Among New York's most vulnerable residents are adults with mental and/or physical impairments who are in need of assistance and are often victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Each year, APS provides skilled case management to and coordinates with many nonprofit and City agencies for the benefit of approximately 10,000 vulnerable adults in their care. Deborah Holt-Knight started her 31 year career as a front-line caseworker and, with each promotion, has demonstrated that she is a change agent who is motivated by deep compassion for those APS serves. A former colleague describes her as "…an individual of unquestionable integrity, with a keen intelligence and possessing great insight into human nature. Even after 30 years, she takes an extremely complex program and with a committed APS team moves it forward despite the challenges."
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The Department for the Aging provides vital programs and services to 300,000 elderly in New York City. Sasha Fishman oversees DFTA's budget of $300 million, which has 30 different revenue streams, each designated for very specific services. These services, in turn, are provided by 400 different nonprofit agencies through contracts with DFTA. Now in her 36th year of City service, Fishman's genius is the ability to couple her knowledge of every expense item and funding source with a profound understanding of their implications for the programs nonprofit agencies provide. Says a former Commissioner, "DFTA was the fifth agency I've led. I've never met someone as critical to the success of an agency as Sasha. She is more than budget: she helps formulate policy and ensures the delivery of the most and best services possible."
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With thousands of available drugs, Althea Buckner, the Director Pharmacy at Gouverneur Health Center on the Lower East Side, is an invaluable resource. For many of her 35 years at Metropolitan Hospital and Gouverneur, Ms. Buckner has made it a point to attend daily medical rounds and offer a pharmacist's expertise. "Her ability to decipher and disseminate complex drug-related issues for all of us is simply tremendous," says one doctor. Always an innovator, Ms. Buckner installed robotic dispensing machines, improving efficiency and patient safety and instituted 90-day prescriptions to reduce the number of trips patients need to make for refills. According to a colleague, "She is a true problem-solver whose dedication allows her to be the best pharmacist there is, as well as to foster a new generation of pharmacists in her mold."
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Born in Cuba, George Menduiña began his career operating boilers; 39 years later, he manages the City's 26 bus depots where 5,700 buses are refueled, maintained and returned to their routes for 2.5 million New Yorkers daily. All agree that his technical expertise is unmatched and is wedded to a deep concern for the environment. Menduiña is ensuring that the underground fuel tanks used to dispense 50 million gallons of diesel fuel on a yearly basis are relocated to aboveground, something a co-worker calls "George's legacy to future generations." He assisted in the commissioning of Mother Clara Hale Depot, the nation's first and only LEED gold-certified bus depot. Veronique Hakim, the President of NYC Transit notes, "George excels at finding creative solutions. George has his eye on what New York's transportation systems will need 20 years from now."
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Paul Rush, raised in Sullivan County and trained as an engineer at West Point, had long been interested in NYC's water supply system, the largest municipal water system in the U.S. providing a billion gallons each day to over 9 million people. The system includes 19 reservoirs, 6,200 miles of pipes and tunnels, and dozens of facilities across its 1.2-million-acre watershed. Now with DEP for 24 years, Mr. Rush has led the Bureau with watershed conservation and technological innovations, many of which are recognized internationally. For example, DEP constructed the world's largest ultraviolet facility to disinfect water and protect public health. Equally important, Mr. Rush has nurtured collaborative, productive and respectful relationships with the upstate communities that surround the City's reservoir system. An upstate county official notes, "Paul is a great man to work with; he is a man of remarkable character and he has a rare ability to get things done."
What People Say:
Detective Troppmann and Officer Rodriguez are transforming the perception and role of police in Washington Heights through a new NYPD initiative. Neighborhood-Based Policing restores the patrol officer to the role of problem-solver and community guardian who knows the neighborhood and works closely with residents and businesses. Troppmann and Rodriguez give out their cell phone numbers and email addresses, encouraging people to reach out whenever it would be helpful to address public safety issues. Detective Troppmann, a 28 year veteran, and Office Rodriguez, an 8 year veteran, are fully committed to their neighborhood. Many of the strong personal relationships they have with the community have developed over years, but as Neighborhood Coordination Officers, they are now viewed as integral community partners. One resident comments, "Tommy and Edwin are like Washington Heights landmarks. They are always there for the community and wanting to help. They represent what policing should be everywhere."
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