Verna Eggleston

Verna Eggleston was the Commissioner of New York City's Human Resources Administration (HRA) from January 2002 through January 2007. She was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in January 2002 and reappointed by Bloomberg in January 2006, making her the first HRA Commissioner to be appointed for two consecutive terms.

As the head of HRA, which is widely regarded to be the largest municipal social services district in the United States, Eggleston oversaw approximately 15,000 employees, a $5.6 billion operating budget, $15 billion in contracts, a $25 billion medical services portfolio, and the provision of social services to more than 3 million city residents. [1]

Eggleston had previously served as Administrator of Child Welfare under Mayor Ed Koch, as Director of New York City's Family Shelter programs under Mayor David Dinkins, and served as the Executive Director of the Hetrick-Martin Institute. She also opened New York City's first AIDS facility for HIV-infected infants. Her work has included service on the National Board of Directors for the Child Welfare League of America; consultation on the Oprah Bill with Oprah Winfrey and the former governor of Illinois; and advocacy, along with former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, New York State Senator Hillary Clinton, and Attorney General Janet Reno for hate crimes legislation, youth violence prevention, and adolescent mental health issues.[2]

Effective January 31, 2007, Eggleston left her post at HRA to "research and develop" projects of the Bloomberg Family Foundation, a private organization founded by the Mayor to support public health, medical research, education and the arts. Robert Doar, the former Commissioner of the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, was named as her successor.