[1] She served as Co-Director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York,[2] as Program Director of Concepts of Independence, New York's Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, and as liaison to the disabled community in the office of Public Advocate Mark Green.
[3] Following the resignation of former Assemblyman Steven Sanders, Friedman was a surprise choice of the Democratic Party to run to succeed him in the special election.
In her first week in the Assembly, she voted for Timothy's Law, which provides parity in medical insurance for mental illness.
Before her election to the Assembly, Friedman served as District Leader and then as Democratic State Committee Member.
Using a gift given to the shelter as seed money, she helped start and served on the Board of Friends House in Rosehill, a residence for fifty formerly homeless people with AIDS.