Christina Curry was appointed Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities by Mayor Adams in August 2022. She began her career in rehabilitation as an advocate for the minority Deaf, Hard of Hearing communities at the Lexington Center for the Deaf. There, she expanded into the mental health field as a mental health counselor working with Deaf, Hard of Hearing domestic violence victims and survivors through the Barrier Free Living Domestic Violence Non-Residential Program. On the weekends, Curry would also work with the minority disabled community at Community Counseling and Mediation, a Brooklyn outpatient mental health facility.
Nationally, Curry has served on subcommittees attached to the National Council of Independent Living and the National Council of on Disability.
Statewide, Curry has served on the New York State HIV Advisory Board, the New York State HIV Planning and Prevention Board, and the New York State Independent Living Council Committee. Curry was appointed by former New York Governor David Paterson onto the Executive Board of the New York State Commission for the Blind and the Interagency Council for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind.
Locally, Curry has participated in the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities/Disability Mentoring Day and has served on the Office of Emergency Management's Special Needs Advisory Committee and the Disability Network of New York City.
Originally from the Bronx, Curry worked in Harlem for 20+ years, and considers it her second home. She served on Community Board 10; on the Executive, Personnel, Health and Human Services, LGBTQ Task Force; and on Public Safety Committees. Curry joined the Harlem Independent Living Center (HILC), in 1999 as program director, before being promoted to executive director in 2001.
While at HILC, Curry provided disability/deafness sensitivity trainings to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, various hospitals within the NYC Health + Hospitals Corporation, and at the Mt. Sinai Continuum. Curry also provided training at domestic violence agencies and shelters, local police precincts, community-based organizations, and schools.
Additionally, Curry has worked with FEMA in Puerto Rico and with New York City Emergency Management on emergency preparedness in disabled/deaf communities.
Curry has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Education from Hunter College - City University of New York; a Master of Arts degree in Deafness Rehabilitation from New York University; and a Master of Public Administration degree in Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness from Metropolitan College of New York.