Join Michael Fitzgerald, the Gretchen Hoadley Burke '81 Chair in Regional Studies in the Department of Economics, for a panel discussion on the local, state, and regional perspective on Poverty, By America. Panelists include Rajni Chawla, Executive Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), Paul Brady, Executive Director of New York Public Welfare Association (NYPWA), and Daniel Auwarter, Social Services Commissioner for Chenango County.Prior to being appointed to her current position, Chawla served as the First Deputy Commissioner at OTDA and as Deputy Commissioner of Audit and Quality Improvement. Before joining OTDA, Chawla served as Director of Internal Audit at the Office of Information Technology Services which is responsible for providing statewide IT strategic direction, directing IT policy, and delivering centralized IT products and services that support the mission of the state. She also worked as the Director of Internal Audit at the New York State Department of Labor. Prior to joining state service, she worked for the private sector in numerous capacities.Chawla received her Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce from the DAVY University, India. She is also a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Information Systems Auditor.Brady is Executive Director of the New York Public Welfare Association, which was founded in 1869. It is the oldest public welfare association in the United States. Its role is to independently represent New York's 58 local social services districts.The Association fulfills a key public role while presenting a variety of different opportunities for the exchange of ideas, development of new initiatives, and refinement of existing programs and services. The NYPWA is an active partner with government agencies, associations, and community organizations.The association provides information, policy analysis, and technical assistance to federal, state, and local policymakers and direct support to districts.Auwarter is the Commissioner of the Chenango County Department of Social Services. The agency’s mission is to ensure the provision of financial, medical, family and children’s services necessary to assist eligible residents of Chenango County towards enhancing family functioning and to reduce or eliminate dependency. Prior to his current role, Daniel was Director of the Chenango Crime Victims Program/Child Advocacy Center, providing services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse and served on the NYS Office of Victim Services Advisory Board. Daniel was also the program supervisor for a group home serving children with PINS/JD adjudication. He has served on several boards and committees including the Chenango County Youth Bureau Advisory Board, Chenango Housing Council, Christopher Community Inc., Chenango United Way, Brookfield Central School Board of Education, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital Crisis Response Team, Rogers Environmental Education Center, Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Workforce Investment Board, Hospice and Palliative Care of Chenango County, and the CHENTAC Threat Assessment Management Team.This event is sponsored by The Upstate Institute in collaboration with the Department of Economics.