Wagner School’s Schall and Zimmerman Named to Posts

Two individuals at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service were recently named to public policy advisory panels at the state and city levels of government.

Ellen Schall, dean and Martin Cherkasky Professor of Health Policy and Management, has been appointed to the New York State Juvenile Justice Task Force. Formed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the task force will provide strategic guidance on moving the state’s juvenile justice system toward a rehabilitative model consistent with best practice. It was established by Children and Family Services Commissioner Gladys Carrion with the support of Governor David Paterson.
    Schall began her public service career in criminal justice and served from 1983 through 1990 as commissioner of the city’s Department of Juvenile Justice. In that capacity, she built a team that transformed the troubled agency into one that Harvard University and the Ford Foundation recognized with their prestigious Innovations Award.

Rae Zimmerman, professor of planning and public administration, was chosen by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to serve on the newly created New York City Panel on Climate Change. Zimmerman, director of the Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems (ICIS), which is housed at Wagner, was among 15 top experts named to the panel, including leading climate change scientists. The members will advise about ways that New York City can adapt critical infrastructure to environmental effects of climate change.
    Founded in 1998, ICIS is a research and education center that promotes interdisciplinary approaches to planning, building, and managing the complex world of civil infrastructure systems to meet social and environmental objectives.