Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez was confirmed on March 1, 2011 as Commissioner of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). Ms. González-Sánchez brings more than 30 years experience in the field of behavioral health administration, policy development, medical research, and expertise integrating accessible systems of care for New Yorkers.
Commissioner González-Sánchez is a Cabinet-level, Chief Executive Officer overseeing a premier addiction services system with more than 1500 programs and 35,000 paid and volunteer professionals which serve 110,000 New Yorkers daily. Commissioner González-Sánchez is authorized by statute (MHL 19.09) to establish, oversee and regulate one of the nation's largest prevention, treatment and recovery systems.
Under her executive leadership, the commitment is to maintain access to quality care for the 2.5 million New Yorkers in need of addiction services and preserve the core system of prevention, treatment and recovery services. Commissioner González-Sánchez's overall vision is to transform the fragmented system of care to a comprehensive, integrated, patient-centered, family-focused system that is accessible and responsive to the multiple and complex needs of the behavioral health population of today.
Commissioner González-Sánchez has begun implementing several priorities focused on high-quality care and services for the most vulnerable New Yorkers. These priorities include: establishing an effective, science-based system, which integrates prevention, treatment and recovery; developing a "Gold Standard" system of service provision; be the state resource on addiction and lead the nation in the field of chemical dependence and problem gambling prevention, treatment and recovery; become a "Profession of choice" for attracting, selecting and developing system-wide talent; and, ensure a system with strong return on taxpayer investment and stewardship of resources.
Commissioner González-Sánchez is an Executive Cabinet Member appointed to various Governor's commissions, such as the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) and Co-Chair to one of its subcommittee, the Health Disparities Workgroup. She also serves on the Governor's Spending and Government Efficiency Commission (SAGE), and the Not-For-Profit Task Force.
In her responsibilities as Commissioner, Ms. González-Sánchez is Chairperson for the state Department of Mental Hygiene Inter-Office Coordinating Council (IOCC) and Chairperson of the Prevention First-NY!/ SPF-SIG Advisory Council.
On the national level, Commissioner González-Sánchez serves as the Region II Representative on the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors Board (NASADAD) representing New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Before coming to OASAS, Ms. González-Sánchez was Commissioner of the newly merged Nassau County Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities with the Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Services. Under her executive leadership, the newly named Nassau County Department of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities Services, was committed to improving the quality of care and service delivery system, while also improving the quality of life of all Nassau County residents.
Ms. González-Sánchez also held a faculty appointment at Cornell University Medical College as an Associate Research Scientist where she spent eight years in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy doing cardiac and molecular biology research. She has numerous publications in medical journals and textbooks and has received recognition for her early work on DNA sequencing and cloning.
Ms. González-Sánchez possesses a Masters of Social Work degree in Administration/Community Organization from Hunter College School of Social Work, as well as a Masters of Science degree in Cell Biology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Fordham University. She is a licensed Masters Social Worker.