Corey Ortega,
Government Relations Advisor

Corey Ortega, 38-years-old and first-generation Dominican-American has made a tremendous change as a community advocate and organizer in West Harlem. Corey’s passion for his work comes from his background of being a child of immigrants and a lifelong resident of the West Harlem neighborhood. His upbringing and early community work gave him insight into the struggles of residents and ignited his interest in making a positive change in his neighborhood through the participation of community members. 

Corey’s first contact with addressing community needs came as an undergraduate student, he worked in his family-owned daycare center; Give Be Grow LLC. In 2002, Corey created Give Be Grow with his mother, a retired New York City Public School History and special needs teacher. The experience gave Corey a first-hand understanding of the unique set of challenges to childcare providers and children of the shelter system. He cherished this experience and his passion grew for this kind of work. In July 2012, Corey was elected to the Executive Board of the UFT Child Care Providers and was elected Manhattan Borough Chair. Since then, he has been deeply involved in labor issues affecting childcare providers.

In 2006, Corey earned a Bachelor of Science from St. John’s University’s Peter J. Tobin College of Business. After graduation, Corey joined P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem, a tenants’ rights organization. As a founding member of P.A.’L.A.N.T.E. Harlem, Corey worked as a tenant advocate for Harlem residents living in rent-stabilized and federally subsidized buildings. During his time with P.A.’L.A.N.T.E., the group organized thousands of tenants in New York City and improved their living conditions. 

In 2008, Corey made his first foray into politics, joining New York State Assemblyman Keith L. T. Wright’s office as a Special Assistant. In the position, he addressed housing, labor, and quality of life issues for the 70th Assembly District. His growing experience in public service and politics led Corey to start the West Harlem Progressive Democratic Club with former West Harlem Democratic District Leader Jamaal Nelson. In his role as the President and co-founder, he worked on Congressional campaigns, was a member of the County Democratic Committee, and served as a Judicial Delegate of the New York Democratic Party.

In 2013, Corey was the Borough Director for Talking Transition, which pioneered a new model of civic engagement during the transition to a new administration. Following the 2013 mayoral election in New York City, tens of thousands of New Yorkers came together online, in the streets, and in a central pop-up “think tent” to inform the priorities of newly elected and appointed officials citywide.

His continued dedication motivated him to run for Vice President of the New York State Young Democrats for the Downstate region. Since 2014, Corey has encouraged youth involvement in the Democratic Party, hosted recruitment and strategic political events, and continued efforts to grow the state party. He has created opportunities and events catered to the broad diversity of New York and the party, including high school students, college students, young workers, professionals, and families. 

In 2015, Corey was the Field Associate for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He was responsible for the new and growing VetTogethers initiative, which encourages community building through member-led monthly events.

In 2017, Corey was the Director of Civic & Government Affairs for the NYC Veterans Alliance.  He played a leading role in developing and advancing the NYC Veterans Alliance’ policy agenda. He developed and implemented policy and advocacy strategies to execute NYC Vets Alliance’s vision at local, state, and national levels. Corey led and developed the NYC Veterans Alliance's Civic Leadership initiatives, engaged their membership in Policy & Legislative Advocacy and the Get Ready to Run programs, and further built their work to have veterans, spouses and families, and our civilian community more engaged as civic leaders and change-makers. #NYCVetsMatter

In 2018, Corey was the Executive Director for New York City Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus (BLAC). He worked with council members of the Caucus to develop, organize, execute legislative and budget agendas, and to amplify existing agendas of interest to the BLAC. Corey worked collaboratively with legislators, government agencies, community groups, and other stakeholders to support the BLAC’s legislative and budget priorities. He helped with organizing many rallies including the EMS rally, for fair wages for the EMS employees. He also organized and served as the primary contact for special events, like the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration hosted every year by Council Speaker Corey Johnson. Corey also managed the day-to-day operations of the BLAC’s City Hall office.

In 2019, Corey was the Vice President of Government Relations and Operations for Dunton Consulting. He cultivated and managed relationships with community groups, civic leaders, stakeholders, political candidates, government agency officials, and elected officials from city and state legislative caucuses to advance client interests. Corey managed day-to-day workstreams for client portfolio, special projects, and political campaigns, including multiple ballot petitioning operations. Corey developed advocacy campaigns, government affairs strategies, policy priorities, and public sector opportunities. 

In 2020, Corey was the Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs for the NYC Covid Coalition. He led high-profile engagements and field campaigns to raise awareness about community health programs, government operations, and legislation. Corey developed and led advocacy and legislative campaigns, including a campaign to pass the Racial Impact Study Bill (Local Law 2021/078), a statewide campaign and lawsuit to block ballot petitioning due to COVID-19, and a bilingual outreach campaign connecting local residents to the GetFoodNYC Emergency program.

Currently, Corey is the Government Relations Advisor for HZQ Consulting. He leads HZQ's government relations and external activities with labor, non-profits, businesses, lobbyists, and political campaigns. Corey also participates in the development and delivery of public affairs strategies and tactics for major initiatives, programs, and projects.