Miranda Confirmed as Human Rights Commissioner

NEW YORK – The New York State Division of Human Rights announced last Monday that Denise M. Miranda has been confirmed as Commissioner of the Division by the New York State Senate following her historic nomination by Governor Kathy Hochul. Commissioner Miranda becomes the first Afro-Latina to serve in this role at the Division, and her confirmation follows her service as the Acting Commissioner since March 2024. Under the Commissioner’s leadership, the Division has launched ambitious efforts to overhaul the agency’s discrimination complaint intake and case management processes while also implementing vital organizational changes and operational improvements. These essential upgrades will result in a bolder, more powerful, and more efficient Division that is prepared to protect the rights of all New Yorkers at a time when that mission has never been more critical.

“It is the honor of my career to continue my service of protecting, defending, and expanding my fellow New Yorkers’ human rights throughout our great state,” New York State Division of Human Rights Commissioner Denise M. Miranda, Esq. said. “Thank you to Governor Hochul for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead the Division through a period of growth and transformation, and during a moment of great importance for our state and nation. For nearly 30 years, I have dedicated my professional life to advancing civil rights and protecting vulnerable communities throughout New York State, and I am deeply committed to ensuring our state remains true to a foundational truth: We all belong here.”

In March 2024, Governor Hochul appointed Commissioner Miranda to lead an effort to reorganize and revitalize the New York State Division of Human Rights. Commissioner Miranda immediately embarked on an ambitious plan centered on overhauling the discrimination complaint intake and case management processes, establishing essential new internal units to improve agency operations, and directing resources to staffing, technology, and outreach.

Discrimination Complaint Process
The Division of Human Rights is engaged in extensive efforts to streamline and improve the complaint process from the moment a New Yorker reports discrimination to the point that their case is fully adjudicated.

In April 2025, the Division established a dedicated Intake Unit to oversee the proper receipt and processing of all reports of discrimination filed with the Division. Prior to the launch of this unit, the intake process was decentralized with separate teams in each of the agency’s regional offices processing intake for their particular region.

Under Commissioner Miranda’s direction, the newly launched centralized Intake Unit now receives and tracks every report of discrimination filed with the agency. The unit then follows a standardized process to determine whether each report of discrimination submitted to the Division is within the agency’s jurisdiction and whether each case contains all information necessary to be properly filed with the Division and assigned to an investigator. In circumstances where additional information is needed from someone filing a report of discrimination, Intake Unit staff will work directly with those individuals to gather the necessary details before finalizing their report, serving the complaint on respondents, and assigning the case to an investigator. This improved intake process is critical to ensuring that all complaints are investigated as quickly and efficiently as possible.

As the Commissioner continues to prioritize improvements to the complaint intake process, the Division is actively working to launch a new and improved online form as well as a new agent-facilitated intake process through the state’s Human Services Call Center. The call center intake model will be particularly impactful, providing real-time assistance from a trained professional for individuals seeking to report discrimination to the Division.

Organizational Changes and Operational Improvements
During Commissioner Miranda’s first year at the Division of Human Rights, she has engaged in wholesale organizational changes to improve all aspects of the agency’s operations.

Supported by Governor Hochul’s historic investments—the Governor has more than doubled the Division’s funding during her time in office, including an $11 million increase in the FY2026 Enacted Budget—the Commissioner has launched four new units essential to advancing the agency’s work. She has also hired crucial staff, invested in new technology, and expanded important outreach programs.

In addition to the Intake Unit described in detail above, under Commissioner Miranda’s leadership the Division has launched the Internal Audit Unit, the Training Unit, and the Solutions Development Unit. The Internal Audit Unit is focused on identifying opportunities to strengthen controls and improve operations across the agency. The Training Unit provides comprehensive, consistent, and ongoing training for all agency staff, including specialized training for agency investigators to ensure that all investigatory staff throughout the state carry out their work in a fair, efficient, and consistent manner. The Solutions Development Unit leverages data to track agency operations and identify opportunities for strategic initiatives to improve all the agency’s intake and adjudicatory processes. Together, these new units significantly improve all aspects of agency operations.

Since Commissioner Miranda’s appointment, the Division has increased staffing levels agency wide by more than 50 percent, including the addition of 50 new investigators to review complaints submitted by New Yorkers facing discrimination. The Division has also initiated important technology upgrades, including working with the Office of Information Technology Services to develop and launch an improved online form for reporting discrimination to the Division.

Additionally, the Commissioner has expanded education and outreach initiatives, including the launch of the Division’s “Call Out Hate” campaign, which has been displayed throughout New York City Subway, Metro-North, and Long Island Rail Road train cars and transit stations. The campaign condemns all forms of hate and encourages New Yorkers to report incidents of hate or bias to the Division’s Hate and Bias Prevention Unit by calling 844-NO-2-HATE or using an online submission form.

About Commissioner Miranda
Commissioner Miranda was appointed by Governor Hochul in March 2024 to serve as the Acting Commissioner of the Division of Human Rights.

Prior to this, Commissioner Miranda served as the Executive Director of the New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs for seven years. She oversaw the agency’s operations, which included investigations into abuse and neglect, criminal prosecutions, and administrative disciplinary proceedings. Under her leadership, the Justice Center managed the care of over one million individuals, with a workforce of more than 425 employees and a $41 million operating budget.

For nearly 30 years, Commissioner Miranda has been actively engaged in the practice of law and focused the majority of her career on social justice issues and protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals. Beyond her professional accomplishments, she is deeply committed to community service and embodies the values of justice, inclusion, and strategic leadership.

About the New York State Division of Human Rights
The New York State Division of Human Rights is dedicated to eliminating discrimination, remedying injustice, and promoting equal opportunity, access, and dignity.

Anyone who believes they have experienced discrimination can report it to the Division. If it is under the Division’s authority and jurisdiction, Division staff will investigate and adjudicate the case. Throughout this process, the Division is a neutral factfinder representing the interests of the State—not functioning as an advocate or attorney on behalf of either complainants or respondents. All of the Division’s procedures are conducted free of charge, and members of the public are not required to have an attorney to file a complaint.

The Division’s work shows that New York State will make violators of the law pay. During the Division’s 2024 Fiscal Year, the agency awarded more than $8 million in compensation to complainants who experienced discrimination. The Division can also order a wide range of additional remedies—including, for example, reinstatement to a job; back pay with interest and benefits; changes in organizational policies; and a variety of other forms of compensation and remediation.

The Division of Human Rights is also empowered by law to investigate and prosecute systematic patterns of discrimination through its Division Initiated Action Unit (DIAU). The DIAU can, upon its own motion, initiate investigations and file complaints alleging violations of the state anti-discrimination law. Individuals can report systemic issues of discrimination by emailing the Division at tips@dhr.ny.gov.