Who Are The Leaders In NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's All-Women Team?

Indian-American leader Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race on November 4. At 34, he is the city's youngest and first Muslim mayor in over a century. As part of his historic start, he has appointed an all-female transition team, the first ever for the city.

The team is led by Elana Leopold as executive director, with senior members Maria Torres-Springer (the former first deputy mayor), Lina Khan (the former Federal Trade Commission chair), Grace Bonilla (president and CEO of United Way), and Melanie Hartzog (former deputy mayor for health and human services).

Zohran Mamdani And His Desi Roots

Zohran Mamdani, who is also known for his career as a rapper, is the son of Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair and Indian-born Ugandan academic

Indian-American leader Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race on November 4. At 34, he is the city's youngest and first Muslim mayor in over a century. As part of his historic start, he has appointed an all-female transition team, the first ever for the city.

The team is led by Elana Leopold as executive director, with senior members Maria Torres-Springer (the former first deputy mayor), Lina Khan (the former Federal Trade Commission chair), Grace Bonilla (president and CEO of United Way), and Melanie Hartzog (former deputy mayor for health and human services).

Zohran Mamdani And His Desi Roots

Zohran Mamdani, who is also known for his career as a rapper, is the son of Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair and Indian-born Ugandan academic Professor Mahmood Mamdani. Zohran was reportedly born in Uganda and grew up in New York.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College in the state of Maine. Before joining politics, he worked as a counsellor who helped low-income homeowners fight off evictions, according to his official profile on the New York Assembly website. 

Under the stage name Mr Cardamom, the young politician has released several hip-hop numbers, among the most popular of which is Nani, starring Indian actress and popular cook Madhur Jaffrey. Mamdani successfully ran for assembly elections in 2020.

During his political campaign, Mamdani relied heavily on his socialist ideas, impacted by ideas of equality, bridging the class disparity, rights for immigrants, housing, and healthcare facilities for the poor.

"That’s why I’m trying to fight for universal rent control in the same breath as I’m fighting in Times Square for an India that respects a pluralistic vision that so many of us Indians are proud of,” he said in an earlier interview.

Mamdani, during his political campaign for the assembly seat, had taken a desi spin on the popular phrase 'bread and roses' and changed it to 'roti and roses.' And the reason "it's roti and roses is because we're both fighting for something universal and something specific, and the specificity is about being an Indian-American, a desi Muslim American running to represent our communities, which have been shut out of the conversation for far too long," he explained.

New York-based Mira Nair had said in a 2013 interview that her son, "is a total desi. Completely. We are not firangs at all. He is very much us." Even then, she did not see him following her path into films: "He should do whatever he wants to do. I don’t see it in him to make movies. He is very involved with current affairs, politics, and political issues. I think he can be engaged in the world in some way to make a difference. He is very, very interested in that."

Vision & Challenges Ahead 

Stepping into office at a pivotal moment for the city, Mamdani brings a bold agenda shaped by grassroots organising, diverse representation, and a commitment to progressive change.

As the city awaits January 1, Mamdani says New Yorkers are preparing not just for a new mayor, but for a new era of leadership focused on hope, unity, and progressive policy.

Mamdani’s vision focuses on transformative changes like freezes for stabilised apartments, free bus service, universal childcare and city-run grocery stores. He plans to raise funds for these programmes by increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

His campaign raised more than $20 million, mostly from small donors, one of the most successful grassroots efforts in city history, showing how strongly people believe in his promise of a fairer and more equal New York.

At the same time, he enters office amid hostility from political opponents, including threats of federal funding cuts by former President Donald Trump and a surge in Islamophobic attacks during the elections.