NYC 40 Under 40: Jennifer Blatus
10/30/2019
Please note: This story originally appeared in City & State.
This year’s class of New York City 40 Under 40 Rising Stars has its share of ambitious movers and shakers fighting to improve their communities. One of those rising stars? Alumna Jennifer Blatus ’11.
We’re proud to share her work and recognition as one the individuals who is re-energizing her profession and challenging the status quo.
Jennifer Blatus was attending the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the northernmost reaches of the Bronx when she decided she wanted to be a journalist. She marched across the street to a tiny, muckraking paper (which has since shut down) called the Riverdale Review.
“I banged down the door, came in like a gust of wind, and said ‘My name is Jennifer Blatus and I want to be a journalist and you have to teach me how,’” Blatus recalls. “I like to think it was much calmer than that, but it probably wasn’t.”
Blatus started working (for free) alongside future politicos John DeSio and Candice Giove. After she graduated in 2010, she followed DeSio to the Bronx borough president’s office. She later spent three years at the Bronx Tourism Council, served as New York City Councilman Andrew Cohen’s communications director, and worked at The Advance Group, where she helped run campaigns for elected officials like Jose Peralta, Mark Gjonaj, Diane Savino, and Laurie Cumbo.
Then came Max Rose. The former Army captain was launching an underdog bid for the most conservative congressional seat in New York City. Would Blatus sacrifice job stability and her health care plan to help run a race no one thought could be won?
“I knew within 15 minutes of meeting him he was winning this race,” Blatus says. “Probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.”
After Rose won, Blatus was hired as a media strategist for Stu Loeser & Co.
Read the feature on City & State.
About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational, and career opportunities of New York City, the College equips students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary for lives of professional accomplishment, service, and leadership in the 21st century.