Here is my story. It is quite long. I have done many things and would never change anything.
After graduation, my Naval Reserve unit was called up by then President Eisenhower because of a problem in Lebanon(not much has changed). I spent two years in active duty. I got discharged and went to work with a dredging company out of New York. I worked on tugboats for about a year. I got a job in construction after that and worked on many projects. I got hurt on the job and could no longer work in heavy construction.
I turned to politics. I was a
Republican and got attracted to John Lindsay. His team asked me to come
in for field operations. After the election, I worked as an Aide to the
Mayor. During the campaign, I met
my wife Peggy. We have two children. My daughter just got married and my son
is still single. We have been married for 35 years.
After John Lindsay's second election, I was promoted to Deputy Parks Commissioner.
I switched to the Democratic Party and helped Lindsay to do the same.
After the Lindsay Administration,
I received an invitation to interview with Maynard Jackson for the position
of Director/Commissioner of Parks, Libraries
and Cultural Affairs. He was the first African American Mayor to be elected
in Atlanta and in a major southern city since Reconstruction. My family
and I moved there and stayed for almost five years. It was quite an
experience.
I moved to Washington, DC. I was with HUD and the National Park Service working
on the creation of urban grants. I was invited to join the Jimmy Carter White
House by the Domestic Advisor whom I had met in Atlanta. I served there as
one of the Intergovernmental Aides until Carter lost the election in 1980.
When that happens, all appointed staff lose their jobs effective January 21
of the year of the Presidential election.
I got a job as an Associate Director
of the University of Southern California Public Administration School(Washington,DC
campus). I served there for two years as a faculty member as well. I
applied for a position as Chief of Staff to a Member Of Congress. The
Member of Congress hired me to that position.
That job lasted 10 years. During that time, I was an adjunct faculty to USC
Washington
campus for Independent Study Programs.
Bill Clinton was elected President, and I was brought into the US Department of Labor. I was an Administrator for a division within Labor. I met with the newly appointed Secretary Of Labor during that time. She was Alexis Herman( the first African American female appointed.) She offered me the job of her Chief of Staff. I took it.
After a year, she appointed me to the post of Associate Assistant Secretary for Labor. I stayed there until George Bush won. I had to leave because of my appointment by a Democrat. I retired from the federal government and opened up a small consultant business.
I recently headed up the transition for a newly elected Mayor of Toledo, Ohio. He is the first African American ever to be elected in Toledo. I stayed for two months after he was sworn in to hire his executive staff. I am doing some other work assisting inner city students to get training for jobs or helping them to go back to school.
My wife is a lawyer and the Associate Legal Counsel for the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
My education includes a B.S. from SUNY and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California.
Theodore Mastroianni
2413 Huidekoper Pl NW
Washington, DC 20007
