Ninfa Segarra is the last President of the New York City Board of Education

Board of education

A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....

. She served as President of the Board from 2000 to 2002 when the Board was abolished by the State of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and power of the city schools of transferred to Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...

.

An attorney of Puerto Rican ancestry from The Bronx, Segarra became involved in politics and education issues in her home borough. In 1990, then Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer

Fernando Ferrer

Fernando James "Freddy" Ferrer was the Borough President of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001, and was a candidate for Mayor of New York in 2001 and the Democratic Party nominee for Mayor in 2005.- Background :...

 appointed Segarra as the borough's representative to the Board of Education. On the Board, Segarra became a voice for conservative social values and ran afoul of Ferrer, who asked her to resign. She dismissed the calls for her resignation and endorsed Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani

Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....

 for mayor in 1993.

After being elected mayor in 1993, Giuliani's first appointment was of Segarra as a Deputy Mayor

Deputy Mayor

Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...

 of New York City. As deputy mayor, Segarra oversaw education, health, and youth issues for the mayor, along with community outreach. Giuliani also appointed Segarra as one of his two appointees to the Board of Education in 1993 and 1997. In total, Ms. Segarra served on the Board of Education from July 1990 to June 2002.

Segarra stepped down as deputy mayor in 2000 to first assume a position at the City University of New York

City University of New York

The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...

and then to become Executive Director of the New York City Police Museum (2002).