Mariel DiDato serves as Director of Government Relations and Communications at Hoboken Strategy Group, bringing deep experience across all sides of the policymaking process and a reputation for delivering results.
Most recently, Mariel served as Chief of Staff to Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez, representing Hoboken and much of Jersey City. In this role, she directed policy and legislative affairs, handled all communications, and managed a high-performing team in one of the state’s most dynamic and diverse districts. She played a key role in advancing the Assemblywoman’s legislative agenda to address housing affordability, reproductive freedom and menstrual equity, and criminal justice reform.
Her professional experience spans multiple state agencies under the Murphy administration. During her graduate studies at Rutgers University, she completed her Eagleton Fellowship placement at the New Jersey Department of Health. She then worked as a Legislative Liaison for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, where she tracked legislation and provided constituent services during the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 closures. She quickly developed strong bipartisan relationships statewide and delivered a level of responsiveness that met the moment. She moved on to become the Senior Legislative Officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, where she honed policy skills concerning small business development, clean energy, and other areas of economic growth in the state.
Mariel began her state and federal advocacy work with New Jersey’s Planned Parenthood Action Fund, where she helped found the organization’s Digital Organizing Group and was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s National Storytellers Bureau. In 2017, she stepped up to run for General Assembly in Legislative District 13, running on a platform of affordability, climate action, and protecting reproductive freedom. Though she did not win her race, she and her team closed the district’s voting margins to levels not seen in more than two decades. She went on to hold leadership roles within Monmouth County Democratic organizations, serving as Chair of the Monmouth County Young Democrats and as Recording Secretary of the Monmouth County Democrats Board.
She has also served as a Social Media Consultant for various local campaigns, managing content creation and engagement across multiple platforms to raise awareness, issue advocacy and candidate event promotion. Mariel’s efforts increased public visibility and recognition of candidates amongst the electorate.
Mariel holds a B.S. in Nutritional Science and an M.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies from Rutgers University. She spent a semester of her master’s program abroad in the Netherlands at Utrecht University. Currently a resident of Rahway, she enjoys being active in her community, trying new restaurants, and DJing local events and fundraisers.