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ew Yorkers have an impression of the ‘ideal woman.’ She’s beautiful, glamorous, and popular, but her best trait is that she is dedicated to the betterment of society. To many, such a combination of virtues is more aspirational than realistic, but I know this woman exists. My sister-in-law, Maria Cuomo Cole, is that person and her movie-star looks are the least of what makes her beautiful. Cuomo Cole’s successes make a bold statement in a most understated way—she never flaunts her wealth of achievements. So I will. I’ve been part of the Cuomo family for more than a decade and I can’t remember a gathering that didn’t include a discussion on an important social issue. All the Cuomos are engaged in advocacy, so it was only natural for Cuomo Cole, the middle of five siblings, to devote her life to helping other people. It began with her father, the former three-term Governor Mario Cuomo. “He lived his work and it became the family’s life,” she says. Cuomo Cole and her husband, designer Kenneth Cole whom she wed in 1987, share a passion for social justice. Cole is the Chairman of amfAR and was spreading important messages like, “what you stand for is more important that what you stand in”, on billboards long before the advent of the Internet and social media. However, the Coles’ greatest common denominator is their three college-aged girls, all of whom are, “extraordinary and have many of their mother’s great qualities,” says Cole. In 1992, Cuomo Cole took over for her brother Andrew Cuomo as Chairman of HELP (Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged) USA, the largest homeless support organization in the country, which he founded in 1986. Her brother was off to Washington to become under secretary at HUD for the Clinton administration. As a hands-on chairman, she spearheaded new programs and agendas and was in charge of mission, oversight and compliance. Cuomo Cole has applied her lifelong pursuit to serve the underserved with not only purpose but with perfection. “Maria’s commitment to certain underrepresented populations is so genuine and passionate that very often she will see it through at any cost,” Cole says. “She doesn’t just commit her time, she commits herself emotionally and applies all her resources to it.”
“Maria’s film career is just another example of her running fast and committing herself on levels far beyond the mortal man.”
—Kenneth Cole
When Cuomo Cole began her stewardship of HELP, she broadened its agenda. “The HELP model addresses the underlying factors of homelessness in a holistic way,” says her husband who is also a founding board member of the organization. “HELP’s programs and services such as job training, domestic violence, substance abuse, counseling and youth mentoring help individuals and families gain self-sufficiency. Above and beyond that Maria has layered in these other programs and services.” Cuomo Cole went on to open the first HIV AIDS center and the first homeless center for veterans in the country. Her sense of social commitment and obligation and perhaps serendipity lead her down another career path to documentary filmmaking. “Maria’s film career is just another example of her running fast and committing herself on levels far beyond the mortal man,” her husband says. In 2009, Cuomo Cole made her first documentary film, Living for 32, about the 32 people who were gunned down on Virginia Tech’s campus by a fellow student as seen through the eyes of one of the survivors, Colin Goddard. The film continues to air on Showtime and is licensed by BBC worldwide and was short-listed for nomination in 2010 by the Academy of Motion Pictures for an Oscar. More importantly, the film helped moved the needle to not allow guns on campuses in some states. “Maria typically gets involved in a project and then she gets drawn into it on a level she did not anticipate and she becomes more than just another member of the team,” says her husband. “She is smart and insightful and assumes a lot of the oversight and becomes the inspiring part of the process. She was the driving force for Living for 32 and took it to a level that one couldn’t believe.” This year, Cuomo Cole embarked on her second social documentary, The Invisible War, which uncovers a groundbreaking investigation into the epidemic of rape in the U.S. Military. Directed by Kirby Dick, the film won the Audience Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and will be distributed in major markets by early summer. Not bad for a tertiary career alongside HELP and motherhood. 50 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • APRIL 2012