About Our Executive Team

Secretary of State

Walter T. Mosley was formerly President and Chief Executive Officer at Mosley Advisory Group. Founded in February 2021, the Mosley Advisory Group (MAG) was a full-service government and corporate relations firm with a concentration in emerging markets and overseas economic market initiatives, industrial development, alternative energy, and adult use cannabis. 

Mr. Mosley worked as a national and international public relations strategist and offered his expertise in a variety of resources including a combined brand of skills necessary to reach crucial community members and critical legislators. In this role Mr. Mosley provided a unique approach to solving problems with government by utilizing an integrated strategy of lobbying, communications, social media, and grassroots efforts, masterfully designed to achieve his client's designated goals.

Prior to Mr. Mosley's private sector engagements, he represented the New York State Assembly within the New York State Legislature. From 2013 to 2020 Mr. Mosley represented communities in central Brooklyn encompassing the neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights and parts of Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights.

Over those years Mr. Mosley was a staunch advocate for his constituents both in Albany and within his district. Individually and alongside his colleagues, Mr. Mosley worked to pass crucial legislation to protect New Yorkers from unscrupulous landlords, furthered criminal justice reform practices, and expanded affordable housing opportunities on several fronts throughout his district and state.

Mr. Mosley was a contributor and advocate for the legalization of adult-use cannabis in New York State. Through his work on criminal justice reform and decriminalization of the practice, Mr. Mosley accomplished these measures serving as Co-chair of the New York State Legislature's Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus's Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Task Force on Cannabis. From his leadership Mr. Mosley ensured that social equity firms and businesses would have a fair opportunity to be involved in the economic rollout of the adult use cannabis industry in New York State.

Mr. Mosley was also a member of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus (BPHA), the Jewish Caucus, and the Hispanic Task Force. In his capacity as a BPHA Caucus member, Mr. Mosley served as Second Vice-chair and as the Budget Chair.

Mr. Mosley was a member of the New York State Caucus of Environmental Legislators; State Legislators Against Illegal Guns (SLAIG); The American State Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention (ASLGVP); and served on the bi-partisan Leaders Eradicating All Poverty (LEAP) - an initiative to combat poverty, wage discrimination, and income inequality throughout New York State. Likewise, Mr. Mosley served on the New York State Assembly's Anti-Poverty Workgroup.

Some of his distinguished honors include: 2016/2017 New York State Delegation - 75th Anniversary Attack on Pearl Harbor (Honolulu, HI & Nagasaki, Japan); 2017/2018 Senior Fellow with Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Advancing Economic Democracy and Development (Mondragon, Spain); 2019 New York State D-Day Delegation - 75th Anniversary Normandy Invasion (Normandy, France); and 2020 New York State Poland Legislative Delegation - 75th Anniversary of Auschwitz Liberation (Krakow, Poland).

Mr. Mosley has had a long history of public service throughout his life. He served as a Legislative Analyst and Oversight Investigator for the New York City Council and went on to serve as Senior Consultant to the New York State Assembly, and Senior Advisor to the Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly prior to becoming a member of the New York Legislature in 2013.

In 2008 Mr. Mosley was a New York State Pledged Delegate for President Barack Obama on behalf of the 10th Congressional District. Likewise, Mr. Mosley was a New York State Pledged Delegate for Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on behalf of the 8th Congressional District in 2016.

As a college lecturer, Mr. Mosley has shared his knowledge and experiences on the inner workings of government with students across the United States, while at the same time he has continued his own educational advancement. In 2016 Mr. Mosley was selected by the Institute for State & Local Governance at the City University of New York as a part of its inaugural John Lindsay Fellowship. Named in honor of former New York City Mayor John Lindsay.

In 2017 Mr. Mosley was selected as a Council of State Government Henry Toll Fellow; and in 2019 Mr. Mosley was accepted into the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Strategies for Building and Leading Diverse Organizations program with a concentration on emerging global economic issues.

Mr. Mosley is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University where he received his BS in criminology and minored in African Studies and African American History; he is also a graduate from Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC. 1998.

Mr. Mosley currently lives in Albany, New York; he is married to Julie Mosley. They have two children, Sebastien, and Allyson. 

Executive Deputy Secretary of State

In 2019, Brendan C. Hughes was appointed Executive Deputy Secretary of State at the New York State Department of State. A native of Delmar, NY, Mr. Hughes has served in various roles to advance strategic energy, economic development, technology, and other policy and program initiatives in New York State for over 15 years. Most recently, he played a vital operational role during the COVID-19 Global pandemic in setting up testing sites and later, vaccination sites across New York State.

Mr. Hughes began his career in public service as an intern with the Executive Chamber. While at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, he helped launch the inaugural Regional Economic Development Councils and Consolidated Funding Application which has helped a vast spectrum of businesses, community, and economic development organizations access critical economic development support. Mr. Hughes continued his public service career serving as Deputy Commissioner at Empire State Development and then Assistant Secretary for Economic Development in the Executive Chamber. Previously, Mr. Hughes served as the Deputy Secretary for General Government and Technology in the Executive Chamber. He holds a BA in Political Science from Siena College.

Assistant Executive Deputy Secretary of State

James Leary serves as the Assistant Executive Deputy Secretary of State, where he works within the executive office to provide administration and management support to all areas of Department of State operations. James is an attorney with over a decade of experience within the Department’s Office of General Counsel. James is admitted to the New York State Bar and the Supreme Court of the United States. James has also served as an Appellate Court Attorney with the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, and in the private sector as an in-house corporate counsel.

James lives with his family in Saratoga Springs, New York, and is a graduate of Albany Law School and SUNY Plattsburgh.  James volunteers as an attorney advisor for the Saratoga Springs Senior High School Mock Trial team, and as a youth basketball coach at the Saratoga Springs YMCA and the Saratoga Springs Recreation Center.

Deputy Secretary of State for Business Development

As the Deputy Secretary of State for Business Development, Whitney Clark oversees the Division of Licensing Services and the Division of Corporations, State Records and UCC.  The Division of Licensing Services regulates close to 900,000 occupational licensees and the Division of Corporations, State Records and UCC serves as the filing office for 2.7 million corporations and other business entities doing business in New York. Whitney works with staff, government partners and other stakeholders to craft policy and initiatives that serve the interests of those doing business with the Department of State.  

A graduate of Albany Law School, Whitney is a former litigator with the Department of State and with law-firms in the Capital Region and metropolitan NYC area.  Whitney is an eighteen-year veteran with the Department of State, where she has represented the Division of Licensing Services at administrative hearings, overseen the Division’s litigation unit and served as the Director of the Division of Licensing Services.   Whitney was born and raised in the Adirondack Park where her family has resided for eight generations. 

Deputy Secretary of State for Local Government

Mark P. Pattison was appointed by Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez as the Deputy Secretary for Local Government at the Department of State.  He has previously served as Deputy Commissioner for the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities

Mr. Pattison also previously served as a Deputy Comptroller for the Office of the State Comptroller. 

As Deputy Secretary of State for Local Government, Mr. Pattison oversees the Division(s) of Local Government Services, Building Standards and Codes, Cemeteries and other duties as assigned.  He is the Governor’s Alternate for two federal Commissions, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Northern Borders Regional Commission (NBRC).

Mr. Pattison has spent many years in public service.  He was Mayor of the City of Troy from 1996 through 2003. Mr. Pattison worked at the Rensselaer County Chapter of the Association for Retarded Citizens for 20 years, including 12 years as its Director of Residential Services.

He served as Vice-President of the City of Troy's School Board, President of Vanderheyden Hall, Vice-Chair of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Chairperson of the Hudson Mohawk Heritage Area Commission and President of the New York State Association of Community and Residential Agencies. He was a trustee and faculty member of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and has served on many community boards, including the Center for Economic Growth, the Troy Rehabilitation Improvement Program (TRIP) and the Commission for Economic Opportunity.

Mr. Pattison studied political science, economics and urban policy at the State University of New York at Oswego.  He has a Masters Degree in Organization and Management from Antioch University, Antioch New England Graduate School.  He lives on Troy’s East Side with his wife, Laura Amos, and has two children, Edward and Mary.

Deputy Secretary of State for Strategic Initiatives

Working within the Executive Office, Chuck works to research, analyze, address and implement projects and initiatives identified by agency executives as mission critical priorities, and serves as a trusted advisor to the Secretary of State and executive staff, working closely with agency program managers and administrators to coordinate resources across the agency to effectively achieve desired outcomes. In his role, he provides operational and implementation support of agency initiatives, Executive Chamber directives, and administrative functions.

Chuck initially joined state service with the Department of Health as a Public Management Intern, and has spent the past 26 years in progressively responsible administrative and managerial roles, including positions focused on human resources, operations management, and program administration. He joined the Department of State in 2019 as Director of Human Resources, and left briefly to serve in the Executive Chamber as their first Director of Human Resources, from late 2021 to early 2023. He returned to DOS in a new role that allows him to utilize his extensive governmental background to support priority agency goals and initiatives. He earned his B.A. in Criminal Justice from SUNY Plattsburgh, and his M.P.A., with a concentration in HR Management, from UAlbany’s Rockefeller College.

A native of Dutchess County, Chuck has called the Capital Region home since 1994.

Deputy Secretary for Agency Transformation and External Affairs

Matt Tebo joined the DOS team in the summer of 2007.  From 2007 until 2017, he served as the Department’s Legislative Counsel and its Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.  Demonstrating an aptitude for process re-engineering and an in-depth understanding of the Department’s many functions, Matt became the Deputy Secretary for Agency Transformation and External Affairs in 2017. 

In this role, Matt leads a team that focuses on adding efficiency to the Department’s processes, while designing and deploying transformative information technology systems.  Besides efficiency of function, this team seeks to create platforms that also provide better services to the People of the State of New York.  In 2021, Matt is proud that the Department was able to replace its 40-year-old DOS Corps system with an efficient alternative that allows businesses to form online in many instances.  The team continued its success in 2022 and 2023, launching state-of-the-art systems related the service of process, notarial licensure, and not-for-profit oversight.  Matt also serves as the designated chairperson of the NYS Fire Prevention and Building Code Council, the body statutorily responsible for updating the State’s Building, Fire, and Energy Codes.

Prior to coming to DOS, Matt served in the New York State Assembly as the Assistant Counsel to the Majority Leader and Assistant Floor Counsel.  In that role, he worked closely with Majority Leaders Paul Tokasz and Ron Canestrari on floor operations, including as parliamentarian when needed. 

Matt is a graduate of Albany Law School and Skidmore College.

In his free time, Matt trains for and competes in Ironman 70.3s as well as short- and intermediate-distance triathlons.  He currently lives in Clifton Park with his wife of 17 years and two children.

Deputy Secretary of State for Public Affairs

Prior to joining DOS, she served as Deputy Commissioner for Communications and Operations at the Office of General Services overseeing all external and internal communications. Her portfolio included the Press Office, Digital and Media Services Center, Convention and Cultural Events and the Curatorial and Visitor Services programs.  She also served as liaison with the Office of the Governor on events, equipment and facility needs and operations. 

Before her time at OGS, she was the Deputy Communications Director for the Governor’s office managing 12 state agency communication offices, including DOS, as part of the economic development portfolio.  

Michelle served as Press Officer for the Office of the Attorney General. In 2009, she began her state service career with the New York State Department of Labor at the height of the recession where she led outreach and marketing efforts to help the growing number of unemployed New Yorkers get unemployment benefits and jobs. 

Prior to state service, Michelle spent nearly 20 years in various positions in television news including reporter, Executive Producer and Assistant News Director.

Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Opportunity

Zoila Del Castillo serves as Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Opportunity with the New York State Department of State. In this capacity, Zoila oversees the Office of Administrative Hearings, the Office for New Americans, the Division of Consumer Protection, and the Division of Community Services. Zoila is also the Secretary of State’s designee to the Committee on Open Government.

Prior to her appointment, Zoila served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau at the Office of the New York State Attorney General. In this role, Zoila prosecuted and investigated complex financial crimes, including securities, insurance, and tax fraud as well as unlicensed practice. In addition to these duties, she also served as a member of the Attorney General’s Diversity Committee.

Zoila previously served as an Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office where she handled a caseload on a variety of criminal matters and conducted numerous jury trials involving Burglary, Assault, and Criminal Possession of Weapon. She also had the unique opportunity to prepare and successfully argue an appeal on a Murder conviction before the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department.

Zoila currently serves as Co-Chair of the LatinoJustice’s Líderes Young Professionals Board where she supports the organization’s mission to advocate for equitable and accessible justice and fostering the next generation of civic leaders. For her commitment to making an impactful contribution to our communities, Zoila has been recognized with the American Bar Association 2021 On the Rise – 40 Top Young Lawyers Award, Crain’s New York Business 2021 Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Champion of Change Award, the Prospanica New York 2021 Top Latinx Leaders Award, and was selected as a 2021 fellow of the Council of Urban Professionals.

Zoila holds a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

As the Deputy Secretary of State for Planning, Development and Community Infrastructure, Kisha Santiago is at the forefront of efforts to advance sustainable, equitable and resilient development,  reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve climate resiliency and protect and restore the State's coastal and ocean ecosystems.

Kisha oversees the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI); New York Forward (NYF),  Smart Growth,  Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA); Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP); South Shore Estuary Reserve; and Coastal Lakeshore Economy and Resiliency (CLEAR) Initiative. She also oversees the New York State Coastal Management Program including the NYS CZM federal coastal consistency review authority, and the advancement of federal, regional, and state Ocean and Great Lakes policy initiatives to meet the State’s complementary goals of renewable energy generation, resource protection, and economic activity . 

Prior to joining the DOS, Kisha served in the Governor’s Executive Chamber as Assistant Secretary for Housing, Assistant Commissioner at Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), as an affordable housing developer and in general management in the private sector, and as a program developer for a youth training and affordable housing construction non-profit. Kisha is a native of Queens now residing in the Capital Region with her partner and two children.

Whether implementing plan-then-act strategies to empower equitable community revitalization or developing synergistic environmental and economic benefits that mitigate concerns, the broad-based programs that Ms. Santiago administers at the DOS have a profound and lasting impact on New York State’s communities, economies, and ecosystems

Chief Administrative Officer

As the Chief Administrative Officer, LuAnn I. Hart manages statewide administrative operations and oversees the Bureau of Financial Management, Bureau of Human Resource Management, and the Bureau of Administrative Support Services.  LuAnn works closely with the DOS Executive team to facilitate agency priorities maximizing on a variety of state and federal resources to achieve the eclectic mission of the agency.  She also serves as the agency’s Procurement Officer overseeing more than $600 million in annual procurements and more than $1 billion in agency contracts and funding. LuAnn joined DOS in 2010 as Supervisor of Contract Administration and was promoted to Director of Fiscal Management in 2014.  

Prior to joining the Department of State, she worked for the New York State Department of Health for more than 18 years overseeing agency procurements and administration of public health programs.  In 2001 she accepted a position to administer state and federal funding in support of West Nile Virus Surveillance, and later Bioterrorism planning and response.  LuAnn holds an M.B.A. from Clarkson University (formerly Union Graduate College) and attended Siena College where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Management. 

LuAnn is a lifelong resident of the Capital District and has been married to her husband for 35 years; they have three children.

Director of Government Relations

In 2017, Justin Cartwright joined the Department of State as the Director of Government Relations. Prior to joining the Department of State Justin served as Director of Legislative Affairs at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Justin began his state service in 2004 working for the New York State Assembly Communications and Information Services Office in various roles. During this time, he also worked for the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee as a Field Operative and later as a Political Director.

At DOS Justin serves as the point of contact for state and local elected officials as well as special interests who are requesting an audience with the Department. This role involves resolving constituent inquires, answering questions about Department programs/regulations and assisting with legislative initiatives being proposed or enacted. Additionally, he serves as the Departments liaison between other agencies when a multiple agency response is needed.

Justin resides in East Greenbush with his wife Jessica and their twin boys.