Meet Karen Persichilli Keogh, Secretary to NY Governor Hochul

Karen Persichilli Keogh’s title may be secretary to the governor, but the job is so much more than even she realized going in. She holds the highest-ranking appointed position in the New York State government, one of only two mandated by state law, serving as the governor’s top aide and, in effect, the chief operating officer of state government.

“The title may be anachronistic, but the job is to manage all operations across the state for the governor,” says Persichilli Keogh, who was appointed Aug. 21, 2021, the same day Kathy Hochul was elevated to governor.

She and her senior team of eight are responsible for all the departments and agencies under the Executive branch and the governor’s considerable umbrella.

Persichilli Keogh, who splits her time between Albany and homes in Brooklyn and Sag Harbor, says, “I am honored to have the position, but what I like best is just putting my head down and doing the work. The executive chamber staff, of several hundred people, is the nerve center for the New York State government and the governor. We handle requests, concerns, problems, feedback, ideas… We carry out how she wants to govern and lead the state.”

Although she had a sense of the job and even knew some of her predecessors, Persichilli Keogh acknowledges she didn’t really appreciate its depth, breadth or scope until she was sitting in the seat.

“There is an enormous amount of responsibility and complexity,” she explains. “We are 24/7, 365 days a year. There are 20 million New Yorkers who rely and depend on us.

Her career has spanned the NYC Council, senior roles with then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and a decade at JPMorgan Chase. Grounded by her early training as a social worker, and the lessons she learned from her father, a NYC police officer, and her mother, a nurse, she carries a simple principle into public service: “Whatever your issue is, if it is important to you, it is important to us.”

She notes, Governor Hochul’s schedule is always packed, and her instinct is to say yes to nearly every request. The governor’s travels across the state are well known, including her frequent visits to Long Island.

“At her core, the governor values connecting with people above all else,” Persichilli Keogh says. “If she could, she’d walk the Main Street of every town or village and stop and get a cup of coffee and talk to everyone. Her nature is to add meetings and events, not subtract. With some elected officials, you’ll often hear staff saying the person is ‘on the way.’ Remarkably, she almost never runs late.”

While some may wonder if they often have to deal with people who are angry or unreasonable, her answer is “no.”

“We live in a great country that allows people to petition their government,” Persichilli Keogh says. “Very rarely do we deal with difficult people. I like that people are engaging with their government. I learn from every conversation that I have. I hate when we have to say no to a request. Someone has to make that decision and convey the news.”

Persichilli Keogh acknowledges that the volume and breadth of issues coming across her desk can be daunting, such as the number of state parks, all the highways and even whether a municipality can increase or decrease the speed on a roadway.

“You can’t really appreciate how many things we handle until they start coming across your desk,” Persichilli Keogh says. “Things that you would never think would fall under the governor’s purview. There are so many things that a municipality wants to do that requires the governor’s approval. Some governors see this as a chance to have power over others. She sees it as a responsibility. She sees them as sovereign governments.”

While some past governors fostered contentious relationships with the mayor of New York City, Persichilli Keogh says Gov. Hochul prefers to work productively with the mayor whenever she can.

“My job is to work with elected officials across jurisdictions and party lines,” Persichilli Keogh says of her mandate from the governor. “The governor wants to showcase that NYC and the state can lock arms and work together.  And she’s done just that.”

While they’d crossed paths for 20 years, Hochul and Persichilli Keogh had never worked together.

“We moved in some of the same circles and knew each other,” Persichilli Keogh says. “She is the first woman governor of New York. When she called to ask me to consider joining her Administration, it was an honor. It didn’t take long for me to say ‘yes.’  Some days it feels like I just took the job yesterday. Others, it feels like a decade. It can be all-consuming, and it is not without its sacrifices. But, at the end of the day, you’ve accomplished important things.”

Persichilli Keogh says has learned a lot from Hochul, including how to manage and care for a staff.

“She’s a mom who looks out for us whether it’s about meals, rest or family,” Persichilli Keogh says. “I work hard to make sure my team doesn’t miss the important things in their lives, but the reality is, we all do.”

She says the ones who sometimes get the short end of the stick are her husband, Mike Keogh and their adult daughter Jessica, but notes that both are “extremely supportive.”

“They get it. They understand why I’m doing it – the pull of public service, the quest to make good things happen on the very large stage of New York. Public service is doing the right thing and helping people who will never know me, and who I will never know.”

When she can take a break, she enjoys her time in Sag Harbor, which she says combines just the right amount of “culture, history, nature and small-town vibe.  It’s my happy place.”

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.