Alumni Spotlight Stories

Judge Christie D'Alessio '98 Finds Purpose in People

Judge Christie D'Alessio ’98 says she always has had a passion for helping people. “Whoever comes through my door, even in the court, I look at as though they could be a member of my own family,” says D’Alessio, who was elected  to the Greenburgh Town Court in 2018.

Judge D’Alessio said this passion helped lead her on a path toward a career in law that began with the foundation laid by her Mercy education.  While earning her business degree from the Mercy campus in White Plains, she was able to work full-time at a law office, where she said she aimed focus on her future. She trusted in the guidance of her professors who encouraged her as she moved from a receptionist at that office to a paralegal following her certification. “All of my professors were professionals aligned with my career path. They were always accessible and always willing to help.”

She credits Mercy’s flexibility and its availability of night classes with increasing both her capacity and confidence to apply to law school. “Mercy gave me the momentum to keep moving forward and gave me the flexibility to access the real world while pursuing my studies,” said D’Alessio.

After graduation, she began law school in the evening, earning her juris doctorate degree from Pace Law School in 2002.  She worked with the Westchester County Attorney's office for 13 years as a litigator handling cases in local, state and federal court.  In 2014, she was appointed as the Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. Anne E. Minihan in Westchester County and Supreme Court.  D’Alessio continues to work as a part-time law clerk on the days she is not on the bench.  She feels strongly about welcoming interns in the court, as she understands the influence it had on her own career development.

D’Alessio is committed to her community and serves as a member of various organizations and as a Board Member of the Irvington Children’s Center, a child care facility with special focus on working parents. Family, she says, is a central focus of both her work and personal time.  While at Pace she met her husband, Michael and the two started a family, eventually settling in Irvington. The couple has three children, Michael, 16; Gabriella 14 and Nico 10.

This past February she was one of five alumni honored with the 2020 Alumni Achievement Award at Marina Del Ray in the Bronx. She says receiving this award was incredibly humbling and considers it an important milestone. Her whole family, including her parents, Peter and Carol Magno, and younger sister, Michelle, were on hand to see her accept the honor. “It all truly started with Mercy,” she said.