David Paterson

Recommended by: Governor of New York Date Appointed: June 21, 2012 Term Expires: June 30, 2017 Board Committees: Member: Corporate Governance, Diversity, Transit/Bus, Long Island

David A. Paterson became New York's 55th Governor on March 17, 2008. During his term, he successfully negotiated an MTA bailout plan allowing commuters to avoid painful service reductions.

He is currently the host of the Governor David Paterson Show on WOR 710AM, the only local afternoon drive, news talk radio show in New York. The radio show covers politics, economics, sports, and the headline grabbing news of the day.

Governor Paterson also taught at New York University for the 2011 academic year. His first class was "The Teachable Art of Governing" as a freshman seminar in the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program.

In 1985 Governor Paterson was elected to represent Harlem in the New York State Senate. In 2003, he became the first non-white legislative leader in New York's history when he was elevated to Minority Leader of the Senate. He made history again in 2004 when he became the first visually impaired person to address the Democratic National Convention and again in 2007 when he became New York's first African-American Lieutenant Governor.

Governor Paterson, who is legally blind, is nationally recognized as a leading advocate for the visually and physically impaired. He is a member of the American Foundation for the Blind and he serves on the Board of the Achilles Track Club. He has served as a member of the Democratic National Committee and as a Chairman of the Coalition of Northeast Governors (CONEG).

Governor Paterson was born May 20, 1954 in Brooklyn, NY. He earned his bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University in 1977 and completed his J.D. at Hofstra Law School in 1982. He lives in NYC with his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, and their two children, Ashley and Alex.