Kelly Ahearn

Kelly Ahearn

Deputy Commissioner for Administrative Services

Kelly Ahearn was named Deputy Commissioner for Administrative Services effective March 26, 2026.

Deputy Commissioner Ahearn joined the Department in April 1998 as an Employee Investigator. In 2004, she transitioned to Human Resources, promoting through a variety of administrative titles within the Bureau of Personnel. In 2017, she was promoted to Director of Personnel, and in 2022, to Director of Human Resources Management, the first female to ever serve in either position with the Department.

She was promoted to Assistant Commissioner for Administrative Services in 2023 until being named Deputy Commissioner.

As Deputy Commissioner, she has oversight of the bureaus of Labor Relations, Budget & Finance, Human Resources, Recruitment, Facilities Planning, Training, Support Operations, and the Department’s Nutritional Services and Food Production Center.   

Deputy Commissioner Ahearn holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in criminal justice and psychology from the State University of New York at Albany. She served for several years on the NYS Executive Personnel Council, elected as Council Chair in 2022.