Melissa Mark-Viverito (born April 1, 1969) is an American Democratic politician and former speaker of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2017, as well as councilmember for the 8th district from 2006 to 2017, representing Concourse, Concourse Village, East Harlem, Highbridge, Longwood, Mott Haven, Port Morris, and Randall's Island. Described by The New York Times as "fiercely liberal", she was elected Speaker on January 8, 2014, succeeding Christine Quinn. Early life and education Mark-Viverito was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, to Anthony Mark, a physician and founder of San Pablo Hospital, and Elizabeth Viverito. She grew up in Bayamón, where her mother still resides. At the age of eighteen, she moved to New York to attend Columbia University, from which she graduated in 1991 with a bachelor of arts degree. She received her Master of Public Administration from Baruch College in 1995. Career Mark-Viverito served as a member of Manhattan Community Board 11, coordinator of the movement Todo Nueva York con Vieques, president of Mujeres del Barrio, and strategic organizer for Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), an influential health care workers union. New York City Council After running unsuccessfully against Phil Reed for City Council in District 8 in 2003, Mark-Viverito was elected to the position when Reed reached his term limit in 2005. During her first four years in office, Mark-Viverito sponsored and passed several pieces of legislation regarding tenant harassment, building safety, greening buildings, and park conservancies. In January 2009, she criticized the voting record of newly appointed New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on immigration. During Mark-Viverito's second term in the Council, she served as chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee and as founding co-chair of the Progressive Caucus. In November 2013, she won re-election to her third term in the Council, and her close ally Bill de Blasio was elected mayor. Soon the New York Daily News cited Mark-Viverito as "the front-runner" for "New York City's second-most powerful political post — Speaker of the City Council." A grassroots effort to boost her Speaker candidacy included social media, fliers, phone banking, and volunteer recruitment. Mark-Viverito was elected City Council Speaker on January 8, 2014, at age 44, becoming the first member of the Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus to hold this position. Her first "State of the City" speech emphasized reform of the criminal justice system. In January 2016, Mark-Viverito