Rosemarie O'Keefe

Rosemarie C. O'Keefe is a community activist and the former Commissioner of New York City's Community Assistance Unit for the former NYC mayor Giuliani.

As a member of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's cabinet and his Primary advisor on issues affecting New York City's many and varied multicultural communities, O'Keefe worked directly with the Deputy Mayors, agency commissioners, elected official, civic leaders, clergy and neighborhood organizations to develop and manage new initiatives to resolve longstanding community problems, and broker partnerships between communities and government.

Mayor Giuliani relied exclusively on Commissioner O'Keefe to respond to emergency situations impacting on the quality of life of city residents, businesses and tourists in order to meet their needs for assistance quickly, thoroughly, and compassionately, which earned her the respect of her colleagues in government for having a proactive "can do" attitude and became known by many New York City residents and visitors for her sensitivity and humanity.

As Commissioner, Rosemarie led the recovery efforts for many large scale tragedies including the TWA Flight 800, Swiss Air Flight 111, Egypt Air Flight 990 and American Airlines Flight 587 crashes and the tremendous task of planning, implementing and managing the NYC Family Assistance Center (FAC), a one-stop service, support and advocacy center for the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks, the largest disaster assistance response center in the United States. The 130,000 square foot facility housed more than 60 public and private agencies, providing services ranging from grief counseling, pet therapy, social service entitlements to DNA testing and the preparation of death certificate affidavits. Under her direction, the FAC provided services for 60,000 family members and 250,000 individuals that were directly affected by the tragedy.

She also planned large-scale public ceremonies for memorial ceremonies for the World Trade Center Attack and the crash of Flights 800, 587, 990 and 111.

She is the recipient of a number of awards for her community activities/services including the Solan Public Service Award, the International Woman of the Year, and the Civic Honoree of the Joint Consulates of Israel, Ireland and Italy.

O'Keefe has been both a source of comfort and inspiration to the families who have been directly affected by the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.