Commissioners

A lifelong New Yorker, Brian O’Dwyer has been an advocate for working men and women and immigrants.

A graduate of the High School of Music and Art (now LaGuardia High School) he went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts from The George Washington University in Spanish American Literature, a Masters in Spanish from Middlebury College, a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University and a LLM from The George Washington University Law School. He has been awarded the degrees of D. Phil from Dublin City University and DHL from Middlebury College.

He was the founder and first Chair of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, and served as advisor to the Clinton administration during the Northern Ireland peace process. He was appointed by President Clinton to the Presidential Commission on White House Fellows, and Secretary Clinton to the U.S. Committee for UNESCO. He has spent the majority of his professional career advising labor organizations and immigrant rights groups on workers protections and benefits issues.

Commissioner O’Dwyer (Governor appointment) was confirmed by the Senate on June 3, 2022.

Sylvia B. Hamer is the Executive Director at the HOPE Community Services, which is a non-profit community organization, providing free services for persons experiencing homelessness, child hunger initiatives, a kosher pantry, community programming, and so much more.

In addition to her current position, Ms. Hamer possesses extensive governmental experience, including Chief of Staff to the Brooklyn Borough President. In 2011, then New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo appointed Hamer to serve as Chief Diversity Officer for the New York State Power Authority (NYPA). Also at the request of Governor Cuomo, Hamer was asked to serve as the agency's Equal Employment Officer (EEO). Prior to NYPA, Hamer was the Chief of Staff and Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs at the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations, she provided counsel and guidance on critical issues, including the corporation's Chapter 9 Bankruptcy proceeding, assisted in the development of a crisis management and restructuring plan, and was instrumental in proposing revisions to the statutory regime governing the racing industry.

In June 2008, Hamer was appointed by then New York State Governor David Paterson to the position of Deputy Secretary for Technology, Government Operations and Gaming. In February 2007, then New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer appointed Hamer to serve as Deputy Secretary for Government Operations, Labor and Technology. In these roles, she was a key advisor to the Governors and oversaw the budgets, programs, policies and legislative initiatives for 11 state agencies, boards and authorities. Hamer also served as the Executive Director for Administration for the New York State Office of the Attorney General, where she was responsible for developing and managing the agency's multi-million dollar annual budget. Sylvia also worked as a Budget and Research Analyst for the New York State Senate. Lastly, she served as a member of the New York State Franchise Oversight Board.

Ms. Hamer holds a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Science degrees from the College of New Rochelle.

Commissioner Hamer (Senate appointment) was confirmed by the Senate on June 9, 2023.

Martin J. Mack has served in local and state government for several decades, serving as Mayor of Cortland, Cortland County Attorney, and a Cortland County Assistant District Attorney before serving in the administration of three Attorneys General as Executive Deputy Attorney General, where he managed and supervised the legal work of the Attorney General's thirteen regional offices. Mr. Mack also served in the Executive Chamber as a member of the senior staff for Governors Eliot Spitzer, David Paterson, and Kathy Hochul, serving as Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs for Governors Spitzer and Paterson, and as Appointments Secretary for Governors Paterson and Hochul. Mr. Mack presently serves as Governor Hochul’s representative on the Board of Trustees of Cornell University.

Mr. Mack received an undergraduate degree from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, a Master of Arts in Teaching in Secondary Social Studies from SUNY Cortland, and a law degree from University of South Carolina.

Commissioner Mack (Governor appointment) was confirmed by the Senate on June 5, 2024.

Peter J. Moschetti, Jr. is a founding member of the firm of Anderson, Moschetti and Taffany. He served as a prosecutor in the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office from 1984 to 1987. Since then, Moschetti has focused on the trial of personal injury and wrongful death cases, including products liability and medical malpractice actions. He represents individuals and corporations in both state and federal courts and has been appointed as a special prosecutor in a number of high-profile criminal cases in the region. He also served as a member of the New York State Temporary Commission on Lobbying, a precursor of the Joint Commission on Public Integrity. 

Moschetti has been named one of the top 25 lawyers in the Hudson Valley by New York Super Lawyers Magazine every year since 2007 and has received the highest possible rating by Martindale Hubbell for both legal ability and ethical standards. He has lectured for continuing legal education in the areas of civil and criminal law and has taught at Albany Law School.

Moschetti graduated with honors from both the University of New Haven in Connecticut in 1981 and Albany Law School in 1984.

Commissioner Moschetti (Governor appointment) was confirmed by the Senate on May 14, 2014.

Marissa Shorenstein is the Chief External Affairs Officer for BSE Global. She formerly was Principal in SKDK, a strategic communications firm where she advised global clients on strategic and crisis communications issues as well as legislative and regulatory oversight challenges

Prior to SKDK, Shorenstein served as Global Chief Communications Officer for WeWork after spending more than eight years at AT&T as President - Northern Region, overseeing the company's external affairs for seventeen states. She had previously served as AT&T's Regional President for the Northeast and New York State President.

Prior to joining AT&T, Shorenstein ran Marissa Shorenstein LLC, where she offered strategic communications consulting services. Shorenstein also served as Director of Communications for Andrew M. Cuomo's 2010 gubernatorial campaign and Press Secretary and Deputy Communications Director in Governor David A. Paterson's administration. She also served as a member of the National Press Advance staff for the 2000 Gore Presidential campaign. More recently, Shorenstein served as Director of Executive Transition for New York governor Kathy Hochul.

Shorenstein is a Harvard University and Fordham University School of Law graduate. She also serves on the Executive Committee of Girls Who Code, as Vice-Chair of the Citizens Budget Commission, and as a Board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.

Commissioner Shorenstein (Governor appointment) was confirmed by the Senate on June 2, 2022.

Jerry Skurnik has lived in New York City his entire life. He is currently a Senior Consultant with Engage Voters US. He was previously a partner at Prime New York, a political consulting firm he established in 1988. The firm supplies data for campaigns on local, state and national levels as well as voter engagement tools and services. He first became active in politics in 1966 when he worked as a volunteer for Ted Weiss’ Congressional campaign and worked in numerous political campaigns since then. He served eight years as a mayoral advisor, mainly as liaison to elected officials and community groups for New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

More significantly to the responsibilities of the Commission, Jerry served as a member of the Task Force on the Future of Off-Track Betting in New York State.

Commissioner Skurnik (Assembly appointment) was confirmed by the Senate on June 21, 2017.