LILLIAM BARRIOS-PAOLI

Lilliam Barrios-Paoli was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) in 2008, following a long career in both City government and the nonprofit sector.  Barrios-Paoli’s prior public service includes appointments as Commissioner at several agencies during the Giuliani and Koch Administrations: the New York City Human Resources Administration with a budget of $6 billion, the nation’s largest Public Welfare Agency; and before that the New York City Housing and Preservation Development and the New York City Department of Personnel.  From 1987 to 1989, Ms. Paoli also served as Commissioner for the New York City Department of Employment overseeing employment services to more than 85,000 City residents annually. Ms. Barrios-Paoli has also been a leader in the nonprofit sector.  Prior to joining DFTA,  she was President and CEO of Safe Space NYC, Inc. a non-profit organization serving over 25,000 at-risk children and families at nearly 40 different program sites throughout Queens and Manhattan.  With an annual budget of over $18 million, Safe Space provides counseling to thousands of at-risk children and families facing issues such as poverty, child abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence and medical problems.  As Senior Vice President and Chief Executive for Community Investment of the United Way of New York City (UWNYC), a non-profit fundraising organization that distributes over $88 million annually to New York City nonprofits, Barrios-Paoli was instrumental in the creation and implementation of the standards and goals of the September 11th Fund, among her other achievements. The September 11th Fund received contributions/donations of well over $500 million. Ms. Barrios-Paoli has also served as the Executive Director of Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, a teaching and tertiary medical center serving the South Bronx.  Ms. Paoli has also worked in the nonprofit sector serving as Vice President for Education with the New York City Partnership from 1990 to 1992 and as Executive Director of the Literacy Volunteers of NYC from 1992 to 1994. In addition to a distinguished career, Ms. Paoli has a baccalaureate degree from Universidad Iberoamericana and a Masters and Ph.D. degree in Cultural and Urban Anthropology from the New School of Social Research.  She has taught at the City University and the Bank Street College of Education in New York City and Rutgers University and Montclair State College in New Jersey. Return to Members List