Hunter journalism alumna Orchida Harizaj (’22) has just been appointed associate director of communications in the Office of Ethnic and Community Media and Citywide Marketing for the City of New York.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the appointment this week. Harizaj will join other new appointees in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Communications, which, according to a statement by the mayor’s office, has elevated members of the City Hall team and brought in new talent to further strengthen the administration’s communications work.
Harizaj joined the deputy mayor’s office in September 2022 as a project manager. Soon she was leading community engagement as well as ethnic and community media interviews.
Harizaj and her family emigrated from Albania and were granted asylum in the United States amid violence in their home country. She was raised in Staten Island.
At Hunter, Harizaj majored in English and media with concentration in journalism, and served as vice president for The Envoy, Hunter College’s student-run online news site. Her professors, who remember her as being a standout student, are thrilled by the news.
“Orchida was always a standout student and leader,” said journalism program director Sissel McCarthy. “She approached every story with her signature drive and integrity, and I know she’ll bring the same passion to her work for the City of New York.”