Biography

Alicia Glen is a nationally recognized expert in urban development, infrastructure finance, job creation, and housing policy.  She has spent her career creating and implementing innovative solutions to enable cities to evolve and grow equitably.

As Deputy Mayor for New York City from 2014-2019, Alicia was responsible for the administration’s efforts to diversify its economy, invest in emerging industries across the five boroughs, build a new generation of affordable housing, and expand access to arts, culture, and green spaces. She oversaw 20 agencies, departments, and public authorities, with more than 25,000 employees and a capital budget of $30 billion.

While Deputy Mayor, Alicia launched women.nyc, the first municipally sponsored platform to give women the financial and programmatic tools they need to earn money, gain power and achieve success. 

And as cities around the world grapple with housing crises, Alicia created solutions. She successfully implemented “Housing New York,” increasing the administration’s promise of providing affordable housing units from 200,000 to 300,000. In both 2017 and 2018, New York City broke the record for the most affordable units financed in a single year.

Even as Alicia instituted progressive policies for women and families, she was recognized for her astute business acumen, closing deals and getting the work done to keep New York City the commercial capital of the world.  She initiated large scale planning efforts at Sunnyside Yards and Governors Island, led the rezoning of the Garment District and East Midtown neighborhoods, negotiated the financing for the Union Square Tech Hub and expansion of Google’s campus, established the Tech Talent Pipeline for the life sciences and technology sectors, and repositioned the City’s industrial assets to support modern manufacturing and film and TV production. One of her proudest achievements was the launch of NYC Ferry, linking emerging and legacy job centers and residential neighborhoods along the City’s reclaimed waterfront.

Prior to being appointed Deputy Mayor, Alicia served as the Head of the Urban Investment Group (UIG) at Goldman Sachs and co-led the firm’s 10,000 Small Businesses initiative. Under her leadership, UIG spurred more than $5 billion of mixed-use development, and structured some of the most innovative public-private partnerships in the country, including the first domestic Social Impact Bond, New York City's "Citi Bike" and Teacher's Village in Newark.

From 1998 to 2002, Alicia served as the Assistant Commissioner for Housing Finance at the New York City Department of Housing, Preservation and Development, where she was responsible for financing market and affordable housing, as well as overseeing the City's supportive housing, tax credit and tax incentive programs.

Alicia was an attorney at Fulbright & Jaworski and at Kalkines, Arky, Zall & Bernstein, and started her legal career at Brooklyn Legal Services.

Alicia was a 2010 David Rockefeller Fellow and has served on numerous non-profit boards. She has been an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Architecture, Planning and Design, and the Columbia Business School. She is a graduate of Amherst College and Columbia Law School.