City Voices Interview with Richard Colon

Richard Colón, a NYCPS-P and NYCRPA, is a native New Yorker “Nuyorican,” who served the residents of the City of New York for ten-plus years as a Staffer in the United States House of Representatives, the New York State Assembly, and the New York City Council.

His heartfelt commitment to public service is supported by a Master of Science degree in Urban Policy Analysis
and Management from the New School for Social Research, a Bachelor of Arts degree consisting of a double major in Sociology and Political Science with a concentration in Public Policy and Administration, as well as a minor in Latin-American and Caribbean Area Studies and a certificate in African-American and African Studies from Binghamton University of the State University of New York (SUNY).

Additionally, Mr. Colón is the recipient of the prestigious Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship in Public Policy and International Affairs, and has acquired a wealth of education in the field of public policy through studies at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas at Austin, the W. Averell Harriman School of Policy and Management of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy of the State University of New York at Albany.

In addition to his wealth of education and experience in government and public policy, Mr. Colón has pursued his immense interest in ministerial service by obtaining a Master of Arts in Theology with a concentration in Church and Society from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, and through theological studies at New York Theological Seminary (NYTS).

Facoltà Valdese di Teologia in Rome (Italy), as a participant in Theological Foundations for Ministry at the Brooklyn Queens Roman Catholic Diocese as well as a participant in The Lay Ministry Program of the Pastoral Institute at the Brooklyn Queens Roman Catholic Diocese, and at Perkins School of Theology of Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Princeton Theological Seminary as part of An Ecumenical Program in Theology and Religion sponsored by the Hispanic Summer Program (HSP) in conjunction with a consortium of university departments of theology, seminaries, divinity and theological schools, Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical and Pentecostal.

As a former Economic Dignity Fellow with Faith in New York, Mr. Colón coordinated program outreach to faith-based institutions to keep them informed of the organization’s efforts to ensure all New Yorkers have access to decent wages and housing. Mr. Colón also served as a Graduate Intern in Faith-Based Services at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Incorporated, and completed a one-year field placement at the Center for Spirituality and Healthcare in the Department of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine/Bellevue Hospital – Forensic Unit.

Mr. Colón formerly served as a Grand Street Settlement, Incorporated AMERICORPS volunteer at The DOME Project. This not-for-profit organization assists young people who are economically, socially, and academically challenged to focus on their education as a means to success.

Currently, Mr. Colón is working as a Care Management Peer Assistant at Northwell Health: Zucker Hillside Hospital – Far Rockaway Treatment Center, serves as an appointed member of the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) in the Bureau of Mental Health at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), serves as Chaplain on the Executive Board of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated – Tau Delta Lambda Chapter, which is
located in San Juan, Puerto Rico USA, is a proud member of the Knights of Columbus Rockaway Beach, New York, Council # 2672, and also serves as a Sacristan, Lector, and an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion at his local parish of Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Rockaway Beach, New York.