Nicole Ann Gordon
Distinguished Lecturer
Marxe School of Public and International Affairs
Department: Public Affairs
Areas of expertise:
Email Address: nicole.gordon@baruch.cuny.edu
> View CV- Biography
- Teaching
- Research and Creative Activity
- Grants
- Honors and Awards
- Service
Nicole A. Gordon is the Faculty Director of the CUNY Baruch College Executive M.P.A. program and Distinguished Lecturer of Public Affairs. She has served for over twenty-five years in government and not-for-profit leadership positions. She was the founding Executive Director of New York City’s pioneer Campaign Finance Board, building this reform agency into a nationally and internationally recognized model. At the Board she was responsible for the disbursement of tens of millions of dollars in public funding to candidates for New York City elective offices, enforcement of the New York City Campaign Finance Act, creation of sophisticated databases for public disclosure of campaign finances, distribution of New York City’s multi-lingual Voter Guide to millions of households, crafting of legislative initiatives and agency regulations, and evaluation of the impact of the Campaign Finance Program. After serving for 18 years at the Campaign Finance Board, she was the Vice President of the JEHT Foundation, which focused on criminal justice, international justice, elections, and juvenile justice. There she was in charge of all program areas and grants administration, working closely with government officials, academics, not-for-profit institutions, and other foundations to effect change in governmental policy and practice. She later was Chair of New York State’s Task Force on Public Safety Accountability, which was created to integrate evidence-based policy and practice in New York’s eight public safety (primarily criminal justice) agencies. She was the Executive Director of the Marshall Project, a not-for-profit, non-partisan news organization dedicated to covering America’s criminal justice system.
Before joining the Campaign Finance Board, Ms. Gordon served as Counsel to the Chairman of the New York State Commission on Government Integrity and as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in New York City’s Law Department, handling a wide range of cases including cases involving environmental, education, civil rights, and employment law. She was also a litigator in private practice as an associate at the firm of Debevoise and Plimpton. She is a past president of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (“COGEL”) and has served on numerous committees of the New York City and New York State Bar Associations. She has taught at the Fordham University School of Law and Cardozo Law School and has written law review and political science articles on subjects relating to law, public policy, and public administration.
She also teaches a course on law and public policy at the NYU-Wagner School of Public Service as an Adjunct Professor of Public Policy.
Ms. Gordon holds an A. B. degree from Barnard College with Honors in Classical Greek and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was the recipient of the Convers Prize for best original writing on a legal subject. She was a law clerk to the Hon. Harold R. Medina of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Education
J.D., Law, Columbia University School of Law
A.B., Classical Greek, Barnard College
| Semester | Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2023 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
| Fall 2023 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Spring 2023 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Spring 2023 | PAF | 9163 | Ldrshp & Strategy |
| Fall 2022 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
| Spring 2022 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Spring 2022 | PAF | 9163 | Ldrshp & Strategy |
| Fall 2021 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
| Spring 2021 | PAF | 9163 | Ldrshp & Strategy |
| Spring 2021 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Fall 2020 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
| Spring 2020 | PAF | 9163 | Ldrshp & Strategy |
| Fall 2019 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Fall 2019 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
| Spring 2019 | PAF | 9163 | Ldrshp & Strategy |
| Spring 2019 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Fall 2018 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Fall 2018 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
| Spring 2018 | PAF | 9163 | Ldrshp & Strategy |
| Spring 2018 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Fall 2017 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
| Spring 2017 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
| Fall 2016 | PAF | 9110 | Ethics & Pub Decision Making |
Books
Waisanen, D. J., Jarvis, S. R., & Gordon, N. A. (2023). States of Confusion: How Our Voter ID Laws Fail Democracy and What to Do About It. New York, NY, New York University Press.
Waisanen, D., Jarvis, S., & Gordon, N. (2023). States of Confusion: How Our Voter ID Laws Fail Democracy and What to Do About It. New York, N.Y., NYU Press. In Progress.
Journal Articles
Gordon, N. (2016). Options for Continued Campaign Finance Reform: Citizens Union is not the End. Albany Law Review, 80.
Gordon, N. (1997). The New York City Model: Essentials for Effective Campaign Finance Regulation. Journal of Law and Policy, 6(1).
Sotomayor, H., & Gordon, N. (1996). Returning Majesty to the Law and Politics: A Modern Approach. Suffolk University Law Review, 30(35).
Gordon, N., & Wagner, H. (1992). The New York City Campaign Finance Program: A Reform That is Working. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 19. 605.
Gordon, N., & Gross, D. (1984). Justiciability of Federal Claims in State Court. Notre Dame Law Review , 59(5). 1145.
Gordon, N. (1977). The Constitutional Right to Candidacy. Kansas Law Review , 25. 545.
Gordon, N. (1976). The Constitutional Right to Candidacy. Political Science Quarterly, 91. 471-487.
Book Chapters
Gordon, N. (2002). Ensuring Good Government: The New York City Campaign Finance Board. Ethics in Government, the Public Trust: a Two Way Street New York State Bar Association.
Gordon, N. (2000). Campaign Financing in New York City: A Decade of Reform. Government Ethics and Law Enforcement: Toward Global Guidelines Praeger.
Case Studies
Waisanen, D., Jarvis, S., & Gordon, N. States of Confusion: How Nonprofits Can Help Citizens Get What They Need to Vote, Private foundation 50 (2021).
Completed date - 2021.
Media Contributions
Waisanen, D. J., Jarvis, S. R., & Gordon, N. A. (2022). Planning to Vote? Get Ready for Some Frustrating Changes to Your State's Voting Laws..
NYU Press From the Square Blog
Presentations
Gordon, N. (2021, May 3). Reconsideration of Articles 14 and 24 of the Japanese Constitution: The Contribution of Beate Sirota and Marriage Equality. Constitution of Japan: Adapting to the New Era. Zoom--Japan: Marriage for All Japan.
Gordon, N. (2021, April 26). Voter Suppression. CUNY Forum. Zoom: CUNY.
Waisanen, D., Gordon, N., & Jarvis, S. (2020, July 29). The Perfect Voting Storm: How COVID-19, Strict ID Requirements, and Partisanship Are Threatening the Right to Vote. Baruch Marxe Talks Panel on Voting. Zoom: Baruch MSPIA.
Gordon, N. (2017, December 31). . Appearances as speaker and resource for news and editorial outlets, including network news, cable news, NPR, and the New York Times, and for nonprofit and governmental groups, including the OECD, the Carnegie Corporation, the Open Society Institute, the League of Women Voters, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Committee on Standards in Public Life as well as educational institutions, including Harvard, Columbia, and NYU; profiled in New York Times “Public Lives” column and several New York Times editorials (1988-Present).
Gordon, N. (1999, December 31). From the Ground Up: Local Lessons for National Reform. : Campaign Finance Board and The Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Gordon, N. (1995, December 31). Symposium on Campaign Finance Enforcement: A Comparative View. : American Bar Association, Administrative Law Section.
Gordon, N. (1993, December 31). Political Finance Laws: Possibilities and Practicalities of Enforcement. : International Political Science Association.
Other Scholarly Works
Gordon, N. (2015). Avenues for Policy Change in Juvenile Justice.
| Honor / Award | Organization Sponsor | Date Received | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Service Award | Council on Governmental Ethics Laws | 2003 | |
| Wien Prize for Social Responsibility | Columbia University School of Law | 1999 | |
| Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow | Harvard University School of Law | 1998 | |
| “I Love an Ethical New York Award” | New York State Common Cause | 1992 |
College
| Committee Name | Position Role | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scholarships and Awards for Continuing Students | Committee Member | Present | |
| Committee on Prizes, Scholarships, and Awards | Committee Member | Present | |
| IDEA committee | Solcitied as commentator from time to time | Present | |
| Curriculum Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Capstone | Committee Member | Present | |
| Exec. MPA Review Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| MSPIA Self-Study Ethics and Integrity Working Group | Committee Member | Present | |
| Marketing and Recruitment Working Group | Committee Member | Present | |
| Curriculum Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Marketing Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Secretary to Faculty | Secretary | Present | |
| Curriculum Committee | Committee Member | 9/1/2023 | |
| Capstone Committee for Accreditation | Committee Member | 1/31/2021 | |
| Committee on Assessment, Chair of Sub-Committee on Public Service Perspective | 12/31/2018 |
University
| Committee Name | Position Role | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSCHE Accreditation Committee on Ethics and Integrity | Committee Member | 1/1/2018 | Present |
Professional
| Organization | Position Role | Organization State | Organization Country | Start Date | End Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbiter Records | Member | New York | United States | 7/1/2020 | Present | |
| Arbiter Records | Board Member | New York | United States | 9/1/2020 | Present | International |
| The Marshall Project | Advisory Board Member | 1/1/2019 | Present | |||
| NYC Municipal Archival Society | Board Member | 12/1/2017 | Present | |||
| Committee for Constitutional Convention | Board Member | 8/1/2017 | Present | |||
| Citizens Union Foundation | Board Member | 1/1/2009 | Present | |||
| UN Commission on the Status of Women | Program Organizer | New York | United States | 1/1/2020 | Present | |
| Advisory Board, The Marshall Project | Committee Member | New York | United States | 9/1/2020 | Present | Local |
| Citizens Union Foundation | Committee Member | New York | United States | Present | National | |
| Fordham Law School Voting Rights and Democracy Program | Committee Member | New York | United States | Present | National | |
| St. Dep't | Presentation | New York | United States | 1/15/2021 | ||
| NAASPA | Attendee, Meeting | 1/1/2020 | 12/31/2020 | |||
| The Marshall Project | Board Member | 1/1/2014 | 12/31/2019 | |||
| NYU | Judge | 1/1/2018 | 12/31/2018 | |||
| We Got Us Now | Board Member | 8/1/2017 | 12/31/2018 | |||
| Suffolk County | Consultant | 8/1/2018 | 12/31/2018 | |||
| NASPAA Executive Committee Meeting | Attendee, Meeting | 10/11/2018 | 10/11/2018 | |||
| New York City Bar Association Task Force on a Constitutional Convention | Member | 8/1/2015 | 11/30/2017 | |||
| Advisory Board for the OSF/DF Experimental Initiative | Member | 1/1/2013 | 12/31/2015 | |||
| American Law Institute | Adviser | 1/1/2010 | 12/31/2013 | |||
| The Constitution Works | Member | 1/1/1993 | 12/31/2012 | |||
| New York State Commission to Promote Public Confidence in Judicial Elections | Member | 1/1/2003 | 12/31/2006 | |||
| IFES | Panelist and Adviser | 12/31/2005 | ||||
| Campaign Finance Institute | Task Force Member | 1/1/2001 | 12/31/2002 | |||
| New York City Bar Association | Member | 1/1/1998 | 12/31/2000 | |||
| New York City Bar Association | Member | 1/1/1994 | 12/31/1998 | |||
| New York City Bar Association | Member | 1/1/1988 | 12/31/1992 | |||
| An Empire of Reason | Executive Producer | 12/31/1988 |