Julissa Ferreras is a Democratic member of the New York City Council

New York City Council

The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...

 residing in and representing the 21st district of Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, which includes Elmhurst

Elmhurst, Queens

Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth...

, Corona

Corona, Queens

Corona is a densely-populated neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States...

, East Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights

Jackson Heights, Queens

Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the Northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York, New York, United States. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 3...

.

Early career

Her career started as the leader of the Corona Youth Council at the age of 14, a community organization. She later moved on to the Presidency of the NAACP Youth Council for Corona and East Elmhurst, a chapter of the NAACP.

Later on, after graduating from high school, she became an After School Director of a Beacon program housed in one of the most crowded public school in the world, Public School 19Q.

As Beacon Director she was in charge of coordinating the after-school activities of dozens of children. She made sure there were board games for them to play, that there was a place in the cafeteria for them to do homework, and that snacks and
juice were available.

Political career

Her political career officially commenced in 2001 when she became a Democratic National Convention

Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...

 delegate appointed by Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette

Ivan Lafayette

Ivan C. Lafayette represented the 34th District in the New York State Assembly, which comprises portions of Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst....

. She then became the chief of staff

Chief of Staff

The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...

 and campaign manager for her then-predecessor Councilman Hiram Monserrate

Hiram Monserrate

Hiram Monserrate is a former member of the New York State Senate. He represented the 13th District which includes the Queens neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst and Woodside...

. She briefly left the public sector

Public sector

The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...

and went on to become the New York Director of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials for two years.

Steven Castro Controversy

In September 2009, Ferreras' district office hired Steven Castro, a man with cerebral palsey. Castro's conducts clerical work, and as of March 3, 2010 he has not received a pay check. Along with not paying Castro, his hours have been reduced which prevents him from receiving health benefits. Ferreras's office claims that Castro has not received a pay due to a clerical error, and that Castro will received full back pay. In October 2010, Steven Castro filed a lawsuit in federal court against Ferreras.