For over 25 years Ernesto Malavé, Jr. has worked in service to the public.

Born and raised during the turbulent 70s in Bushwick, Brooklyn, he used the patience taught to him by his father, a former seminarian and hospital worker, and the resilience of his mother, a factory seamstress and sewing machine operator, as needles on a moral compass.

His educational path included stops at Public School 274, Philippa Schuyler Middle School (I.S. 383) and Brooklyn Technical High School. A graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY (Government, BA), he currently works as Assistant Director for the Edward T. Rogowsky Internship Program in Government and Public Affairs at the City University of New York where he has coordinated the Model New York State Senate Session Project in collaboration with the Somos El Futuro Conference of the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force of the New York State Legislature since 1998. At CUNY, he also assists in the delivery of experiential learning opportunities for CUNY students in government and public affairs and supervises the day‐to‐day administration of the program.

He is also currently the Director of Communications and External Relations for the International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival. He works closely with the Chief Executive Officer, serving as adviser and strategist, to guide the company's public image and to build relationships that will develop IPRHFF for the long term. In that capacity he manages the delivery of IPRHFF‐related content via multiple media channels and works with IPRHFF's partners on marketing and public relations campaigns related to events and sponsorship.

Previously he worked for El Puente, a youth and community development center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he helped create and coordinate a new site, El Puente‐Bushwick Center, in his native Bushwick, Brooklyn. He also served as a Board Member of the Bushwick Geographic Targeting Task Force for much of 90s, working with a broad coalition of community leaders to coordinate anti-substance abuse services and youth prevention programs. His involvement extended to, and integrated, the youth programs of St. Barbara's Roman Catholic Church where he worked as a Summer Camp Youth Counselor and Coordinator as a teen-ager in New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP).