Edna Wells Handy

Edna Wells Handy was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) in November 2010. She plays an integral role in New York City’s ongoing initiatives to make government more efficient and cost effective by consolidating and sharing essential City operations. To ensure that City agencies provide the best possible services to the public, DCAS provides critical support in the areas of human capital, Citywide EEO and diversity, real estate, facilities management, records management, fleet operations, energy and procurement.

Commissioner Handy previously served as Deputy Attorney General for Administration in the Office of the New York State Attorney General. She also served as Deputy Executive Director for Human Resources at the City’s Department of Education, where she led a redesign of the Division of Human Resources and a series of diversity initiatives. She has served as General Counsel and Vice President for Legal Affairs at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and as General Counsel for the New York State Conference of NAACP Branches and the St. Paul Community Baptist Church of Brooklyn. Commissioner Handy also served as the interim executive director of Hale House, a Harlem-based non-profit dedicated to building better futures for children and families in need.

Additionally, Commissioner Handy served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and as a Bureau Chief and Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

Commissioner Handy is a published author, having taught law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, City University of New York, Harvard Law School, Hofstra Law School, New York Law School and St. John’s School of Law. Commissioner Handy attained a Bachelor of Arts from New York University, and attained a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law School.

Commissioner Handy is the widow of the late Michael J. Handy, former 10-year director of the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs.  She presently resides in Brooklyn and has four daughters.