NYSOFA Assistant Director Jennifer Rosenbaum has always been interested in the aging services field. After volunteering in a nursing facility and VA hospital in her Bronx neighborhood growing up, she focused on gerontology in college and graduate school before coming to NYSOFA over thirty years ago.

And now, in 2022, we bid a warm farewell to this dedicated professional on her retirement from a long and distinguished career at the very agency where she got her start.

“I’ve worked on [the same] floor my entire state service career,” Rosenbaum quips. “I feel really fortunate … it’s been my true career choice to work in the field of gerontology, and to do it in public policy and in service to older adults and their families in our state.”

Rising the Ranks

Moving back to New York State from a Virginia regional Area Agency on Aging where she was transportation director, Rosenbaum started at NYSOFA as a summer hire to write EISEP standards. She was then hired as a grade 18 in the newly formed Long Term Care Unit. Over time, she moved up the ranks within the agency.

She currently works as an assistant director in the Division of Policy, Planning, Program and Outcomes, or D3PO.

As its name implies, D3PO helps plan, develop, and implement agency policy at all stages—from design, contracting, and implementation to technical assistance, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation. As an assistant director, Rosenbaum is part of the division’s management team.

“We do a lot of our work in teams, including aspects of how we supervise and manage,” she says.

A Wide Range of Project Areas

Rosenbaum has worked on many program and policy areas under D3PO’s purview. For example, she was the first project director for the Performance Outcome Measures Project (POMP). The was later tapped to lead Project 2015 as a Governor’s initiative to identify and address impacts of aging and other demographic change by 36 cabinet agencies for future-based planning, resulting in numerous tangible outcomes at the state and community levels, including innovative collaborations, new laws, programs, and funding.

She works on elder abuse prevention and intervention initiatives, caregiving and respite programs and services, and NY Connects. Rosenbaum also is currently manager for the agency’s statewide client data system.

Elder Justice Pioneer

Rosenbaum also has helped to pioneer new programs, such as the Elder Abuse Interventions and Enhanced Multidisciplinary Team (E-MDT) initiative, first as a pilot in 2012, which successfully led to a statewide rollout beginning in 2017.

Elder Abuse E-MDTs bring together professionals from various disciplines within each county whose primary focus is to intervene in cases of elder abuse, with a focus on complex cases. The program became part of the state’s elder law in 2021.

“Elder Abuse E-MDTs have demonstrated their value in addressing needs of vulnerable older adults who are victims of abuse and in strengthening the network of supports across communities,” she said.

Like the efforts in other NYSOFA divisions, Rosenbaum works with the D3PO management team to help fulfill the agency’s mission as best it can. “We always look for ways to build capacity to help people remain independent at home and in the community,” she says. Rosenbaum hopes that her work has helped further the agency’s mission in new and innovative ways.

“I am thankful to NYSOFA for giving me great opportunities to learn and grow as a person and as a professional,” she said. “I’ve been most fortunate to work with smart, talented people in our agency and at state, federal, and local levels. It has been an honor for me to by involved in a number of our agency’s projects and achievements over the years and I thank Director Olsen for his leadership and how he envisions the future of the agency, the network, and the field. I’m very grateful to everyone in D3PO and the divisions of our agency, and to the partners I’ve gotten to work with over the years.”

Applause from NYSOFA Director Greg Olsen

NYSOFA Director Greg Olsen said: “Jennifer has had an amazing career at NYSOFA and has touched so many lives, both within NYSOFA and out in the field. When I met her years ago, she was already a shining star. She had all the skills to rise quickly into upper management and has managed and participated in so many projects that have assisted older adults across the state and strengthened the NYSOFA team.”

He added: “She is extraordinarily thoughtful in her approach to work, understands the nuances and technical aspects of issues and is able to put these pieces together to make a better whole. I have long admired her commitment to excellence and her passion for the work which can only be outdone by her amazing personality and interpersonal skills. I thank her for her friendship, her guidance and all her years of service. I wish her the absolute best in her retirement and her encore career.”