Godfre Bayalama

Godfre Bayalama has spent a decade in New York government affairs, most recently as Chief of Staff to State Senator Zellnor Myrie — the role that earned him this recognition — before moving into his current post as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the New York State Department of Financial Services. He began his career in public service in Senator Myrie's office — the only Senate office he has served — starting as Director of Public Affairs, overseeing constituent engagement and building partnerships with external stakeholders, before being promoted to Chief of Staff, groundwork that shaped how he ran Myrie's office and translated constituent priorities into funded outcomes.

As Chief of Staff, Bayalama helped secure funding for several of Brooklyn's most important cultural and educational institutions in the FY 2027 budget: $1 million for Medgar Evers College, CUNY for AI programming; $4 million for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to restore its Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden; and $1 million for the Weeksville Heritage Center for educational and community programming. That mix of wins — technology, green space, and cultural preservation in a single borough — reflects the same intergovernmental instincts he now brings to a new chapter as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the New York State Department of Financial Services, where he leads the Department's interactions with external government partners and advises on intergovernmental issues.

Bayalama's path into public service started before he entered it professionally: his parents served as diplomats and humanitarian professionals in his native Republic of Congo, and he was raised between Congo, Europe, and North America — an international upbringing that informs his approach to coalition-building today. Before joining the public sector, he worked as a Media Intelligence Analyst for the SaaS company Meltwater. He holds a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from New York University, and outside of work hosts a supper club introducing guests to the superfoods of his homeland.