Selvena Brooks-Powers
Manager for External Affairs and Community Outreach
JFK Redevelopment Program
Selvena Brooks-Powers has been serving as Manager for External Affairs and Community Outreach for the JFK Redevelopment Program. She has been a lifelong resident of Southeast Queens and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio. She also holds a Master’s of Science degree from New York University in International Law and Dispute Settlement.
Committed to public service, Brooks-Powers has spent her entire professional career working on issues impacting vulnerable communities, including domestic violence and economic inequality. She first began her career as a volunteer for then-New York City Public Advocate Mark Green for four years. Known for her activism, she made a name for herself by organizing many voter empowerment initiatives in college, most notably coordinating a stop on the bus tour by Presidential Candidate John Kerry.
Brooks-Powers has held numerous positions in both government and labor, and among some of her achievements were working with hundreds of evacuees from the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, working closely with local non-profits to prioritize and advocate for funding for organizations throughout Southeast Queens.
Brooks-Powers was elevated to Downstate Press Secretary, coordinating messaging and press operations for the Senate Democratic Conference. After winning the majority, she served as the Press Secretary to the Senate Majority Conference Leader and was later promoted to the role of Deputy Chief of Staff.
She has since served as the Communications Director for the NYC Mayor’s Office to
Combat Domestic Violence and then as the Northeast Communications Director for the SEIU. Never leaving her community behind she remains committed to service throughout the Queens community through her ties with local organizations.