Mahopac resident Alana Sweeny, an educator and administrator, has been chosen to succeed Naomi Adler as president and CEO of United Way of Westchester and Putnam.
Sweeney will start June 2 in her new post, United Way officials announced. Adler this month joined the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia as its CEO after six years leading United Way of Westchester and Putnam.
United Way officials said Sweeny for more than 30 years has worked directly with children, individuals and families facing challenges such as poverty or special needs, supporting their cause through policy, partnerships and funding. She most recently served three years as executive director of the Police Athletic League in New York City, providing 40,000 inner-city children with education, sports, recreational activities and workforce development.
As commissioner of the New York State Council on Children and Families, she coordinated the joint priorities of the state”™s 13 education, health and human services agencies as they affected children and families. Additionally, Sweeny has headed numerous task forces, including Out of Wedlock Pregnancy and Poverty and the Alliance for Family Literacy. She co-chaired, with the state education commissioner, the Task Force on School Community Collaboration.
“Ms. Sweeny”™s extensive background in fundraising, human services and government, as well as her strong focus on children”™s issues, make her the perfect fit to lead the United Way of Westchester and Putnam,” said Gregory D. Bassuk, chairman of the UWWP board of directors and chief operating officer of IndexIQ. He said she will be “a passionate advocate for critical programs such as United Way”™s 2-1-1 and will help us make tremendous strides in our education, income and health initiatives.”
Sweeny served as board chairwoman for the United Way of Putnam and vice chairperson of the board of United Way of Westchester and Putnam in the early 1990s. She was Gov. George Pataki”™s point person in working toward the development of United Way”™s 2-1-1 helpline, and worked closely with the United Way of New York State on early-childhood, health and poverty issues, said United Way officials in White Plains.
Sweeny is a volunteer for the Greater New York chapter of the American Red Cross and is vice president of the board of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Putnam County. She was recently selected by the state Senate as a 2014 “Woman of Distinction,” an honor she also received in 1999.
