Roy A. Bernardi is a former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  As HUD’s Chief Operating Officer, Bernardi was charged with managing the department’s day-to-day operations, a nearly $38 billion annual operating budget, and the agency’s 8500 employees.  During his tenure at the agency from 2001 to 2009, he also held the positions of Acting Secretary of HUD and Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development.

In addition to founding The Bernardi Group, LLC, an independent consulting firm, Bernardi currently works as Vice-President, Consulting Services for CGI Group, Inc., a leading global provider of information technology and business process services.

Prior to his federal appointment at HUD, Bernardi served as the two-term 51st Mayor of the City of Syracuse, New York.  As Mayor, Bernardi overhauled municipal financial services, eliminated duplicative departmental functions, and streamlined governmental operations resulting in significant budget savings.

A promoter of urban neighborhoods, Mayor Bernardi implemented a number of new initiatives to improve the quality of life within Syracuse, lower the number of incidents of violent crime, expand opportunities for young people, and launch a nationally-recognized slum landlord program that used aggressive code enforcement to target chronic offenders. 

Bernardi has extensive experience working across multiple layers of government and alongside not-for-profit and private sector partners.  He is a past President of the New York State Conference of Mayors and is a former five-term elected Syracuse City Auditor responsible for ensuring fiscal responsibility, continuity of operations, and improved efficiency in municipal government.

Prior to elective office and federal service, Bernardi was a public high school Spanish teacher and guidance counselor.  He holds a Master’s degree from Syracuse University and undergraduate degrees from the University of the Americas in Mexico City and Onondaga Community College in New York State.

Bernardi is also fluent in both Spanish and Italian.