Jennifer Schwartz Berky is a Legislator in Ulster County, New York. She is a professional urban planner and consultant in local environmental, economic, and community development issues.

Berky was born and raised in New York City.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from SUNY Stony Brook and Masters’ degrees in Urban Planning and Real Estate Development from Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

She is also certified in conservation by ICCROM, an intergovernmental UNESCO program in Rome, Italy.

Berky has lived for several years abroad during her career and studies, and is fluent in Spanish, French and Italian.

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Berky began her career as a design and construction project manager for projects in DUMBO, Brooklyn, lower Manhattan and noted cultural institutions such as Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Carnegie Hall. She also worked as a consultant for the World Bank in Washington, DC and for government agencies and NGOs in Jerusalem, Rome and several other cities in the US and abroad.

Since moving to the Hudson Valley in 2004, Jennifer worked for eight years as Deputy Director of Planning for Ulster County and, in 2012, re-established her consulting practice, Hone Strategic, LLC, providing urban planning, preservation, and development advising.

Berky is also a regular lecturer for undergraduate and education in environmental and urban studies at Bard College. ^[4]

In October 2017, a video of Berky having a meltdown after getting a speeding ticket went viral on the internet.

Berky claims that her behavior is caused by her PTSD. ^{[3] [2]}