Leadership and Administration

Before she was appointed Commissioner of the Department of Neighborhood & Community Services, Faye was Director of the Albany Community Development Agency (ACDA) for 12 years, where she oversaw a department that provided needed housing services to City of Albany residents, including a variety of rehab grants and HUD Community Development Block Grants. Prior to that, she served as Commissioner of Youth & Workforce Services for eight years. In her current position, Faye oversees four departments at 200 Henry Johnson Boulevard that provide key services to City neighborhoods: Planning & Development, Buildings & Regulatory Compliance (BRC), Neighborhood Services, and the Albany Community Development Agency (ACDA).

Elissa is Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Neighborhood & Community Services (NCS), which aspires to provide friendly and easy access to the vital city services available to all residents regardless of where they live. NCS brings together the work of three important city functions including: Buildings & Regulatory Compliance, Planning & Development with the overarching function of supporting our City’s vital neighborhoods and residents through relationships with Neighborhood Specialists and responsive information provided by customer service professionals. Elissa has worked in Albany for over 30 years in governmental positions in government, the public sector and non-profits.  Most recently, she served as Chief of Staff to NY State Assemblymember Patricia Fahy and before that was Director of Development with Albany Public Library when they planned and built five branch libraries. She’s lived in the Delaware Avenue neighborhood for 29 years and practices meditation when she can remember to sit still.  

Prior to becoming the Director of Neighborhood Services, Sarah served in a variety of roles in the Mayor’s Office for more than 10 years, most recently as Special Projects Coordinator. Sarah has extensive experience with constituent services and communications including managing a migration of the City's website and managing content on the website, social media, Mayor's newsletters and other forms of communications for more than eight years. Sarah also has years of experience as a Public Relations manager for a variety of clients and served as Senior Public Information Officer for the New York State Thruway Authority for more than four years as well as a Communications Assistant for the New York State Division of Budget. 

Michele manages office matters at Neighborhood & Community Services, which includes the four departments at 200 Henry Johnson Blvd. Her duties include handling finances and bookkeeping, planning events and trainings, as well as ordering supplies and maintaining office protocols. She previously worked in Housing & Community Development as an Accountant. For 14 years prior, Michele worked in the Treasurer’s Office and in the City’s Payroll Department. She was also employed as a senior payroll administrator for the City of Albany School District. “It’s a breath of fresh air to walk into the office in the morning,” she says. “It’s an awesome atmosphere and everyone makes you feel welcome.”

Phillip manages inter-departmental projects and works to improve the City’s SeeClickFix system through data and performance metrics. Prior to joining Neighborhood & Community Services, Phillip played a leadership role in the administration of a variety of City programs. He helped lead the team preparing the grant application for Cities RISE, winning the City of Albany $1 million from the NY State Attorney General’s Office for projects designed to mitigate urban blight and vacant buildings. During the COVID pandemic, he led the PPE Procurement Task Force, helping to find scarce PPE for the City’s first responders. Phillip has a Master of Public Administration degree from Rockefeller College at SUNY Albany. The tallest person at 200 Henry Johnson Boulevard, Phillip is often seen wearing bright, colorful shirts. Outside work, Phillip sings in the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus and enjoys film, hiking, and spending time outdoors.

Sam leads the effort to make the City's vacant buildings habitable by preventing homes from deteriorating, as well as assisting on related housing issues. "My focus is finding solutions to vacant buildings and getting them re-occupied," Sam says. "It's a challenging task." Sam notes that the vacant building problem is multi-layered, with solutions dependent on the condition of a building, where it's located, as well as ownership and legal issues. He has a Bachelor’s Degrees in Environmental Design & Political Science, and a Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning, all from SUNY Buffalo.Sam is also a licensed drone pilot, a board member of the Albany County Land Bank, and is the City lead for the Love Your Block program. Outside of work, you will likely find Sam playing hockey, working on his old North Albany house, or spending time with family & friends.