New York State Academy for Public Administration announces the 2025-2026 Stephen Schechter Essentials in Public Service Leadership Class
The SAPA Board of Directors is pleased to announce the participants for the 2025-2026 Stephen Schechter Essentials in Public Service Leadership Program class. The 46 participants were nominated by their agency leadership, the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, and previous Essentials graduates.
Congratulations and enjoy the program!
| Jason Allen | Associate Budgeting Analyst | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Jennifer Ansong | Fellow | NYS Office of Children and Family Services |
| Angel Atanasov | Auditor 2 | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Sarah Avery | Executive Assistant | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Andy Blancero | Empire State Fellow | NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation |
| Thomas Brophy | IT Specialist 4 | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Elena Cenko | Director, Intergovernmental & Legislative Affairs | Albany County Legislature |
| Kayla Cooper | Briefer | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Tatiana Diaz | Human Resources Director | City of Albany |
| Jordan Elliott | Agency Sustainability Manager, Program Research Specialist 1 | NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation |
| Maribel Espinosa-Hernandez | Empire State Fellow | NYS Department of Labor |
| Chelsea Foster | Deputy Chief Technology Officer | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Elijah Foulks | Equal Opportunity Specialist 2 | NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General |
| Joanna Gleason | Associate Counsel | NYS Environmental Services Corporation |
| Ryan Gregory | State Program Examiner 2 | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Christopher Houde | Medicaid Integrity Specialist 2 | NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General |
| Noah Kazdon Rohde | Senior Policy Advisor, Energy | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Daniella Keller Dikeman | FOIL Attorney | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Elatisha Kirnon | Deputy Director, Employee Relations | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Colin Kutney | Policy Analyst | NYS Senate |
| Michael Lalli | Director of Operations | Albany County Executive |
| Courtney Lane | Auditor 2 (Municipal) | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Martha Mahoney | Senior Attorney | NYS Office of the Attorney General |
| Erin Maloney | State Program Examiner 2 (Examiner-in-Charge) | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Donna Marchewka | Auditor 2 | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Pamela Miller | Medicaid Integrity Specialist 2 | NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General |
| Anjalee Modasra | Project Assistant | NYS Department of Tax and Finance |
| Brendan Murphy | Medicaid Integrity Specialist 2 | NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General |
| Kelly Nadeau | Associate Accountant | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Jennifer Nicosia | Associate Director Human Resources 2 | NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation |
| Andrea Orokos | Director of Care Management | Rehabilitation Support Services |
| Geoff Orokos | Program Research Specialist 2 | NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General |
| Resa Ostrander | Deputy Director, Employee Engagement | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Sophonie Pierre-Michel | Special Assistant to the Governor | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Rachel Quimby | Executive Assistant | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Sudha Rajaram | Project Manager 3 | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Gailey Ramkishun | Auditor 2 (Municipal) | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Peter Ryan | Senior Policy Advisor | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Joseph Scialdo | Medicaid Integrity Specialist 1 | NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General |
| Timothy Sime | Senior Administrative Assistant | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Emily Sochia | Senior Information Security Analyst | NYS Office of the State Comptroller |
| Jack Spath | Associate Counsel | NYS Environmental Services Corporation |
| Benjamin Thapa | Associate Director, Office of the Chief Disability Officer | NYS Executive Chamber |
| Alex Tomlinson | Supervising Investigative Specialist | NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General |
| Gabriela Wemple | Program Research Specialist 1 | NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation |
| David Zirpoli | Medicaid Integrity Specialist 2 | NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General |
New York State Academy for Public Administration (SAPA) 