Children’s Services from 2006 to 2011. ¹

Hartzog had also been a unit head for the Social Services Task Force in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget from 2003 to 2005, a director of policy and advocacy for the Human Services Council of New York from 2000 to 2003, and a social policy and budget analyst in the Bureau of Policy and Budget for the Office of the Bronx Borough President from 1998 to 2000. ¹

Mamdani Transition Team

In November 2025, Melanie Hartzog was named a co-chair of the then-New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D) transition team. Other co-chairs of the transition team included president of the United Way of New York City Grace Bonilla, president of the Charles H. Revson Foundation Maria Torres-Springer, and former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan.  ³

The executive director of Mamdani’s transition team was Elana Leopold, and Dean Fuleihan was named as the first deputy mayor. Both Leopold and Fuleihan worked for former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) administration. ³

1. “Melanie Hartzog.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 27, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-hartzog/details/experience/.
2. Zohran for NYC. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20250312175716/https://www.zohranfornyc.com/.
3. “Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 Transition Website.” A New Era for NYC. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.transition2025.com/.