Mayor-Elect Adams Appoints Jess Dannhauser as ACS Commissioner

January 1, 2022

ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: Thursday, December 30, 2021

Today, Mayor-elect Adams announced the appointment of Jess Dannhauser as commissioner of the New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS). ACS protects and promotes safety and well-being of New York City’s children and families by providing child welfare, juvenile justice, as well as early care and education services. Dannhauser is the former president and CEO of Graham Windham, a 215-year-old mission-driven organization that serves 4,500 children and families each year, with a focus on building the foundation for success in life with New York City children and youth. He also served as president of the Board of Education for the Greenburgh Graham Union Free School District (UFSD), which is affiliated with Graham Windham and serves 300 students grades K-12. In addition, Dannhauser was a member of the Fair Futures coalition, a group of child welfare agencies, non-profits, foundations, advocates, and young adults working to make coaches accessible to all youth in foster care through age 26.

“The health and wellbeing of our city’s youngest and most vulnerable is of paramount importance to me. For too long, we have taken a downstream approach to children’s welfare, setting up too many kids — particularly in Black and Brown communities — for a lifetime of challenges. Under Jess’ leadership, ACS will take an upstream approach on a wide array of issues impacting young New Yorkers at risk, from expanding the Fair Futures initiative that provides strong mentorship for foster youth to keeping vulnerable children safe from abuse and neglect. I look forward to working with him to make New York City a safer and more supportive place to raise healthy children and families,” said Mayor-elect Adams. 

As ACS commissioner, Dannhauser will report to the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Anne Williams-Isom.

“Jess Dannhauser has proven himself to be an innovative change agent who puts children and families at the center of his vision for collaborative leadership. I've known Jess through his exceptional career in leadership roles both in City Government and the Non-Profit Human Services sector, and I look forward to partnering with him to continue the City's most important work of keeping children safe through supporting families and strengthening communities,” said incoming Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Williams-Isom. 

“I am honored and grateful to be appointed by Mayor-elect Adams to lead ACS and re-join its dedicated team of public servants.  Building on the progress of the past 25 years, we at ACS commit to linking arms with New York City’s families, communities, government partners, non-profit service providers, and advocates to see to it that our children and youth are safe and well.  Together, we will work to provide children, youth, and families the opportunities and support we all need to thrive in our great city,” said incoming ACS Commissioner Dannhauser.  

Before joining Graham Windham in 2009, Dannhauser served at ACS as associate commissioner for performance measurement, monitoring and improvement; assistant commissioner for the office of agency program assistance, and chief of staff to the ACS commissioner. Prior to joining ACS, Dannhauser was special assistant to the commissioner of the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Dannhauser earned his MSW at University of California, Berkeley School of Social Welfare, and his BA at Duke University. 

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