About Jen

Jennifer DeSena was elected the 38th Supervisor of the Town of North Hempstead in November 2021. During her first year in office, Supervisor DeSena proposed a double-digit property tax cut, the single largest tax cut in Town history. In fact, she earned bi-partisan support among Democrats and Republicans to cut taxes at a time in which inflation is soaring and residents need it the most. Supervisor DeSena also delivered on her pledge to repave roads, doubling the Town’s paving budget year-over-year, while reducing the Town’s reliance on borrowing and debt issuance. 

Jennifer DeSena knows that it’s critical for government to invest in critical infrastructure so that the private sector can create jobs in North Hempstead. Over the course of her first term, Supervisor DeSena successfully advanced a number of long-stalled projects that will significantly improve the quality of life of our residents while boosting out downtowns. Through her efforts, beautification initiatives, sewer connections, and pedestrian safety enhancements are getting underway in Carle Place and Manhasset.

North Hempstead was no stranger to corruption and mismanagement before she took office. For that reason, Supervisor DeSena successfully installed four members into defined and staggered terms on the Town’s Board of Ethics, restoring the Board’s independence and autonomy from any potential outside influence, and restoring an ethical firewall to protect taxpayers from misdeeds and conflicts of interest. Supervisor DeSena also sought an independent audit of the Town’s Building Department by the Nassau County Comptroller to help expose the problems plaguing the town for nearly 20 years. To bring additional sunlight to government operations, she directed the Town’s government access TV channel to begin rebroadcasting Town Board meetings daily, something that had never been done.

Since Day 1 as Supervisor, Desena has made it clear that hate has no home in the Town of North Hempstead. From boosting safety patrols at houses of worship and working with the American Jewish Coalition amidst a disturbing rise in antisemitism to leading a rally in support of stronger education in Asian-American history, Supervisor DeSena is committed to ensuring North Hempstead is a safe and affordable place for all residents to live. She has successfully fought to protect the suburban quality of life we enjoy, speaking out against extreme proposals that would eliminate single family home neighborhoods and allow apartments to flood residential streets. Thanks to her tireless advocacy, state legislators abandoned these plans to turn our neighborhoods into the overcrowded urban centers we fled from.

Prior to entering public service, Jennifer DeSena served as the Executive Director of the Manhasset Coalition Against Substance Abuse, educating and empowering parents to protect their families from the risks of alcohol and other drugs and unsupervised access to social media. With that experience, Supervisor DeSena established the Town’s Substance Misuse Advisory Council in 2022, and has worked diligently to address the opioid and fentanyl poisoning crisis head on. The Town now hosts overdose reversal agent training seminars in partnership with Northwell Health, as well as community forums in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office - Eastern District of New York.

Supervisor DeSena believes that volunteerism is the best way for adults and youth to improve their self-esteem and mental health. She served as an officer of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, in several ministries at St. Mary’s Church in Manhasset, and is a past Board member and General Counsel for the Manhasset Women’s Coalition Against Breast Cancer. As a long-time civic association leader and member of the Greater Council of Manhasset Civic Associations, Jennifer has always been very involved with our community.
 

The Town of North Hempstead recognized Jennifer’s service to the community in 2020 with her inclusion on the May Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor. Supervisor DeSena was recently honored as one of the 2022 Power Women of Long Island by SchneppsMedia, a 2023 ‘Wonderful Woman of Leadership’ by the Westbury/New Cassel NAACP, and an honoree of the Indo-American Association for Change.

Prior to serving the public, Jennifer DeSena worked in private practice as an attorney and led nonprofit organizations supporting family health and safety. During her legal career, Jennifer protected the public as an Enforcement Attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Prior to joining the SEC, she worked on complex insurance litigation. 

Supervisor DeSena is a graduate of Boston College and St. John’s University Law School. She resides in Manhasset with her husband, Ralph, sons Robert and Michael, now college students, and their dog, Sandy. In her spare time, she is an avid runner and triathlete.