Dennis Walcott
President and Chief Executive Officer, Queens Public Library
Dennis M. Walcott is President and CEO of Queens Public Library, one of the largest and busiest public library systems in the United States, dedicated to serving the most diverse urban area in the world. Dennis joined the Library in March 2016, after having led transformational change for more than 1,800 schools and 1.1 million students as Chancellor of the New York City public school system and as Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
In 2022, Mayor Eric Adams appointed Dennis as Chair of the New York City Districting Commission, for which he oversaw the yearlong process of re-drawing the boundaries of all 52 Council districts.
As a kindergarten teacher at the start of his long career in education and public service, Dennis recognized the importance of male role models for young boys and founded the Frederick Douglass Brother-to-Brother mentoring program. He went on to serve as the Executive Director of the Harlem Dowling Westside Center and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Urban League. He also was the New York State-appointed monitor of the East Ramapo School District in Rockland County, initiating a series of reforms to ensure the equitable delivery of service and opportunity to the district’s students.
Dennis has served on numerous boards and commissions throughout his career including Carver Bank Corporation, Primary Care Development Corporation, and the former New York City Board of Education, and currently is a member of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Board of Directors and the Vestry Board of St. Alban the Martyr.
A lifelong Southeast Queens resident, Dennis graduated from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in education and received his master’s in social work from Fordham University.