Contact
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Melissa DeRosa is a frequent television commentator and political analyst, offering candid, experience-based insight on politics, policy, leadership, and crisis response. Her commentary draws on years of firsthand experience at the center of government decision-making and public-facing leadership.
DeRosa is the author of What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power and Politics and founder of a strategic advisory firm focused on public affairs, communications, and crisis strategy.
For media bookings, appearances, or client inquiries please use the contact form below or email: info@Melissa-DeRosa.com
Melissa DeRosa, a 20 year veteran of politics and government at the senior most levels, is a democratic strategist living in New York.
Melissa DeRosa is a senior political strategist, crisis-tested executive, and media commentator with firsthand experience at the highest levels of government. From April 2013 to August 2021, she served in a series of senior roles for Governor Andrew Cuomo—including Communications Director, Strategic Advisor, Chief of Staff, and Secretary to the Governor—becoming the first woman to serve as Secretary to the Governor, the highest unelected position in New York State government.
In those roles, DeRosa was on the front lines of major budget negotiations, high-stakes legislation, and crisis response. She helped lead and advance major policy initiatives, including New York’s $15 minimum wage, paid family leave program, the Excelsior Scholarship (making New York the first state to provide free public college tuition for many middle- and low-income families), and mandated insurance coverage for medically necessary IVF. She also played a key role in managing the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DeRosa founded and served as Chair of the New York State Council on Women and Girls, the New York State COVID-19 Maternity Task Force and the COVID-19 Domestic Violence Task Force. In 2020, she served on President Biden’s transition team, advising the incoming administration on its COVID response.
Before joining the Governor’s office, DeRosa served in the New York Attorney General’s Office as Deputy Chief of Staff and Acting Chief of Staff, and as New York State Director of Organizing for America, President Obama’s national political action organization. Known for candor and results, she brings a rare combination of operational leadership, strategic communications discipline, and deep fluency in how government and politics actually works at the highest levels.
DeRosa is the author of What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power and Politics and founder of a strategic advisory firm focused on public affairs, communications, and crisis strategy. Her writing appears in a broad range of publications, and she is a frequent television commentator, with appearances including Fox News, CNBC, and NewsNation. She speaks to corporate, political, and nonprofit audiences about leadership under pressure, crisis management, decision-making, and the intersection of politics, policy, and media.
DeRosa holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Cornell University. She has served on the executive board of the Women’s Leadership Forum Network of the Democratic National Committee and currently serves on the Communications Advisory Board for Cornell University.
In The Press
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![Cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine featuring a woman in a black dress standing on steps in front of a historic government building with a statue on top. The magazine includes headlines with names such as Melissa DeRosa, Michelle Obama, and others, and the title "Voices of Hope."]()
HARPER'S BAZAAR: Dedicated to Voices of Hope
In a matter of months, our systems, routines, and lives have been upended—by a pandemic, by racial injustice, by isolation and inequality. But in many ways, these events and experiences have also exposed how they all need to change.
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![A woman with long brown hair sitting at a table during a panel or press conference, with a serious expression. There are nameplates and a microphone on the table, and a screen in the background displaying part of a message.]()
New York Times:
Who Can Say ‘No’ to Cuomo? His Top Aide, Melissa DeRosa
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POLITICO:
Playbook Power List
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ELLE
How Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa Is Leading Cuomo's Coronavirus Response
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CRAIN'S Most Powerful Women In New York
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![Four talk show hosts standing together in a studio with a news set background and a desk in front. One person is wearing a casual black shirt, one is in a red dress, one is in a gray suit with a tie, and one is in a dark gray suit with a light blue tie. They are smiling and looking at the camera.]()
OVERTIME with Bill Maher
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![HERE'S THE THING with Alec Baldwin]()
HERE'S THE THING with Alec Baldwin
DeRosa speaks with Alec Baldwin about what first attracted her to public service, the effect her career has had on her personal life and what she believes was a political takedown of her former boss.
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![Book cover for "What's Left Unsaid" by Melissa DeRosa, featuring a black-and-white photo of a woman with wavy hair, against a background of blue speech bubbles.]()
POLITICO:
Melissa DeRosa still has a lot to say about that scandal
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![Studio photo of three women hosting a news segment on 'Good Day New York' with a cityscape background on a large screen, one woman holding a book titled 'What’s Left Unsaid.']()
FOX5 Good Day New York: Gov. Cuomo's former top aide tells all
Melissa DeRosa joins Good Day NY to talk about her tell-all book on Cuomo, the pandemic, former President Trump, and more.
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![A woman with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a striped shirt and a smartwatch, speaking at a press conference with an American flag in the background.]()
WALL STREET JOURNAL:
Trump Admin Reneged on NY Infrastructure Plan to Punish Cuomo, New Book Alleges.
Melissa DeRosa says Jared Kushner stopped negotiations in 2020 after the New York governor criticized Donald Trump
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![A woman with brown hair and earrings sitting in an interview setting, wearing a white sleeveless top, with a blue background and 'news 12' logo in the top right corner.]()
NEWS12:
'The truth matters.' Former Cuomo aide discusses politics to personal matters
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![Television host Marcia Kramer wearing a purple sleeveless top, sitting in a studio with a blue background, during a segment of 'The Point with Marcia Kramer'.]()
CBS The Point with Marcia Kramer
Melissa DeRosa, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's right-hand advisor, discusses her captivating book "What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics and Crisis."
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![A television interview in a studio setting featuring a man in a dark suit and a woman in a white sleeveless top, sitting on red chairs across from each other. Behind them is a large screen displaying the words 'PIX on POLITICS' with a coffee mug and some papers on a small white table between them. There is also a logo for PIX11 in the bottom right corner.]()
PIX11:
New book sheds light on former Gov. Cuomo’s administration
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![Close-up of a woman with wavy brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a black top and a gold necklace, standing in front of a cityscape through a window.]()
POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL:
Cuomo’s right hand Melissa DeRosa is ‘unapologetically fierce’
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![A woman with brown hair and red lipstick sits in front of a backdrop of a city hall building, appearing on a news broadcast. The screen displays a news headline about a former Cuomo aide discussing a new book on time, administration, and pandemic.]()
NY1 Inside City Hall with Errol Louis
In an interview on NY1, Melissa DeRosa, one of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s most trusted confidantes, criticized the state attorney general and the women who made sexual misconduct claims that led to Cuomo’s resignation.
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![A woman standing outdoors near a body of water, with mountains in the background. She is wearing a plaid blazer with leather patches on the shoulders and a white turtleneck. The woman has shoulder-length brown hair and is looking at the camera. The weather appears clear and sunny.]()
BUSTLE:
“When you’re in the boxing ring, which is essentially what politics is, you have to expect you’re going to get punched in the face. What matters is who’s left standing in the end.”
What’s Left Unsaid
Available wherever books are sold:
When COVID-19 hit the United States, New York governor Andrew Cuomo was thrust onto the national stage, hailed around the globe for his leadership. Alongside him every step of the way, Melissa DeRosa quickly became a household name.
In her riveting memoir, DeRosa details her journey as a young woman in politics rising to the highest levels of government, writing with raw honesty and vulnerability about the personal challenges she faced—a failing marriage, infertility, death threats, misogyny—while navigating unprecedented professional landmines along the way. DeRosa gives readers a front-row seat to the white-knuckle ride from the epicenter of the deadliest pandemic in US history to the never-before-told story behind the #MeToo scandal that rocked a nation.
THE GUARDIAN Review
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NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL: What's Left Unsaid Review
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US NEWS & WORLD Report
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