Anne Montesano

Director, RRU (Rapid Response Unit)


Anne has worked in the government, non-profit and philanthropic sectors to increase economic mobility and opportunities for communities facing structural inequities and to foster civic engagement.  Her experience includes building and managing teams, developing and managing complex projects, providing technical assistance and leading capacity building efforts, and implementing policies to expand access to government services.

Prior to joining RFA, Anne worked for 13+ years within New York City government at three different agencies across three mayoral administrations.  Most recently at NYC’s Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, she served as the Executive Director of Interagency Initiatives and Language Access.  In that role, she led the implementation of the City’s language access law and capacity building with 30+ city agencies; led and implemented a data-driven strategy to improve monitoring and oversight of the law; helped design, implement and scale up a program to improve access to voting for voters with limited English proficiency; and coordinated efforts to ensure the City’s emergency response work reached communities that speak languages other than English.

Anne started her career at a community-based organization in Los Angeles, CARECEN, where she provided services to Central American immigrants.

She earned her Master of Public Administration at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Tufts University.