Nina Schwalbe is from New York City. She has a master 27s degree in public health and a PhD. She lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

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A WSR Conversation With Candidate Nina Schwalbe in the Race to ...

Nina Schwalbe has a bachelor's degree in Russian and Soviet studies from Harvard University, a master 's degree in public health from Columbia University, and a doctorate degree in public health from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Nina is the president and founder of Spark Street Advisors, a global public health think tank and consultancy. She also serves as a senior scholar at Georgetown University s Center for Global Health Policy & Politics. She previously worked at the United Nations and USAID, where she served as the first director of the COVID-19 Vaccine Access and Delivery Initiative. She also advised the New York City Mayor s office and schools throughout the city on keeping schools open during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nina Schwalbe - Ballotpedia

Nina Schwalbe discusses her bid for Nadler's congressional seat

Nina is the president and founder of Spark Street Advisors, a public health think tank and consultancy. She also serves as a senior scholar at Georgetown University s Center for Global Health Policy & Politics. She previously worked at the United Nations and USAID, where she served as the first director of the COVID-19 Vaccine Access and Delivery Initiative. She also advised the New York City Mayor s office and schools throughout the city on keeping schools open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nina is a former member of the New York City Council, representing the 5th District from 2010 to 2013. She was elected to the council in 2009 and served one term.

Nina is a former member of the New York City Council, representing the 5th District from 2010 to 2013.

This ballot may not list all local party officials on your official ballot. These individuals serve only within their political party and do not hold public office.

2026 New York General Election

2026 New York Primary Election

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Working Families

Aims to create a Social Housing Development Authority to build permanently "affordable," mixed-income housing.

Supports a federal minimum wage of at least $20 per hour, indexed to inflation.

Seeks to pass the the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act and the Healthy Families Act to guarantee paid parental, family, and medical leave and earned paid sick days.

Wants to establish universal childcare through the Child Care for Every Community Act "so that no parent has to choose between their career and their child, and no family has to spend more on daycare than they do on rent."

- Aims to create a Social Housing Development Authority to build permanently "affordable," mixed-income housing.
- Supports a federal minimum wage of at least $20 per hour, indexed to inflation.
- Seeks to pass the the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act and the Healthy Families Act to guarantee paid parental, family, and medical leave and earned paid sick days.
- Wants to establish universal childcare through the Child Care for Every Community Act "so that no parent has to choose between their career and their child, and no family has to spend more on daycare than they do on rent."

Economy

Committed to funding institutions that deal with pandemic preparedness.

- Committed to funding institutions that deal with pandemic preparedness.

Public Safety

Committed to a single-payer healthcare system that guarantees coverage for every American, "eliminates insurance companies as gatekeepers, and ends the era of ruinous premiums, deductibles, and surprise bills that push families into debt."

Supports protecting abortion access by passing a federal law that overrides state abortion bans and guarantees access to abortion care nationwide.

Aims to expand and "fully fund" accessible community-based mental health services that provide the full range of necessary services for individuals and their families, including crisis intervention, employment, and housing support.

Wants to protect kids online by requiring age verification for social media platforms to address "rising rates of anxiety, depression, and social isolation, particularly among preteens and adolescents."

Supports protecting and expanding Social Security and Medicare benefits, opposing any cuts, privatization efforts, or conditionalities that make benefits harder to access for "those who need them most."

- Committed to a single-payer healthcare system that guarantees coverage for every American, "eliminates insurance companies as gatekeepers, and ends the era of ruinous premiums, deductibles, and surprise bills that push families into debt."
- Wants to lower drug costs.
- Supports protecting abortion access by passing a federal law that overrides state abortion bans and guarantees access to abortion care nationwide.
- Aims to expand and "fully fund" accessible community-based mental health services that provide the full range of necessary services for individuals and their families, including crisis intervention, employment, and housing support.
- Wants to protect kids online by requiring age verification for social media platforms to address "rising rates of anxiety, depression, and social isolation, particularly among preteens and adolescents."
- Supports protecting and expanding Social Security and Medicare benefits, opposing any cuts, privatization efforts, or conditionalities that make benefits harder to access for "those who need them most."

Healthcare

Committed to expanding the the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) so "no family must choose between heat and food."

Seeks to secure federal funding to "climate-proof" New York's transit network against flooding, extreme heat, and severe storms.

- Committed to expanding the the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) so "no family must choose between heat and food."
- Seeks to secure federal funding to "climate-proof" New York's transit network against flooding, extreme heat, and severe storms.

Energy & the Environment

Wants to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and replace it with an "accountable immigration enforcement agency."

Aims to guarantee legal representation for every person in immigration proceedings and to accelerate case processing by hiring more immigration judges, translators, and staff.

Committed to passing the American Dream and Promise Act to create "clear pathways to citizenship" for those who hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and long-term residents.

- Wants to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and replace it with an "accountable immigration enforcement agency."
- Aims to guarantee legal representation for every person in immigration proceedings and to accelerate case processing by hiring more immigration judges, translators, and staff.
- Committed to passing the American Dream and Promise Act to create "clear pathways to citizenship" for those who hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and long-term residents.

Foreign Policy and Immigration

Wants to pass legislation that limits the influence of corporate money in elections.

- Wants to pass legislation that limits the influence of corporate money in elections.

Voting & Elections

Support College for All legislation to make public college tuition-free and "ensure higher education is a path open to everyone."

Wants to increase Title I funding, a federal program that sends money to schools serving low-income students, so that "high-need schools get the resources they deserve."

Seeks to ensure immigrant students have the language support they need to thrive.

Aims to preserve and expand arts education.

Aims to pursue broad student debt cancellation to "free working people from the crushing burden of loans that were supposed to be a ladder, not an anchor."

- Support College for All legislation to make public college tuition-free and "ensure higher education is a path open to everyone."
- Wants to increase Title I funding, a federal program that sends money to schools serving low-income students, so that "high-need schools get the resources they deserve."
- Seeks to ensure immigrant students have the language support they need to thrive.
- Aims to preserve and expand arts education.
- Aims to pursue broad student debt cancellation to "free working people from the crushing burden of loans that were supposed to be a ladder, not an anchor."

Education

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Nina Schwalbe

Said, "It’s not a market commodity, and we have to treat it in that mindset. We have NYCHA funding, we have Section 8 and Section 9 funding that we are not accessing because the federal government is not releasing it. We need these programs, which Congress appropriated, to be fully funded. And then we need that citizen accountability and scorecard system that the residents of that housing are getting value for that money and those services. The other part in need of urgent action is the health concerns within public housing. There’s no reason that people who live in public housing should have higher rates of asthma than the rest of the city. These are documented complaints that need to be addressed."

Said, "What I mean by safety more broadly is that safety is part of health. It means knowing you’ve not going to be picked up by ICE. It means mental health. It means knowing that you’re going to get to work on time and you’re not going to lose your job, and that means faster subways. It means that if you’re without a home, you’ve got a place to go. It means that if you’re using drugs, you can get clean needles. That’s what I mean by safety."

Said, "One is to expand pricing negotiation with pharmaceutical companies. To expand the Inflation Reduction Act. To expand the number of drugs covered by insurance. Also, to put conditionalities. The American people pay about $50 billion a year to invest in drug development, yet we pay the highest rates in the world for those drugs when they come out. There is legislation proposed already to put conditionalities on that. So, if the drugs are developed, made and paid for by the American people, we shouldn’t then pay the top prices."

Said, "I’ve worked in government, at nonprofits, and the United Nations, and in all those places, when you have a division that’s not working, you have to close it. That’s normal practice. Dysfunctional divisions get closed. The Department of Homeland Security has way too much money, and that’s being directly taken away from programs that affect us here. Everything from transit projects, to SNAP, to Medicaid and Medicare."

As of June 18, 2026, Nina Schwalbe’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Nina Schwalbe's campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives is her first entry into politics.

Supports fully funding public housing programs like NYCHA, Section 8, and Section 9, and implementing a system to ensure residents receive value for money and addressing health concerns like higher asthma rates in public housing.

Supports regulating e-bikes as Class 2 or Class 3 motor vehicles.

Supports lowering healthcare costs to reduce hospital visits and increase affordability.

Supports improving immigration processes to be more "humane, transparent, and fair."

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