Sunday Times 2
Sri Lankan appointed to New York Mayor’s media team
View(s):Mahen Gunaratna, 27 will serve as Director of Research and Media Analysis to New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mahen Gunaratna most recently served as an aide to Mayor de Blasio’s Mayoral campaign, handling Communications and Research. He previously served as New Mexico and Arizona Communications Director for Obama for America, as the President’s regional spokesman for the Southwest. He has held a number of Congressional and Campaign roles, including Communications Director to US House Representative Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Research Director to Rep. Kendrick Meek’s U.S. Senate campaign, Press Secretary to US Rep Meek, and Research Associate at Nesbitt Research LLC. Born in New York, Mahen Gunaratna is an alumnus of Georgetown University, Washington.
Mahen is the son of Mithila and Shiranee Gunaratna, both Australian CMAs with his paternal grandfather CR Gunaratna PC, Trustee and Board of Governors and served RCOBU committee for 60+ years, maternal grandfather Eddie Goonewardene representing RC at Rugby, father’s uncle Sir Lalitha Rajapaksa QC and mother’s uncle Supreme Court Justice E.H.T. Gunasekera whilst his uncle Naomal Goonewardene and cousin Dilshan Wickremasinghe were both Head-Boys at STC, Mt Lavinia.
Mahen Gunaratna’s Uncle Rohantha Gunaratna represented RC at cricket whilst his father Mithila Gunaratna won tennis colours at RC for five years and represented RC at Rugby.
This is the first generation of Sri Lankan to break into the world’s largest city inner administration, to serve its large, diverse and vibrant population