M. Patricia Smith
Commissioner of Labor
Commissioner M. Patricia Smith has been a dynamic and effective labor advocate for over 30 years.  She has been a driving force in overhauling the New York State Labor Department to focus on vigorously protecting workers and on ensuring that employers compete on a level playing field. 

During her first year of leadership:

• Assembled a task force that in just four months found over 2,000 misclassified workers with over $19 million dollars in unreported wages, $1.2 million in unpaid unemployment taxes and penalties, and over $3 million owed to 646 workers in back wages.
• Labor Standards collected 37 percent more in wage underpayments and 20 percent more in fines than in 2006.
• Public work increased prevailing wage collection by 39 percent.
• In DOSH, our ten programs and units help provide safer workplaces through stepped up enforcement, inspections, outreach, surveys, training, reviews, grants, licensing and certifications.
• Special Investigations has identified almost $27 million in fraudulent UI overpayments and has assisted police and DAs statewide in numerous criminal cases.
• Counsel’s Office has brought nearly 200 cases to completion, in addition to issuing dozens of formal opinions and securing passage of two department bills.
• By creating the Bureau of Immigrant Workers’ Rights and conducting more strategic enforcement we have changed the culture of the department through partnering with unions, labor and immigrant groups to target our enforcement efforts to keep our most vulnerable workers from being exploited.
• We have also helped the workers of the state by aligning resources to better serve those in need of training. We are focusing on the needs of low-paid workers and creating career ladders so they can earn wages that can sustain a family.

Commissioner Smith has also strived to highlight the key role the Labor Department plays in economic development by improving training opportunities for workers. This gives employers the skilled labor force they need to succeed in today’s global economy.

Before coming to the Labor Department, Commissioner Smith served as Chief of the Labor Bureau in the Office of the New York State Attorney General for eight years.  In that position, she developed a system of active government labor law enforcement that has served as a model for other Attorneys General and enforcement agencies.  Under her leadership, the Labor Bureau built a proactive labor docket, enforcing labor laws by innovative approaches, such as developing a Code of Conduct; partnering with advocacy groups; targeting enforcement efforts on an industry-wide basis; and focusing on low-wage and immigrant workers.  

For 11 years, Commissioner Smith served as Deputy Bureau Chief and Section Chief of the Labor Bureau, conducting and overseeing labor law litigation in state and federal courts.  In 1996 and 1997 as Deputy Bureau Chief, she argued and won two Employment Retirement Income Security Act cases before the United States Supreme Court. 

Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, Commissioner Smith worked for various Legal Services Organizations representing unemployment claimants, minimum wage workers, workers in federal job training programs and job seekers.

She is a graduate of Trinity College in Washington, D.C. and New York University School of Law.

Mario Musolino
Executive Deputy Commissioner
Mr. Musolino joined the Labor Department in March 2007.  Prior to coming here, he served as the Executive Director of the Troy Housing Authority, a position he held since 1998. 

Prior to his tenure with the Housing Authority Mr. Musolino worked as the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget for the City of Troy.  Mr. Musolino has also served as the Deputy Director of the New York State Job Training Partnership Council, and the Executive Director of the Governor’s School and Business Alliance Program. 

Mr. Musolino holds an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice from Hudson Valley Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the State University of New York.  He has also completed graduate coursework in public administration at Rockefeller College.

Terri Gerstein
Deputy Commissioner for Wage and Immigrant Services
Terri Gerstein joined the Labor Department in March, 2007.  Prior to her current position, Ms. Gerstein worked in the Labor Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's Office.  She was an Assistant Attorney General from 1999 until 2004, and Deputy Section Chief of the General Labor Section from 2004 through 2007.

Before working at the Attorney General's Office, Ms. Gerstein was a Skadden Fellow at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center in Miami.  She is a 1990 graduate of Harvard College and a 1995 graduate of Harvard Law School.

Pico Ben-Amotz
Deputy Commissioner for Worker Protection
Pico Ben-Amotz joined the Labor Department in February 2007.  Previously, Mr. Ben-Amotz worked for the New York State Attorney General’s Office.  During his 19 years in the Labor Bureau, he was served as Section Chief from 1999 to 2007 and as Assistant Attorney General from 1988-1999.

Mr. Ben-Amotz is a graduate of City University of New York Law at Queens College.   He also received a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Robert Vitello
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Robert J. Vitello was appointed CIO for the Department of Labor in January 2007. For the past twelve years Mr. Vitello was CIO and Director of Legal Technology & Systems Management for the Office of the New York State Attorney General.  Previously, he served as Director of the Computer Science Laboratory at the Wadsworth Health Labs.

From 1989 to 1995, he was Executive Director of the Strategic Systems Laboratories, a research and development arm of the New York State Office of General Services. From 1981 to 1989, he served as the Director of the Computer Services Bureau of the NYS Department of State. From 1975 to 1981, he lead MIS efforts for the City of Buffalo's grants with federal Labor, HUD, and Justice Departments.

Mr. Vitello received his Bachelors and Masters from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.  Additionally, he did postgraduate work at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He also holds a Masters Certificate in Project Management from Villanova University.

Maria Colavito
Counsel
Maria L. Colavito was appointed as Counsel for the New York State Department of Labor in March 2007.  Prior to returning to the Labor Department, Ms. Colavito was engaged in the private practice of law with an emphasis on labor and employment law and government relations. 

Ms. Colavito previously served as Associate Counsel to the Department of Labor from 1984-1990.  From 1979-1984, Ms. Colavito was a Staff Attorney for Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York. 

Ms. Colavito received her J.D. degree from The University at Buffalo School of Law in 1979 and her B.A. in Political Science from The George Washington University in 1971.     

John Dormin
Executive Director for Special Investigations
John W. Dormin was appointed to the position of Executive Director of the Office of Special Investigations for the Department of Labor in May 2007. 

Mr. Dormin is a lawyer and began his legal career as a prosecutor, beginning in 1986, with the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. In 2003 he joined the New York Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force as an Assistant Deputy Attorney General.

Mr. Dormin is a graduate of Georgetown University, and St. John’s Law School.  He is admitted to the Bar in New York, as well as the U.S. District Courts in the Southern, Northern and Eastern Districts of New York. He is a member of the National White Collar Crime Center and the New York District Attorney’s Association.          

Nancy E. Dunphy
Deputy Commissioner of Labor for Employment Security
Nancy E. Dunphy was appointed to the position of Deputy Commissioner for Employment Security for the Department of Labor in June 2007.  She is responsible for oversight and policy direction for New York State’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program, serving approximately 600,000 unemployed New Yorkers and 500,000 employers a year, as well as oversight of the Department of Labor’s data gathering, career information and program evaluation activities as performed by the Division of Research and Statistics.

She has worked for the Department of Labor in a variety of positions since 1978, including Director of Agency Budget Services, Director of UI Tax Liability and Field Audit, and Director of UI Benefit Payment and Tax Accounting.   

Ms. Dunphy is a magna cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Albany and has completed graduate work within the John F. Kennedy School of Management Sciences, Harvard University. She is a successful graduate of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations 2005 Leadership Classroom as well as other selected management development and leadership institutes.  

Martin C. Dunbar
Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Chief Financial Officer
Martin Dunbar is currently serving as the Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the New York State Department of Labor.  Before joining the department in October 2007, Mr. Dunbar was a Commercial Real Estate Executive and the Executive Secretary of the Troy Industrial Development Authority from 2002 to 2004.

Prior to his tenure with the Industrial Development Authority, Mr. Dunbar was the Comptroller of the City of Troy from 1996 to 2002.  Before that, he worked for the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs from 1977 to 1995.   While at the Division of Military and Naval Affairs, Mr. Dunbar served as the Director of Federal Grant Relations, Facilities Operations Officer, Director of Human Resources Management, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Finance.

Mr. Dunbar holds a B.A. degree from Siena College and a Masters of Public Administration from the Graduate School of Public Affairs, SUNY Albany.  Mr. Dunbar is also a graduate of the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College, and a Retired Army National Guard Lieutenant Colonel.

Bruce G. Herman
Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development
Bruce G. Herman joined the Department of Labor as Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development in September 2007. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the agency’s Division of Employment and Workforce Solutions. Prior to joining the department, he served as Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project, a NYC-based advocacy group.  There, he worked extensively on reforms of the unemployment insurance systems, initiated an effort focused on displaced workers, worked extensively on reforms concerning immigrant workers and launched a national program to develop policies to secure economic opportunities for all workers.

Before that, Mr. Herman was Senior Director for the Center for Workforce and Economic Development (CWED), a collaborative initiative of the Consortium for Worker Education, the NYC Central Labor Council and a coalition of employers. The CWED assisted in emergency efforts to find sustainable employment for thousands of New Yorkers dislocated as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Mr. Herman has also served as Program Director and Executive Director of the AFL-CIO’s Working for America Institute in Washington, DC. He was also President of the Garment Industry Development Corporation in NYC, where he helped to augment services to address the needs of new immigrant workers. The Corporation received the Governor’s Award of Achievement in Export for creating a successful Fashion/Exports New York program.

His extensive experience also includes consulting on workforce development and labor relations on local, national and international levels.

Mr. Herman holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Dickinson College and a master’s degree in political science from Columbia University.

Pat Fahy
Associate Commissioner for Intergovernmental Affairs and Federal Policy

Patricia Fahy was appointed to the New York State Department of Labor in March 2007 and serves as Associate Commissioner for Intergovernmental Affairs and Federal Policy. This division includes ten Commissioner’s Regional Representatives who represent the Commissioner in all labor and workforce policy activities within their assigned regions of the state. Pat serves as the primary point of contact for NYSDOL on all federal and intergovernmental policy issues working with both with the Governor’s Washington, DC Office and the federal government. She also serves as co-chair of the Disconnected Youth Work Group of the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet.

Previously, Pat served as a consultant on education and workforce training issues and as a citywide elected member of the Albany Board of Education. She is a former Senior Policy Analyst for the Program Development Group of the New York State Assembly.

Pat served as Executive Director of the business-led Chicago Workforce Board overseeing Chicago’s workforce-related programs. Prior to her work in Chicago, Pat spent nine years in Washington, DC in a number of capacities, including; as the Associate Director for Employment and Training, in the U.S. Department of Labor Congressional Affair’s Office; as a senior legislative analyst in the U.S. House of Representatives, for the Labor Committee’s Subcommittee on Employment; in the U.S. Senate Labor Committee’s Subcommittee on Employment, for then Chairman Senator Paul Simon; and as a President Management Intern.

Pat has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northern Illinois University.

Colleen Crawford Gardner
Associate Commissioner for Labor Affairs

Colleen Crawford Gardner joined the New York State Department of Labor in March 2007 and serves the Department as Associate Commissioner for Labor Affairs. Reporting directly to Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith, Ms. Gardner is a key link between the labor movement and the Department.

Gardner works with all divisions within the Labor Department to strengthen worker protection, labor standards, apprenticeship and workforce development programs in New York State. Ms. Gardner also works closely with the Governor’s staff and Commissioner’s Regional Representatives on issues related to labor organizations and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Ms. Gardner has worked extensively on Workers’ Compensation reform, specifically conducting research and helping draft a Report for the Commissioner and Return to Work Advisory Council. She is currently working with the Workers’ Compensation Board on the Report’s implementation to ensure that the safety net for injured workers is strengthened.

Prior to joining the Labor Department, Ms. Gardner worked for 23 years for the New York State AFL-CIO as Director of Organizing and Community Services. In that position, she assisted unions with new member organizing campaigns; provided research, strategic planning, mobilization, one-on-one, and outreach support; built member, political, and community support for the Voice @ Work campaign; and served as the liaison between the State Labor Federation and eight area labor federations and 30 central labor councils throughout the state. She began her career as a business agent for Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ and represented and organized immigrant building service workers in midtown Manhattan from 1981-1983.

Ms. Gardner earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She also received a Certificate from Cornell University’s 18-hour Employee Assistance Education and Research Program. She has taken numerous courses from the National Labor College and has served as a teaching fellow for the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute.