David Hansell

Hansell is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He earned a B.A. in Psychology from Haverford College, followed by a J.D. from Yale Law School. He started his professional career as an aide to U.S. Senator Donald Riegle, Jr. (D-Michigan), then as an aide to U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan). he worked on policy and legislation critical to the rights, health, and well-being of people who tested positive for HIV. This included a law to prohibit health insurers from denying insurance coverage to people who tested positive for HIV, or forcing those seeking insurance to take an HIV test. ==City of New York==

In 1997, Hansell joined the New York City Health Department as Associate Commissioner for HIV Services, then later became Associate Commissioner in Planning and Program Implementation. As ACS Commissioner, Hansell has worked to improve the overall agency by hiring at least 600 new child protective workers, reducing the caseload from 14.8 in May 2017 down to 12 as of February 2018. Commissioner Hansell also increased the number of Investigative Consultants on staff by 28%. Moreover, under his leadership, ACS provided tablets to over 2,000 field employees so they can be more efficient out in the field rather than having to return to a computer. Commissioner Hansell also created a new division at ACS, the Division of Child and Family Well-Being, making NYC ACS the first child welfare agency in the country to spearhead a new “primary prevention” approach, which seeks to reach families proactively with services and resources that can support healthy children, families and communities. ==State of New York==

Governor Eliot Spitzer named Hansell commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) in 2007, Based on his experiences in the city, Hansell initiated a range of innovative employment-focused programs. These included a transitional jobs program, career pathways program, and WorkPays New York. WorkPays enlists employers as access points for enrolling low-wage workers in benefit programs. Hansell also launched New York State’s first Internet portal for clients to apply for multiple government benefit programs: myBenefits. After running two of the largest local and state TANF programs in the United States, Hansell joined the administration of President Barack Obama. ==References==