Former Session Assistants and Fellows Named to City and State's 'The 2018 Albany 40 Under 40' List

Two Session Assistants, Kate Corkery and Kevin Bronner, and Former Senate Fellow Kelly Hendricken were named to City and State's '2018 Albany 40 Under 40' list.

Kate Corkery
Senior Vice President, Ostroff Associates

Earlier this year, when Kate Corkery addressed a room full of interns at the state Capitol, she reminded them to soak up as much knowledge as possible during their internships. No task is too small, she told them – whether it’s organizing memos or answering phones.

“This is a business of relationships and reputation,” Corkery says, remembering how her own internship with the state Senate, in 2003, helped launch her career in government and lobbying. “You’re either learning process or you’re learning people.”

It was thanks to this internship that Corkery later received a job offer from then-state Sen. Jim Alesi in 2006. Then, a stint volunteering during a 2007 special election introduced her to “the campaign side of things,” Corkery says, leading to a job as deputy finance director for the state Senate Republican Campaign Committee.

After two years of campaign work, she took a job as legislative director at lobbying firm Wilson Elser while pursuing an evening graduate program in organizational management at The Sage Colleges. In 2011, she landed her current position at Ostroff Associates through a networking connection who encouraged her to apply. Corkery enjoys working in government – something she’s been interested in since high school – and having the opportunity to return every day to the state Capitol, where her career began. “This is a beautiful place,” she says. “It looks like a castle.”

Kevin M. Bronner Jr.
Government Relations Director, Jackson Lewis

When Kevin M. Bronner Jr. was studying at the University at Albany, he read a book that deepened his interest in the world of finance: “Liar’s Poker.” Bronner says the famous Michael Lewis book – which came to define the high-stakes, no-holds-barred culture of 1980s Wall Street – taught him about the dynamics of the stock market and the upsides and downsides of risk. “Life is about outcomes,” Bronner says. “It’s about taking a risk.” It was during college that Bronner began his career in financial services – with a job as special assistant to the commissioner at the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in economics and finance, both from the University at Albany, Bronner went on to work for the state Senate Finance Committee. It was during this time that he gained valuable budget negotiating experience, working on seven state budgets from 2007 through 2014. Bronner says his work negotiating the Upstate NY Gaming Economic Development Act, which authorized the establishment of several casino resorts, was another highlight of his time with the Senate Finance Committee. He was part of a team working to address the various budgetary concerns of New York lawmakers representing areas as diverse as Western New York and Long Island.

In his current job as government relations director at the law firm Jackson Lewis, Bronner continues to work on fiscal matters, advocating for clients in both legislative and regulatory arenas.

Kelly Hendricken
Director and Counsel, New York State Senate Higher Education Committee

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed his Excelsior Scholarship into law, critics said it would leave out many college students, including part-timers at community colleges.

So Kelly Hendricken explored how to expand scholarship access, and helped add several million dollars in the budget for students who don’t attend college full-time. “When we were dealing with all the issues last year regarding college affordability, one of the biggest components is that a lot of people go to school part-time, and have to do that, so how do they pay for that?” says Hendricken, who works for state Sen. Kenneth LaValle as the state Senate’s lead higher education staffer. “How do they deal with that kind of debt? And this is just another piece of the puzzle that helps people have less debt when they come out of school.”

The Long Island native knows firsthand the value of advanced study. She was the first in her family to attend college, at SUNY Geneseo, then went to Albany Law School. She interned in the state Attorney General’s office and the state Inspector General’s office, then won a coveted state Senate fellowship and has been in Albany ever since.

“Working with such great attorneys when I was in law school, it really made me realize how important it is just to give back and how important it is to be in public service,” she says. “At the end of the day, everything you do is for the taxpayer, and recognizing what’s important to your constituency.”