Juan Ardila is an American politician who is a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

for the 37th district. Elected in November 2022, he assumed office on January 1, 2023.

Early life and education

Born in Elmhurst, Ardila was raised in

Maspeth, Queens Maspeth is a residential and commercial community in the borough of Queens in New York City. It was founded in the early 17th century by Dutch and English settlers. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside to the north; Sunnyside ...

. After graduating from

Archbishop Molloy High School Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the Roman Cath ...

, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

and a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from the

Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service The Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is the public policy school of New York University in New York City, New York. The school is named after New York City former mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. in 1989. History In 1938, NYU off ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Career

From 2015 to 2017, Ardila served as the office manager and scheduler for City Councilman Brad Lander. He was also a youth tutor for the

International Rescue Committee The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 19 ...

. From 2017 to 2019, he served as an expansion consultant for the New York City Department of Education. In 2019, he joined

the Legal Aid Society The Legal Aid Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal aid provider based in New York City. Founded in 1876, it is the oldest and largest provider of legal aid in the United States. Its attorneys provide representation on criminal and civil matt ...

as a program coordinator. Ardila was elected to the

in November 2022.

Controversies

In 2021 while running for a City Council seat in Queens, Ardila faced scrutiny over racist and homophobic remarks made on social media. He placed second in the Democratic primary to incumbent Robert Holden. In March 2023, Ardila was accused of sexual assault by two women and there were calls for Ardila to resign, including from Governor Kathy Hochul.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardila, Juan Living people People from Maspeth, Queens Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Archbishop Molloy High School alumni Fordham University alumni Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service alumni American politicians of Colombian descent American politicians of Cuban descent Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians