Onida Coward Mayers has been a leading voice in New York on media, politics, and government relations.
Ms. Coward Mayers is the Senior Vice President of the MirRam Group, a government relations firm providing strategic consulting experience in Government, Political Campaigns, and Communications. Ms. Coward-Mayers advises a broad range of clients on local, state, and federal policy, legislative and budget matters.
Ms. Coward Mayers was awarded the 2021 City and State “Above and Beyond” recognition as a Women of Public and Civic Mind. This was a result of Ms. Coward Mayers being credited for creating and launching several civic engagement firsts including NYC’s Video Voter Guide, NYC Voter Awareness Month and the NYC Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) program, Student Voter Registration Day, New Citizen registrations and the annual “Voter Day” in Albany.
Most recently in response to voting in a pandemic she launched Shield the Vote a 45-day nationwide campaign that distributed 10,000 free face shields to those who wanted to vote in-person during the historic 2020 Federal elections.
Mrs. Coward Mayers began her career with New York City under former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration where she served as the Agency Head for the Voter Assistance Commission and Director for the Voter Assistance where she was key in the launch of NYC Votes. She proudly led New York City to first place in the United States, for highest number of people registered in a single day on National Voter Registration Day from 2015 – 2017. Ms. Coward Mayers was the Co-Founder of the Youth Poet Laureate Program which later started the National Youth Poet Laureate program where its poets have performed before audiences at NYC Mayoral Inaugurations and the infamous Amanda Gorman performance at the 2021 Biden Harris Inauguration.
Prior to joining City government, a true Brooklynite, Mrs. Mayers was the Founding Director of Brooklyn Community Access Television/ BCAT at BRIC where she led the design, construction, launch and daily management of the 10,000 square foot multi-media, multimillion-dollar television station where she launched, and executive produced many local and international television programs.
Ms. Coward Mayers received the Community Service Award from Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez the first Hispanic District Attorney in the City of New York and the “Mujures Distintas” from El Diario.
She is a graduate of State University at Buffalo in Broadcasting and Communications and received her Executive MBA from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College/City University of New York.
An Afro Latina born in the Country of Panama Ms. Coward Mayers is a resident of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn where she resides with her husband Gregorio Mayers, an attorney and a University Professor, their two children, Carlos and Lavoneia and doggy Ginger. She is a proud member of The Links Inc.; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. an Associate member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.; the NAACP Brooklyn branch and a Deaconess at Cornerstone Baptist Church.