On May 8th, 2020, current CUNY BA student Elizabeth Soto (Biotechnology and Neurodegenerative Diseases, City College, '20) interviewed Gareth Rhodes (CUNY BA '11, Public Policy and Political Economy; featured in the photo above, seated next to Gov. Cuomo), an alumnus of CUNY BA and Harvard Law School, and a current member of the New York State COVID-19 Task Force established by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The following is a summary of the interview:
As a CUNY BA student, Mr. Rhodes completed his undergraduate studies at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York, where he participated in public policy internships and extracurricular activities. Prior to serving on Gov. Cuomo's NY COVID-19 task force, he had worked in the NYS Executive Chamber on various crisis and disaster response efforts, such as those established for Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, the major November 2014 storm that brought more than 7 feet of snow to Buffalo, NY, and in the aftermath of the escape of two inmates from an Upstate New York prison and ensuing weeks long manhunt. As part of Gov. Cuomo's COVID-19 task force he oversaw various day-to-day tasks, recovery mechanisms, including the development and implementation of a statewide testing strategy, the construction of temporary hospital sites including a 2,500 bed facility built at the Jacob Javits center in Manhattan, and a statewide hospital coordination center to manage patient load across more than 200 hospitals in New York State. Mr. Rhodes described being familiar with the commitment and passion that it takes to fulfill a role in a crisis response team - but nothing, he stated, has compared with the work that has accompanied the pandemic our nation is currently facing.
Mr. Rhodes described his work with Governor Cuomo, top aide Melissa DeRosa, and task force members including SUNY Empire President Jim Malatras and Budget Director Robert Mujica, and others, as starting from very early in the morning with preparation for the Governor's daily national press briefings and ending late at night. His role requires that he stay on top of statistical updates regarding the coronavirus, day-to-day management of statewide testing program, and other responsibilities that are now focused mostly on the reopening of New York State's economy. The pandemic, and the fluidity of the situation surrounding it, have required that Mr. Rhodes and other members of the task force assist with and advocate for numerous and various needs that have arisen in New York. The team has overseen the development of a testing program that has performed over 2.5 million COVID-19 tests to-date, and worked with more than 180 labs that are currently performing diagnostic testing for New York State, including more than 75,000 tests on one recent day. Despite the uncertainty associated with the crisis, Mr. Rhodes discussed how the Governor and the state's COVID-19 team have worked to help guide the citizens of New York through the pandemic situation, continuously assessing and re-assessing ongoing demands, and determining next steps. Amidst the anxiety and frustration, "it is imperative," he said, "to figure out the best ways and times to re-open in a smart manner, while being as aware and taking steps to mitigate for all the risks."
Mr. Rhodes expressed his belief that the resilience of the healthcare workers has been genuinely inspiring. While many citizens on the way to events will thank the Governor for his work, Mr. Rhodes stated that the entire team is continuously thinking of how to thank the healthcare workers, who work long days at hospitals and clinics while putting their lives on the line in the service of others. He described how it has been a unique experience - not only to him, but to everyone on his team - to see people sending handwritten letters and showing an outpouring of support to their team, to healthcare workers, and to other essential workers.
When asked what advice he would offer to current CUNY BA students, Mr. Rhodes said that he encourages students in the CUNY community to pursue their passion for having a high-impact role in our society, and to look for opportunities to serve regardless of the field they are in or are looking to pursue. “The world will be a different world,” and whether one is at the start of their career or has a significant amount of work experience, there will be an opportunity to be an agent of change in the post-COVID crisis economy and society. |