Executive Deputy Commissioner, NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH)
Public Service Award
Moira Tashjian provides oversight and guidance to a multi-billion-dollar budget with over 14,000 employees, all committed to improving the lives of individuals challenged with mental health needs.
Moira has over thirty-five years of experience serving at the local, regional, and state levels of the mental health system. She was also instrumental in opening some of the first housing programs in the early 1990s for individuals who were homeless and living with HIV/AIDS. She came to OMH in 2001 after working in community residential services and as the Behavioral Health Systems Administrator for the Schenectady County Office of Community Service.
Moira has held various positions at the OMH, including as the Statewide Assisted Outpatient Treatment Coordinator, Director of Care Coordination and Assertive Community Treatment, Director of Housing, and Associate Commissioner of Adult Community Services. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Marist College. Moira is a compassionate, tireless leader who advocates for the needs of New Yorkers with mental illness. She was awarded the ACLAIMH 2016 Advocacy Award.
She has used her wealth of experience in program and policy areas as an Adjunct at the University of Albany School of Social Welfare, teaching master-level Social Welfare Policy and Mental Health Policy for over 14 years. Moira is an active member of the Executive Committee for the Ride for Missing Children, supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.