Maria J. D’Agostino is a Professor of public administration in the Department of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and  Founding Co-Director of the Initiative for Gender Equity in the Public Sector. Dr. D’Agostino’s scholarship focuses on gender,  leadership,  diversity, equity, and inclusion in the public sector. Her research scholarship qualitatively and quantitatively examines gender in leadership positions, inclusive and organizational workplace practices, and gender-equitable pedagogy.  Her expertise is applied in practice through various public sector partnerships including the New York City Gender Equity Commission and the United Nations Gender Equity in Public Administration (UN-GEPA) group. She recently collaborated with UN-GEPA as an expert to develop the next steps and new approaches to women’s participation and leadership in public administration. 

Dr. D’Agostino convenes workshops bridging the academic, practitioner, and student communities to provide resources and tools to create more equitable workplaces, policies, and classrooms. In Spring 2022 she was named in City & State New York’s list of Higher Education Power 100: Driving Diversity in Campus. She is actively involved in several public administration groups including the American Society of Public Administration, Scholars Strategy Network, and  Academic Women in Public Administration. Dr. D’Agostino is the co-recipient of the 2018-19 Inaugural Presidential Student-Faculty Research Collaboration Award examining gender equity in municipalities. She is also the recipient of the Section for Women in Public Administration Mentorship Award, the Rita Mae Kelly Distinguished Research Award, and the John Jay College Faculty Mid-Career Research Award.