Martha Stark

Martha Stark joined the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service as a Clinical Professor in Fall 2017.

Ms. Stark served as a Distinguished Lecturer at Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. In addition to teaching, Stark is a tax policy expert and serves as the policy director of a coalition of groups that has sued New York State and City claiming that the property tax structure violates the Constitution and various tax laws. She also recently helped craft an alternative to a proposed pied-a-terre tax and has a law firm that challenges property taxes on behalf of owners in court. She has served as a strategist, coach, facilitator, and management and leadership consultant for several nonprofit organizations including the Park Avenue Synagogue, Asphalt Green, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders, the Ali Forney Center, and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. Before rejoining government she was one of the first Portfolio Managers at the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation when it changed its strategy to focus on helping organizations serving young people to grow through innovative and long-term funding, business plan development, and performance management systems.

Previously Stark served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, the 2,400-person tax agency responsible for collecting more than $22 billion in revenue to fund and support local services including education, police, fire, sanitation and libraries. Her many accomplishments include: administering a tax amnesty program responsible for collecting $80 million in additional revenue and removing bad debt from the city’s books and records; implementing an innovative parking program for companies making deliveries in New York City that saved the companies and the city money and reduced the need for expensive parking hearings; improving transparency by providing more access to Finance records about properties; and overseeing the management of the City’s cash flow without the need to borrow money against tax receipts. In her role as Commissioner, Stark served as a trustee on the boards of the New York City pension funds with assets of more than $100 billion, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the organization responsible for rebuilding the World Trade Center site, the Twin Towers Fund, and the Prospect Park Alliance.

Ms. Stark, a lawyer, served as a White House Fellow at the United States Department of State during President Bill Clinton’s Administration. She worked for both the Under Secretary for Global Affairs and the Under Secretary for Management.

Stark has served on several boards including Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, GMHC, the North Fork Women for Women Fund, and Tarragon Corporation. She currently serves on the board of The Black Institute and as a life trustee on the board of the New York University Law School Foundation.

Ms. Stark returns home to NYU where she earned her Juris Doctor and Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.