Dear Friends,

As I close out my last day as your commissioner, I want to take a moment to share my sincere gratitude with all of you. I have had the pleasure to meet, get to know and work alongside so many of you over the last few years and I am grateful for each one of those moments. 

I have spent countless hours learning from self-advocates and people with developmental disabilities, their loved ones and circles of support, staff from OPWDD and our provider agencies and the policy and advocacy leaders in our field. I have enjoyed visiting people in their homes, day programs, places of employment and talking about their lives and how OPWDD can continue to support their goals and dreams. I have loved spending time with staff in the field, seeing the passion they have for their work and witnessing the incredible innovations happening in every corner of the state. 

Since March, when I first announced my planned resignation, I have been able to see and talk to many of you, received countless well wishes and congratulatory emails and shared departing thoughts in various forums. At this point, all I have left to say is thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I will miss working with and on behalf of all of you, and I am grateful for all you have given me in these last years.

I am happy to pass the baton, so to speak, to Acting Commissioner Willow Baer who I know will continue to forge ahead with the agency’s bold agenda, supported by the incredible team at OPWDD, as well as our whole community comprised of all of you. I look forward to keeping in touch with many of you and cheering for your successes and the successes of our service system. 

Lastly, I would like to thank Governor Kathy Hochul for placing her trust in me to lead this incredible agency and for the support she has shown people with developmental disabilities and OPWDD. 

All my best,

Kerri Neifeld
Commissioner