Mayor Adams establishes first-ever Office of Engagement, appoints Chief Democracy Officer
New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, established the city’s first-ever Office of Engagement.
Adams alao appointed Betsy MacLean as Chief engagement officer.
While disclosing on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, Adams explained that the role of the chief engagement officer is to ensure that the city coordinates community engagement efforts across agencies, systematically learns from communities to inform policy and programs.
He also builds the capacity of all city agency outreach and engagement teams, and advances community-driven solutions, Adams said.
“In addition to leading the Office of Engagement, MacLean will oversee the city’s primary engagement offices: the Community Affairs Unit (CAU), the Civic Engagement Commission (CEC), the Public Engagement Unit (PEU), and NYC Service.”
“Community engagement is a core pillar of this administration. We are committed to ensuring that New Yorkers have the tools they need to better engage with government and access its benefits, but to also do it in a more streamlined, simple-to-use manner,” said Mayor Adams.
He added, “The newly created Office of Engagement will ensure that we continue to collaborate, coordinate, and prioritize engagement across all agencies and that New Yorkers have a say in our policies, priorities, and resources.
“There is no better person to lead this effort than Betsy MacLean. Betsy chaired our Civic Engagement Committee during the transition and has had a groundbreaking career in community development for over 20 years.
“Once again, I have an all-star team of five women leading the charge with Betsy, Sarah, Laura, Adrienne, and Kathleen, and working alongside Fred Kreizman at CAU — all heading up our city’s engagement efforts. Together, we will continue to ‘Get Stuff Done’ and engage New Yorkers in new and creative ways.”
To maximize the opportunities for New Yorkers to work hand-in-hand with government, Mayor Adams also made some key appointments and reappointments.
He appointed Kathleen Daniel, as chief democracy office, CEC; Adrienne Lever was appointed as the executive director, PEU.
Other include Laura Rog, NYC chief service officer, NYC Service and Dr. Sarah Sayeed, chair and executive director, CEC
These five appointments/reappointments will work hand-in-hand with CAU Commissioner Fred Kreizman.
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