2023 New York State Senate Woman Of Distinction

Town Supervisor Jen DeSena Recognized By Senator Martins

North Hempstead Town Supervisor

Jen DeSena was recently recognized as a New York State Senate Woman of Distinction during the annual Women of Distinction ceremony hosted in Albany. Supervisor DeSena was nominated by State Senator Jack Martins, who represents the 7th Senate District, which encompasses the entirety of the Town of North Hempstead, the City of Glen Cove, and parts of the Town of Oyster Bay.

“Thank you to Supervisor Jennifer DeSena for being our 2023 Woman of Distinction. As a strong professional working mother, Jen serves as a role model balancing the many challenges so many women face today. As Town Supervisor, Jen has proven herself to be a leader with a strong backbone, driven by common-sense, and a person with a good heart. She cares. Our community is better because of Jen’s commitment to making things better, her volunteerism, and her strong work ethic,” said Senator Jack M. Martins.

“I am so proud and honored to have been nominated for this recognition by Senator Martins, and I want to thank him for this tremendous honor. Since even before I became Town Supervisor, I have dedicated my life to the service of others and the promotion of volunteerism as a way for adults and youths to improve self-esteem and mental health,” Supervisor DeSena said. “Since I took office, I have led with these ideals in mind, and worked to make the Town of North Hempstead a better and more accountable place for our residents. With this honor, I am inspired to continue to lead, to continue to be an advocate, and to continue to serve.”

In her first year in office, Supervisor DeSena had a number of significant accomplishments. As part of her first Town budget, Supervisor DeSena proposed a double-digit tax cut, the single largest tax cut in the history of the Town. Beyond delivering the first tax cut for Town residents in at least a decade, Supervisor DeSena also delivered record commitments to road repaving, doubling the Town’s paving budget year over year, and reduced the Town’s borrowing and debt.

Supervisor DeSena has made it a priority to recommit the Town to investing in critical infrastructure. Over the course of her first term, Supervisor DeSena has brought forward momentum to a number of long-stalled projects that will significantly improve the quality of life of our residents, including the rehabilitation of sidewalks along Westbury Avenue in Carle Place and the Manhasset Sewer connection project along Plandome Road.

Supervisor DeSena believes that transparency is key to good governance and has fought to bring increased transparency to the Town and its operations. This includes directing the Town’s government access TV channel, NHTV, to begin rebroadcasting Town Board meetings daily, something that had never been done in the 15-year history of NHTV.

Additionally, upon learning that the appointed terms of members had been allowed to lapse, Supervisor DeSena successfully installed 4 members into defined and staggered terms on the Town’s Board of Ethics, restoring the Board’s independence and autonomy from any potential outside influence, and restoring an ethical firewall to protect the Town from potential misdeeds and conflicts of interest.

In 2022, Supervisor DeSena established the Town’s Substance Misuse Advisory Council, and has worked diligently to meet the issue of the opioid and fentanyl poisoning crisis head on through a number of ways, including free Narcan training seminars in conjunction with Northwell Health, as well as a recent community forum held in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York.

Supervisor DeSena has served as an officer of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, in several ministries at St. Mary’s Church in Manhasset, and is a past Board member and General Counsel for the Manhasset Women’s Coalition Against Breast Cancer. As a long-time civic association leader and member of the Greater Council of Manhasset Civic Associations, Supervisor DeSena has always been very involved with the community.

The Town of North Hempstead recognized Supervisor DeSena’s service to the community in 2020 with her inclusion on the May Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor. Supervisor DeSena was recently honored as one of the 2022 Power Women of Long Island by Schnepps Media, a 2023 ‘Wonderful Woman of Leadership’ by the Westbury/ New Cassel NAACP, and an honoree of the Indo-American Association for Change. Supervisor DeSena is a graduate of Boston College and St. John’s University Law School. She resides in Manhasset with her husband, Ralph, sons Robert and Michael, now college students, and their dog, Sandy. In her spare time, she is an avid runner and triathlete.

—Submitted by the Town of North Hemsptead