Dina Simon
Born in Haiti, Dina immigrated to the United States at the age of nine with her family and grew up in Brooklyn and Long Island, New York. An advocate for social change, Dina Simon is the Chief Human Resources Officer at the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) of New York City, one of the largest pension plan sponsors in the United States, with more than $100 billion in assets and over 230,000 members, retirees, and beneficiaries.
She brings over 20 years of robust experience in state and local government, and has held senior leadership positions, including Chief of Staff and Executive Director of the Pay Equity Cabinet of the NYC Mayor’s Office, Senior Advisor to the Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands she later made history when she became the first woman appointed First Deputy Commissioner at the NYC Department of Correction.
Dina holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Long Island University, C.W. Post, a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from SUNY Brockport, and is a Harvard Women and Power alumnae.
With Haiti in her heart, Dina founded the My Haiti Travels agency shortly after the devastating earthquake of January 2010 to support the resurgence of tourism and investment in Haiti. My Haiti Travels offered Dina the opportunity to introduce the Haitian experience to members of Haiti’s global Diaspora. My Haiti Travels deepened Dina’s commitment to Haiti and its offered Dina a unique perspective on Haiti’s social, economic, and political issues.
Dina is a board member of the Haitian Roundtable (“HRT”), a not-for-profit organization founded in 2008 by Haitian American professionals committed to civic engagement and strategic initiatives benefiting the Haitian community. Dina’s commitment to Haiti is deeply aligned to HRT’s mission to redefine the narrative about Haiti and its Diaspora.
As Haitians and Haitian Americans sought solutions to address Haiti’s deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Haiti, Dina joined the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy’s (HAFFD) as a founding member. Dina’s civic and professional experiences are aligned to HAFFD’s efforts to engage the Haitian-American Diaspora to promote policies that foster peace, democracy and sustainable development in Haiti.
Dina has received several honors for her outstanding work in the public sector and commitment to community service. In 2017, The Network Journal named her one of the Top 25 Influential Black Women in Business. In 2022, she was named Alumni of the decade by her alma mater Long Island University for her work in public service. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.