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Leadership

Portrait of Interim Commissioner Melissa Hester in a suit, smiling for a photo with a backdrop of city buildings

Rebecca Jones Gaston, MSW
Commissioner of the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)

Rebecca Jones Gaston has spent more than 28 years working at every level of child welfare and human services—starting as a front-line social worker and rising to become the nation’s top child welfare official. Her career has been defined by one central commitment: families do best when they’re supported, not separated.

From December 2022 to January 2025, Jones Gaston served as Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In that role, she oversaw both the Children’s Bureau and the Family and Youth Services Bureau, setting national policy for foster care, prevention services, youth homelessness, kinship care, and family support. Under her leadership, ACYF finalized federal rules that expanded legal representation for families, protected LGBTQIA+ youth in care, increased access for kinship caregivers, and strengthened tribal data protections under ICWA, as well as prevention of youth homelessness efforts. She also oversaw the approval of prevention plans under the Family First Prevention Services Act for 48 jurisdictions, including states, tribes, and territories.

Before her federal service, Jones Gaston led child welfare systems in two states under governors from opposite political parties. As Executive Director of the Social Services Administration in Maryland, she helped reduce the number of children in foster care by 50%, implemented a IV-E waiver to increase flexibility in services, and secured early federal approval for the state’s Family First Prevention Plan. Later, as Director of Oregon’s Child Welfare Program, she inherited a system in distress and led major stabilization efforts. Oregon reduced out-of-home placements by more than 2,000 children in just over two years, eliminated the use of out-of-state placements entirely, and became one of the few states with a federally approved prevention plan.

Prior to being appointed ACS Commissioner, Jones Gaston launched RJG Consulting, LLC —a strategic consulting firm she founded to help systems, agencies, and organizations reimagine how they serve children and families. Through this work, she partnered with leaders across the country to align policy and practice, build strong teams, and implement community-based, prevention-focused solutions that last.

Winette Saunders,
First Deputy Commissioner

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Amar Sondhi,
Interim Chief Information Officer for the Office of Information Technology

Nikisha Ferguson,
Acting General Counsel

Joan Cleary,
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Child Protection

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James Fey,
Senior Advisor for Investigations

Stephanie Gendell,
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of External Affairs

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Nancy Ginsburg,
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Youth and Family Justice

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Eden Hauslaib,
Chief Accountability Officer

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Melissa Hester,
Executive Deputy Commissioner for People, Operations, Technology

Portrait of Interim Commissioner Melissa Hester in a suit, smiling for a photo with a backdrop of city buildings

Lisa Hines-Johnson,
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Administration

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Luisa Linares,
Deputy Commissioner for the Family Services Division

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Ina Mendez,
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Family Permanency Services

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Dr. Angel V. Mendoza Jr.,
Chief Medical Officer

Margaret Pletnikoff,
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Financial Services

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Joanna Rose,
EEO Officer

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Siheem Roseborough,
Associate Commissioner for the Office of Human Resources

Alan W. Sputz,
Deputy Commissioner for Family Court Legal Services

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Tia Waddy,
Chief of Staff

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Andrew White,
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Policy, Planning, & Measurement

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Elizabeth Wolkomir,
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Child and Family Well-Being

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