constant voice for economic and environmental balance. Mitchell Pally has been the cornerstone institute’s chief executive since 2010, adding another important and influential role to a curriculum vitae that’s absolutely packed with them.

A former New York State senator, Mitch held numerous positions in the State Legislature throughout the latter 20th century, helping to draft a first-in-the-nation seatbelt law, among other progressive legislation. For 14 years, he masterminded governmental affairs for the Long Island Association, the Island’s largest business and civic organization, after directing the LIA’s legislative and economic efforts for seven years. From 2005 to 2019, he was Suffolk County’s representative on the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, and now he’s more than a decade in as CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute.

In today’s conversation, Mitch joins Spark host Gregory Zeller to discuss the socioeconomic issues laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and other monumental challenges facing Long Island and its myriad construction-related trades in the rapidly evolving 21st Century.