The Honorable Chirlane Irene McCray

Civic leader Chirlane McCray was born on November 29, 1954 in Springfield, Massachusetts to Robert Hooper McCray and Katharine Clarissa Eileen Edwards. After graduating from Longmeadow High School in 1972, she went on to receive her B.A. degree in English from Wellesley College in 1976.

In 1977, McCray moved to New York to serve as an editorial assistant at Redbook magazine. She later worked as a research analyst for New York magazine from 1979 to 1980, as a market research analyst for Conde Naste from 1980 to 1983, and as a coordinator at Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press from 1986 to 1987. McCray joined Medgar Evers College’s Center for Women’s Development in 1985 as an editor and writer. In 1991, McCray left publishing to work as a director of publications and assistant director of public information at the New York City Commission on Human Rights; and, in 1992, she became a speechwriter for New York City Mayor David Dinkins, the first African American mayor of New York City. McCray served as speechwriter for New York Comptroller Carl McCall from 1994 to 1996, before joining the New York Foreign Press Center as a press officer in 1996 and the National Black Women’s Health Project as a senior consultant in 1998. In 2001, she returned to work as speechwriter for New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson. McCray worked for CitiGroup before moving to Maimonides Medical Center, first in part-time positions with human resources and the executive office, and then in marketing. McCray left Maimonides Medical Center in 2009.

In 2013, McCray’s husband, Bill de Blasio, was elected the Mayor of New York City, where she served as the city’s First Lady. De Blasio named McCray chair of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City in 2014, and co-chair of the Commission on Gender Equity in 2015. She also launched ThriveNYC, an initiative to overhaul the city's mental health and substance abuse services. In 2016, McCray was named co-chair of the NYC Domestic Violence Task Force, and in 2017 she launched the NYC Unity Project.

McCray lives in New York City. She has two children, Chiara and Dante.

Chirlane McCray was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 21, 2020.