Governor Cuomo announces Senate confirmation of a number of individuals he nominated for appointment to various public offices

Governor Cuomo announces Senate confirmation of a number of individuals he nominated for appointment to various public offices

Source: Office of the Governor

On June 20, 2013, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the Senate’s approval of multiple appointments within the administration. Below are the individuals confirmed.

New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

Kristin Proud

Ms. Proud will serve as Commissioner. She earlier served in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office as Deputy Secretary for Human Services, Technology & Operations. She is a member of the Governor’s Olmstead Cabinet and the State’s Mandate Relief Council. She previously served in the Governor’s Office as the Deputy Director of State Operations from November 2007 to August 2009 and the Director of Health and Human Services from January to November 2007. Ms. Proud spent fourteen years in the New York State Assembly, during which time she worked for three Speakers of the Assembly. Ms. Proud was the Deputy Secretary of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and was also the principal staff advisor to the Speaker and the Assembly Majority on issues related to health and human services. Following that, she served as Senior Director of Community Relations and Planned Giving for the Center for Disability Services, the largest provider of services to individuals with disabilities in the Capital Region. Ms. Proud is a summa cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Albany. She also attended Florida State University.

Gaming Commission

John A. Crotty

A founding member of Workforce Housing Advisors, a New York City-based development firm with a particular focus on affordable housing. Mr. Crotty has nearly two decades of experience in housing, government and finance in a variety of capacities. Mr. Crotty is a former member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation and was appointed by Governor Paterson to a panel to restructure the Off Track Gaming system statewide. Mr. Crotty was also a member of the New York State Franchise Oversight Board, which oversees the finances of The New York Racing Association, Inc.

John J. Poklemba

Served as General Counsel to American Transit Insurance Company, a New York City-based Commercial Automobile Insurer. Previously, Mr. Poklemba was the managing partner of his general practice in Saratoga County for more than a decade. Prior to that, Mr. Poklemba was the principal attorney responsible for governmental relations and litigation for Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart & Rhodes, P.C. in Glens Falls. Mr. Poklemba also served in New York State government for many years working on criminal justice.

Barry Sample

Mr. Sample recently retired from Governor Cuomo’s Administration as Deputy Director of State Operations where he handled the day-to-day management of state government following nearly two decades in service to New York State. Previously, Mr. Sample served as Deputy Director at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Deputy Director at the New York State Division of Budget, and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Community Relations at the New York State Comptroller’s Office.

Todd R. Snyder

Serves as executive vice chairman of North American Global Financial Advisory and co-head of the debt and restructuring group at Rothschild, Inc., a leading international investment banking and financial advisory firm where he is also Senior Managing Director. Mr. Snyder has been an advisor for Rothschild Inc.’s companies for more than two decades, including work with Emerald Casino, Dow Corning and United Airlines. Mr. Snyder also served as part of Governor Cuomo’s Labor Negotiating Team, where he was instrumental in forging new contracts with the state’s public sector unions. He advised the Bush and Obama administrations on the restructuring of the auto industry.

Justice Center Advisory Council

William Gettman

Mr. Gettman will serve as Chair. He is Executive Director of St. Catherine’s Center, with more than 25 years of experience in the child welfare field in both the public and private sectors. Previously, he was Executive Deputy Commissioner at OCFS, responsible for all child welfare programs throughout the State.

Other appointees include:

Euphemia Strauchn-Adams

Joseph Rich

Snowden Earl Eichelberger

Glen Liebman

Jeremy Klemanski

Leslie Hulbert

Judith O’Rourke

Alfred Kingon

Robert Weisman, DO

Michael Arsham

Shirley Flowers

Peter Pierri

Denise Figueroa

Harvey Rosenthal

Gabrielle Horowitz-Prisco

Walter Joseph, Jr.

David Allen Lamphere

Norwig Debye-Saxinger

Ronald Lehrer

Tanya Hernandez

Christopher Tavella

Delores McFadden

Brian McLane

Scott Salmon

Lisa Goring

Mary Bonsignore

Clint Perrin

Belinda Lerner

Eva Dech

Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council

Paul Samuels, JD

Mr. Samuels will serve as Chair. He is the Director and President of the Legal Action Center (LAC), a non-profit law and policy organization whose mission is to fight discrimination against people with histories of addiction, HIV/AIDS, or criminal records, and to advocate for sound public policies in these areas. Mr. Samuels has served as a member of the NYS Advisory Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services as Vice-Chairperson.

Other appointees include:

Kunsook Song Bernstein, PhD

John Kastan, PhD

Jennifer Havens, MD

Tino Hernandez

Ralph Fasano

William Gettman, Jr.

Howard Meitiner

Katherine Breslin

Lt. Colonel April Critelli

James Scordo

Stephanie Orlando

Patrice Wallace-Moore

Sharon Gillette

Grant Mitchell, MD

John Lee

Maura Kelley

Euphemia Strauchn-Adams

Andrew Roberts

Deborah Mayo

Michael Martin

Glenn Martin

Robert Cruz

Scott LaVigne

Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY)

Alfonso Carney, Jr.

Mr. Carney will serve as Chair. He is a principal of Rockwood Partners, LLC, which provides medical consulting services in New York City. He has served as Acting Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary for the Goldman Sachs Foundation and has held senior level legal positions with Altria Group Inc., Philip Morris Companies Inc., Philip Morris Management Corporation, Kraft Foods, Inc. and General Foods Corporation.

Other appointees include:

Beryl Snyder

John B. Johnson

New York Convention Center Operating Corporation (Javits Center)

Henry Silverman

Senior Advisor and Vice Chairman of Investment Management Business for Guggenheim Partners, a diversified financial services firm in New York City, Mr. Silverman will serve as Chair. He currently serves as Chair of the New York Convention Center Development Corporation.

Other appointees include:

Daniel De Vita

Andrew Murstein

David Emil

Civil Service Commission

Jerry Boone

Continuing to serve as Commissioner and President, Mr. Boone is currently the Managing Principal of Boone Consulting, where he has helped develop human resources and operations infrastructure. Previously, Mr. Boone founded Pride Properties, LLC, in 2008, a company based in Memphis, Tennessee, focused on the acquisition and rehabilitation of distressed properties to develop quality, affordable housing for sale or rental to lower to middle income households. Mr. Boone still serves as President of the organization, which also offers financial counseling provided for first-time home buyers.

State Board for Historic Preservation

Robert MacKay, PhD

Executive Director of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities in Cold Spring Harbor, where he led the society's evolution and growth from being primarily a manager of traditional house museums to becoming a vibrant regional preservation organization that provides assistance to communities to safeguard and revitalize their historic built environments in the midst of ever increasing development pressure, Dr. MacKay will continue to serve as the Board’s Chair.

Other appointees include:

John Winthrop Aldrich

Randall Crawford

Jay DiLorenzo

Douglas Perrelli, PhD

State Commission of Correction

Thomas A. Beilein

Mr. Beilein, holds the distinction of being the only former sheriff in the history of the Commission to serve as the Commission’s Chair. His experience as the Niagara County Sheriff from 1994 to 2008 – which includes running a jail with an average daily population of 450 – is unique in the annals of Commission history. Mr. Beilein brings a wealth of law enforcement and administrative experience. He has worked as a correction officer, road patrol officer, investigator and administrator.

Other appointees include:
Thomas Loughren 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Basil Alexander Paterson

Mr. Paterson, a member of the law firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein and Co-Chair of the firm’s Labor practice, is a Harlem native and former New York State Senator, having first been elected in 1965. A former New York City Deputy Mayor for Labor Relations and Personnel, he was appointed as New York’s first African American Secretary of State in 1979. He previously served on the Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners from 1989 to 1995. Mr. Paterson has also taught at the State University of New York at New Paltz, Fordham University School of Education, and Hunter College. He is a double alumnus of St. John’s University in Queens.

Kenneth Lipper

Mr. Lipper brings years of experience in public and private sector management and investment banking to the Port Authority. Since 1987 he has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lipper & Co. LLC, an investment management and investment banking firm. He is has also been a Director of CNH Global NV, a leading agricultural and construction equipment company since 1996. Previously, Mr. Lipper was Executive Vice President and Senior Adviser of the leading global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. He also served as Advisor and Deputy Mayor to New York City under Mayor Ed Koch, and is a former adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of International and Public Affairs.

Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA)

J. Patrick Barrett

Mr. Barrett will continue serving as ORDA Chair. He is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CARPAT Investments, a private investment company. Previously, he was Chairman and CEO of Avis.

Other appointees include: 
Jill Ruhm Broderick
Robert Francis Flacke

State Athletic Commission
John Signorile – Commissioner 

Battery Park City Authority
Lester Petracca 

State Council on the Arts
Deborah Ronnen 

Saratoga-Capital District State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission
Karen Lee Bilowith
John McEneny

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
LaVonne E. Ansari
Anthony Baynes
Peter G. Demakos
Margo Dawn Downey
Michael P. Hughes
Adam W. Perry

Adirondack Park Agency 
Daniel Wilt
Arthur Lussi
William Thomas
Karen Feldman

Allegany State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission
Michael Lyons 
Thomas Erlandson 
Michael McLaughlin 

Genesee State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission
Frank Allkofer 
Thomas Jennings 
Peter Humphrey 
Martin Miskell 
Loren Penman 

Niagara Frontier State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission
Thomas Yots 
Stuart Angert 

Palisades Interstate State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission
Howard G. Seitz

Thousand Island State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission
James Ransom 

Central New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission
Stephen Buechner 
Terry Ettinger 
Cornelius B. Murphy 

Finger Lakes State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission
Ludi Augustine 
Mitchell Cornish 
Robert Scharf 

New York City State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission 
Allison Whipple Rockefeller 
Leisle Lin 
Alexander Durst 
Simon Roosevelt

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
Charles (Sam) Gurney
Wesley Hicks, MD 

Workers’ Compensation Board
Frances Libous (Vice Chair)

CUNY Board of Trustees
Alfreida D. Foster-Tolbert

State Insurance Fund
Joseph Canovas 
Barry Swidler

NYS Housing Finance Agency
Nestor Davidson
Joyce Miller 

Tax Appeals Tribunal
Roberta Moseley Nero 

Advisory Council on Agriculture 
Samuel Casella
Lesa Sobolewski 
David Haight 

Albany Pine Bush Commission
John Brust 
Harvey Alexander 
Nancy Pierson 
Steven Rice, PhD

Citizen’s Policy and Complaint Review Council
Nicholas A. LaBella

New York State Council on the Arts 
Laura Aswad

Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority 
Samuel James LaMacchia