Dan Weiller (he/him/his) recently retired after a long career in New York State government including work in the Executive branch, Legislature and State Comptroller’s office. He has also worked in New York City government and in the non-profit sector in the city and across the state. As a top press aide to some of New York’s most powerful elected officials, he provided strategic communications advice and helped to manage complex relationships with other elected officials and valued constituencies.

Dan has been a social and political activist in the LGBTQ+ community for more than four decades. Working at the highest levels of state government, he was part of efforts to enact legislation to support and protect LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, including New York’s historic passage of same-sex marriage legislation in 2011. He has also been a volunteer for groups including SAGE, the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, the AIDS and Adolescent Network of New York and the Momentum weekly dinner and food bank for people with AIDS.

Dan’s work for the Executive, State Assembly and State Comptroller and in the non-profit world has given him a deep understanding of governmental, political and community issues throughout the state, from the state budget process to local concerns. As communications director for the state Thruway Authority, he focused on local issues in Westchester and Rockland counties as he helped lead efforts to provide historical and operational context and explain complicated technical aspects of the $4 billion project to build the now-completed replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge.

His work in the non-profit sector and range of volunteer experience in the LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS community has given him an appreciation of the considerable challenges and rewards that come with providing support and services to traditionally underserved or unseen communities.

Dan previously resided in Brooklyn and then in upstate Columbia County for many years, where he was a nine-year member of the Town of Kinderhook Planning Board and a candidate for local elected office. A native of Hartsdale, he currently resides in White Plains with his husband. He is a graduate of Woodlands High School and Tufts University.