Robert Megna

Robert Megna's career reads as a tour of New York State's fiscal machinery — one peer nominator called his record "a road map of consequential public service" — and few names carry more weight in that world. As Budget Director for the New York State Division of the Budget, he guided the state to its highest financial rating in 40 years from three major credit-rating agencies and helped deliver four consecutive on-time budgets, a feat New York hadn't managed since the 1970s. He also chaired the Financial Restructuring Board and the Public Authorities Control Board, served on the board of the New York Racing Association, and previously served as Commissioner of the Department of Taxation and Finance.

That command of state finance was forged over decades, including earlier posts as Director of the Revenue and Economics Unit at the Division of the Budget and Deputy Director of Fiscal Studies for the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, plus stints leading the Thruway Authority and Canal Corporation and as SUNY's chief operating officer. Today, he also chairs the board of the New York State Thruway Authority.

Today, as President of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, Megna leads the nonpartisan research arm that Governor Hochul tasked with reviewing New York's Foundation Aid education funding formula, work that directly informed the state's most recent budget cycle. He also mentors rising public servants through the Empire State Fellows and New York State Science Policy Fellowship programs — bringing a formal grounding to the role, with a master's in economics from the London School of Economics and a BA in economics and an MPA, both from Fordham University.