Julie Menin (born October 6, 1967) is a member of the New York City Council from District 5. Before she was elected to this position, she served as an American attorney, civil servant, non-profit executive, professor and small business owner. In January 2019, she was appointed Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy. Previously, she had worked as the Commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and Commissioner of New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs. Early life and education Menin is the daughter of Agnes and Robert Jacobs. Her mother was a painter and her father a radiologist. Menin earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree magna cum laude from Columbia University and received her Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law. Career Menin began her career in 1992 as a regulatory attorney at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington D.C., where she represented clients in matters involving federal and state enforcement agencies. She later became Senior Regulatory Attorney at Colgate-Palmolive in New York City, where she played a lead role in numerous agency cases involving the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Trade Commission, and also litigated disputes in state and federal courts. In 1999, she opened and operated Vine, a restaurant, market, and catering operation in lower Manhattan with more than 75 employees. Rising Following 9/11, Menin founded and was the president of the nonprofit Wall Street Rising, which worked for the recovery of the downtown neighborhood. She helped small businesses access grants, insurance, and other monetary aid; grew the organization to 30,000 members; and created a variety of programs, including the Retail Attraction Program, which helped more than 600 small businesses stay in lower Manhattan. Under her leadership, the organization launched the "Music Downtown" and "Art Downtown" series, which provided cultural and entertainment amenities to local residents in an effort to revitalize Lower Manhattan. Menin worked with artists including Mikhail Baryshnikov on these programs. Manhattan Community Board 1 Beginning in 2005, Menin served as Chairperson for Manhattan Community Board 1, where she was unanimously elected for three consecutive terms totaling seven years. As chair of CB1, Menin worked on numerous land use and zoning issues, led a successful campaign to build New York City's first "green" school and other initiatives to revitalize Lower Manhattan. Menin has been recognized for her