Yadira Ramos-Herbert Says Real is Better Than Polished

Yadira Ramos-Herbert grew up in Queens, the granddaughter of immigrants. She started her career as an attorney in New York City, then spent a decade in leadership at Columbia University Law School.

She was working with students there when the campus was rocked by protests over the war in Gaza, after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Soon afterward, she became the first woman and the first person of color ever to lead the city of New Rochelle, New York.

Today, Ramos-Herbert presides over one of the most closely watched affordable housing efforts in America while leading a deeply diverse city through a divided political moment.

Sarah McCammon spoke with Mayor Ramos-Herbert about her family’s immigration story, the backlash she sometimes faces for speaking Spanish on the job, and how she held her city together after October 7.

In This Episode

00:00 — Cold open

01:43 — Grandparents, the American dream, and why she speaks Spanish on the job

13:28 — From a broken park to Mayor of New Rochelle

19:59 — Insecurities, fundraising, and being a Latina candidate

24:44 — October 7, the Columbia protests, and a mayoral race under scrutiny

31:31 — Misinformation, trust, and “Coffee with the Mayor”

34:23 — The Mamdani 9/11 controversy