Catherine Almonte Da Costa Wikipedia, Biography, Age, Appointment, Resignation, Career, Education, Salary, Net Worth, Husband, Family
Catherine Almonte Da Costa is a political strategist and government official who recently garnered significant media attention due to her brief appointment in the incoming administration of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. In mid-December 2025, she was named the Director of Appointments, a high-level role responsible for recruiting and staffing the new City Hall administration. Her selection was part of Mamdani’s transition team efforts to build a government reflective of the city’s diversity.
Professionally, Da Costa has a background in both the public and private sectors. Before her appointment by Mamdani, she served as the global head of equity and impact at the auction house Sotheby’s. Her government experience includes working in the Office of Appointments during the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio, as well as working for the New York City Census. She was tasked with leading the talent recruitment strategy for the new mayor, a critical position for the incoming administration.
However, her tenure as Director of Appointments lasted only one day. On December 18, 2025, she resigned following the resurfacing of social media posts she made more than a decade prior, between 2011 and 2012. The posts, which were highlighted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and reported by political newsletters, contained antisemitic tropes. Following the public disclosure of these comments, Da Costa issued a statement expressing deep regret and remorse, emphasizing that the past remarks were not indicative of who she is today.
Profile Summary
Early Life and Background
Origins and Upbringing
Catherine Almonte Da Costa was born in the early 1990s (approximately 1991/1992) and was raised in the New York City borough of Queens. She is of Dominican heritage, a background that she has frequently cited as a driving force behind her commitment to public service and community representation. Growing up as the daughter of immigrants in one of the most diverse counties in the United States, Da Costa developed an early interest in the intersection of government policy and community advocacy.
Family Roots
Her upbringing was deeply rooted in the cultural fabric of New York’s immigrant communities. She has spoken in interviews about the challenges and vibrancy of growing up in a Dominican household in New York, experiences that later informed her work in the NYC Census, where she focused on ensuring that historically undercounted communities were represented.
Education
University Studies
Da Costa attended Binghamton University, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. There, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, laying the academic groundwork for her future career in government and public administration.
Professional Certifications
To further specialize in her chosen field of organizational culture, Da Costa later earned a certification in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.
Professional Career
Early Career and Retail
Before ascending to high-level government and corporate roles, Da Costa worked in the retail and service sectors. During her college years (circa 2011-2012), she was employed as a receptionist and sales associate at Lens Lab Express in Astoria, Queens. It was during this formative period of early adulthood that she authored the social media posts that would later resurface to derail her political appointment in 2025.
The de Blasio Administration and Civic Service
Da Costa’s entry into serious political work came during the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio. She served in the Mayor’s Office of Appointments, a critical department responsible for vetting and selecting candidates for city boards, commissions, and agency leadership roles.
NYC Census 2020
One of Da Costa’s most significant public sector achievements was her role as the Deputy Director for Communications for NYC Census 2020. In this capacity, she was instrumental in orchestrating a citywide campaign to encourage participation in the decennial census. Her work focused heavily on “hard-to-count” populations, utilizing community-based strategies to ensure that New York City secured its fair share of federal funding and political representation.
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Corporate Leadership: Sotheby’s and Orchestra
Transitioning to the private sector, Da Costa leveraged her expertise in equity and inclusion to take on major corporate roles:
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Sotheby’s: She served as the Global Head of Equity and Impact for the prestigious auction house. In this role, she was tasked with modernizing the internal culture of a centuries-old institution, focusing on diversifying its workforce and expanding its social impact initiatives.
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Orchestra: Most recently, she worked as the Head of Culture at Orchestra, a role focused on organizational development, workplace culture, and employee engagement.
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The Broad Room: She also served as Managing Director for this organization, which provided training and resources for women entering government and politics.
Appointment and Resignation (December 2025)
The Appointment
On December 17, 2025, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced Catherine Almonte Da Costa as his incoming Director of Appointments. This was a cabinet-level position of immense influence, tasked with recruiting the senior leadership team for the new administration. Mamdani, set to become the city’s first Muslim mayor, praised Da Costa’s background, stating she would be responsible for “bringing top talent into this administration” and ensuring the government reflected the city’s diversity.
The Controversy
Less than 24 hours after her appointment was announced, a political firestorm erupted. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of New York and New Jersey, along with political newsletter The Judge Street Journal, published a series of screenshots from Da Costa’s personal Twitter (now X) account dating back to 2011 and 2012.
The resurfaced tweets, written when Da Costa was approximately 19 years old, contained explicit antisemitic tropes. Specific posts included:
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A January 2011 tweet reading: “Money hungry Jews smh.”
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A June 2011 tweet stating: “Woo! Promoted to the upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps.”
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A June 2012 tweet referring to the subway: “Far Rockaway train is the Jew train.”
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A July 2012 tweet mocking Orthodox Jewish women: “I always think its strange that orthodox Jewish women can’t expose their hair so they wear wigs. I guess that it beats wearing a head scarf.”
The Resignation
The backlash was immediate. The ADL declared the posts “indefensible” and demanded an explanation from both Da Costa and the Mayor-elect. On December 18, 2025, just one day after her appointment, Catherine Almonte Da Costa tendered her resignation.
In her resignation statement, she expressed deep remorse:
“I spoke with the Mayor-elect this afternoon, apologized, and expressed my deep regret for my past statements. These statements are not indicative of who I am. As the mother of Jewish children, I feel a profound sense of sadness and remorse at the harm these words have caused. As this has become a distraction from the work at hand, I have offered my resignation.”
Mayor-elect Mamdani accepted the resignation immediately, stating that he was unaware of the posts during the vetting process and that he would not have hired her had he known.
Personal Life
Marriage and Husband
Catherine Almonte Da Costa is married to Ricky Da Costa. Her husband is a prominent figure in New York City politics in his own right, serving as a deputy in the office of NYC Comptroller Brad Lander.
Children
The couple has two children. Da Costa frequently referenced her children in her apology, noting that as the “mother of Jewish children,” she was personally pained by the hurtful nature of her past comments.
Residence
The family resides in New York City. Specific details regarding their home address are not publicly disclosed for privacy and security reasons.
Net Worth
As of late 2025, Catherine Almonte Da Costa’s exact net worth is not publicly disclosed. While she has held high-ranking executive positions at major firms like Sotheby’s—where senior executive salaries can range significantly into the six figures—she is a private citizen and political appointee rather than a celebrity or public tycoon. Therefore, her personal financial records, assets, and investment portfolios remain private.
Conclusion
Catherine Almonte Da Costa’s career serves as a complex case study in modern leadership and the unforgiving nature of the digital age. She is a highly credentialed professional who has led significant initiatives in equity and civic engagement for New York City. However, her professional narrative in 2025 became defined by the collision of her past and present—a reminder that digital footprints from adolescence can have profound consequences on senior public service roles. Despite the controversy, her defenders point to her decade of subsequent work in diversity and her personal life as evidence of her growth, while critics maintain that the severity of the remarks necessitated her departure from public office.
FAQs
Who is Catherine Almonte Da Costa?
Catherine Almonte Da Costa is a political strategist and DEI executive who served briefly as the Director of Appointments for NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in December 2025.
Why did Catherine Almonte Da Costa resign?
She resigned on December 18, 2025, after antisemitic social media posts she made between 2011 and 2012 were resurfaced by the ADL and political reporters.
What were the controversial tweets about?
The tweets contained antisemitic tropes, including references to “money hungry Jews,” “rich Jewish peeps,” and derogatory comments about the Jewish community in Far Rockaway.
Who is Catherine Almonte Da Costa’s husband?
Her husband is Ricky Da Costa, a deputy in the office of NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. He is Jewish and publicly defended her character after the resignation.
Does Catherine Almonte Da Costa have children?
Yes, she has two children, whom she is raising in a Jewish household.
What was her role at Sotheby’s?
She served as the Global Head of Equity and Impact, leading the auction house’s diversity and social impact strategies.
What college did she attend?
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Binghamton University and a Diversity and Inclusion certification from Cornell University.
What is Catherine Almonte Da Costa’s net worth?
Her specific net worth is not publicly disclosed, though she has held senior executive roles in both the public and private sectors.
