Meet the Team
Segun Akande
Community Liaison
Segun joined Council Member Garodnick's staff in July 2008. He works on a variety of constituent issues from across the district, with a focus on the Upper East Side, where he is Council Member Garodnick's liaison to Community Board 8 and to the tenants associations for Isaacs Houses and Holmes Towers.
Prior to joining the staff, Segun served as a business analyst with New York Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia and Cornell. He also enjoyed brief success as an actor in films and commercials, and has been a frequent public speaker before community organizations and public schools.
Segun graduated from Duke University in 2007 with a B.A. in political science, and was a member of the varsity football team. He was born and raised in Brooklyn.
Justine Almada
Chief of Staff
Justine Almada, a specialist on tenants rights, is Council Member Garodnick's chief of staff. In that role, she oversees all aspects of the office, including the legislative agenda, constituent affairs, and Council Member Garodnick's priorities for the City budget. Justine is also Council Member Garodnick's liaison to the Stuyvesant Town / Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association.
She joined Council Member Garodnick's staff upon his induction, following volunteer stints on several City Council campaigns.
Justine graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Latin American studies. Born and raised in Manhattan, she is a Milken Scholar and a fluent Spanish speaker.
Tim Laughlin
Director of Scheduling / Community Liaison
Tim Laughlin joined Council Member Garodnick's staff in January 2008.
Prior to working in the City Council, Tim was employed by several political campaigns throughout the country. He has also advocated for sustainable practices and policy in the state of North Carolina, and worked in the Connecticut State legislature. He is currently responsible for maintaining Council Member Garodnick's daily schedule, and is also his aide on the Public Safety Committee, as well as his liaison to Community Board 6.
Tim grew up in New Milford, CT. He earned an AS in multimedia technology from the New England Institute of Art, and a BA in political science from The University of North Carolina in Asheville.
Joanna Levin
Legislative Aide
Joanna Levin joined Council Member Garodnick's staff as a legislative aide in October 2009. In that role, she helps formulate the office's legislative agenda and develops ideas for new policy and regulations.
Joanna holds a J.D. from New York Law School and passed the New York State Bar in 2009. While in law school, Joanna was an intern at the Children's Advertising Review Unit, the advertising industry's self-regulatory arm. She also interned in the Office of the General Counsel in the New York City Council, and served as a research assistant to Nadine Strossen, former President of the American Civil Liberties Union. Joanna got her start in government by drafting legislation to amend a local sign ordinance for the Village of Tuckahoe, in Westchester County, New York.
She was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Government and Politics.
Dan Pasquini
Communications Director
As Communications Director, Dan Pasquini is responsible for all public messaging from Council Member Garodnick's office. The son of two public school principals, Dan is also Council Member Garodnick's aide to the Education Committee.
He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with a degree in journalism. Following stints as a writer for radio morning shows and as an advertising copywriter, he began his career in government with an internship in the office of State Senator Liz Krueger, where he drafted campaign finance reform legislation that was introduced in the Senate in 2006.
Dan joined the office of Council Member Garodnick in May 2006 and has served as his liaison to Community Board 5 since that time. He specializes in education and quality of life issues and oversees the maintenance of Garodnick.com.
