About John C. Dearie

Born and raised in the Parkchester neighborhood of the East Bronx, and currently resides in Harrison, New York with his wife, Kitty and sons John and Michael.

Attended and graduated from the University of Notre Dame having received a full basketball scholarship and earned three ND Monograms for Varsity Basketball in 1960, 1961 and 1962.

Earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Kellogg Graduate Business School at Northwestern University, in Chicago, Illinois, majoring in Finance.

Graduated from New York University School of Law, earning a Doctorate of Juris Prudence (JD Degree). Admitted to Practice Law in the Courts in the State of New York and the Federal District Courts.

Member of The Bronx County Bar Association; The New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the American Trial Lawyers Association.

Worked in the United Nations Secretariat for three years, involved with Multilateral Aid to Latin America, the World Conference on the Human Environment and the Law of the Sea Conference.

Elected to the New York State Legislature as an Assemblyman from the Bronx for twenty years (1973 -1992), where he served as Chairman, Committee on Cities and as a Member of the Ways & Means Committee, Housing Committee and Aging Committee. Authored the legislation establishing Economic Development Zones (EDZ) throughout New York State and Business Improvement Districts (BID) in New York City, which created thousands of new jobs in local communities.

Organized "Irish-American Presidential Forums" in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000, where Presidential candidates defined their positions on issues comprising the Irish-American Political Agenda. Past Candidates attending included: Vice President Walter Mondale; Governor Michael Dukakis; Senator and later Vice President Al Gore; Reverend Jesse Jackson; Governor Jerry Brown; and Governor Bill Clinton. Candidate Clinton's strong commitments made during the 1992 Forum concerning direct Presidential and American involvement in the search for peace in Northern Ireland, later acted upon during his administration, are viewed as significant contributions to the peace process begun at the 1992 Forum.