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From Banking Floors to School Boardrooms
From Banking Floors to School Boardrooms
Margarita Lekaj's career didn't start in public service — it started in banking, where discipline and accountability are non-negotiable. As a branch leader at JPMorgan Chase and Bank of New York, she carried full financial responsibility for her branches and was recognized as a top-tier performer. It was demanding work, and she was good at it.
But when her three children entered school, something shifted. Sitting in classrooms and PTA meetings, she began to see how budget decisions, staffing choices, and operational leadership shaped what actually happened for kids day to day. She decided she'd rather be inside those systems, working to make them run well, than watching from outside.
That decision meant starting over in a lot of ways — new field, new expectations, new credentials to earn. She pursued her MBA at SUNY New Paltz while working full time and raising her family, finished a specialized leadership program at the College of Saint Rose with a 4.0 GPA, and completed a Certificate in Education at Georgetown University to round out her understanding of the institutions she now serves.
Where Her Approach Comes From
Where Her Approach Comes From
Margarita was born in Montenegro and moved to the U.S. at 23 without speaking English. Learning a new language while building a career and a family taught her something she still relies on: complicated systems become manageable when you break them into steady, deliberate steps and don't cut corners along the way.
That same steadiness shows up in how she leads. She's not chasing recognition — she's making sure the budget holds up, the grant reporting is accurate, and the capital project stays on schedule. She'd rather be the person who quietly keeps things running than the one who gets the credit for it.
What She Believes
What She Believes
Honesty first. Numbers don't get softened to make a meeting easier.
Ownership. If something is her responsibility, she follows it all the way through — including the parts that go wrong.
Fair access. Budget and procurement decisions should account for the communities that have historically gotten the short end of them.
Careful stewardship. Public money is someone else's money. It gets treated that way.
Service as the point. The job exists to help people — not the other way around.
Outside of work, Margarita is active in her local community, spends time with her family, follows her kids' music and sports schedules, and keeps a garden she actually tends.
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