Howard Wolfson

Howard Wolfson

Senior Advisor to Mike Bloomberg (2014-present); Education Lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies (2014 – present); New York City Deputy Mayor for Government Affairs and Communications (2010-2013); Communications Director of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign; Prominent Political Strategist.

Howard Wolfson is instrumental in the policy and political universe of Mike Bloomberg. He directs Bloomberg Philanthropies’ education program, which focuses on strengthening educational leadership and advancing education reform policies in communities across the United States. In this capacity he oversees several initiatives, including the foundation’s college access initiative, which aims to increase the number of high-achieving, low-to-moderate income students who apply and enroll in the top U.S. colleges and universities, and an initiative to protect and advance education reform in targeted geographies.

Additionally, as Bloomberg’s senior political advisor, Wolfson runs the former New York City Mayor’s Independence USA SuperPAC and advises him on politics and communication. Through the PAC, Wolfson led a successful $110M effort to help flip control of the U.S. House of Representatives for Democrats in the 2018 midterms – electing 21 of the 24 candidates supported by Independence USA.

From 2010-2013, Wolfson was the New York City Deputy Mayor for Government Affairs and Communications. He oversaw local, state and federal government relations, in addition to helping craft the Bloomberg Administration’s overall communications strategy.

Known as the “architect of Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate victory,” Wolfson was the communications director for her history-making run for the presidency in 2008. He has worked in and out of government, serving as Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Nita Lowey, now the senior-most Democrat on the US House of Representatives’ powerful Appropriations Committee, and as the Executive Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Wolfson has worked on campaigns at every level of government, advising Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Andrew Cuomo, among others.

Wolfson, a New York native, graduated from the University of Chicago and received a Master’s in history from Duke University. In addition to the American Theatre Wing, Wolfson also serves on the Board of Directors for the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.