Gabrielle Fialkoff became Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in September 2021. Commissioner Fialkoff brings more than 25 years of experience working with the government, nonprofit, philanthropic, and business communities. Her expertise and extensive network across these sectors enable her to provide sharp insights, hands-on knowledge, and access to key constituencies to deliver creative solutions and meaningful results. Commissioner Fialkoff founded GKF Group in the fall of 2019 to create smart, engaging strategies for corporate social impact, public affairs, experiential events, and non-profit growth and development to help clients achieve transformative impact for the greater good.
In March of 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York, Mayor de Blasio asked Commissioner Fialkoff to temporarily return to the City administration to serve as Senior Advisor to the Mayor for Covid-19 Relief to leverage her extensive experience with crisis management as well as relationships in the private and philanthropic sectors to aid the City’s response efforts.
While serving as Senior Advisor to Mayor Bill de Blasio from 2014-2018, she pioneered a new approach to city government by establishing the Office of Strategic Partnerships. Understanding that government alone could not solve the crisis of inequality, she utilized this new platform to bring together the business, nonprofit, and philanthropic communities to create high impact partnerships across an array of issue areas. Commissioner Fialkoff launched signature initiatives such as The Center for Youth Employment, which met its goal two years early of delivering 100,000 yearly internships and summer jobs for young people, Computer Science for All, a public private partnership to bring computer science education to all 1.1 million of NYC public school students and Building Healthy Communities—putting more than $420 million of private funds toward combating income inequality.
In her business career, Commissioner Fialkoff took her fashion company, Haskell Jewels LLC, from an early-stage entity to the industry leader in its category. As owner and chief operating officer, she oversaw all aspects of day-to-day operations and strategically led the business through 13 years of exponential growth, from 10 employees to more than 300.
Across these experiences, she has brought a passion for building partnerships, managing organizations, and improving lives in New York and beyond.
Commissioner Fialkoff is a trustee of FIT, a board member of Stockade Works and a graduate of Colgate University. She lives with her family in New York City.