NYC Office Of Chief Medical Examiner Congratulates Executive Deputy Commissioner And Chief Of Staff Dina Maniotis On Winning 2023 Sloan Public Service Award
May 15, 2023
Seasoned crisis manager recognized with “Nobel Prize for New York City Public Servants” for service including mass fatality response during the COVID-19 pandemic
NEW YORK – The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) extends congratulations to Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff Dina Maniotis on winning the 2023 Sloan Public Service Award, announced today by the Fund for the City of New York (Fund). Known as the “Nobel Prize for New York City public servants,” the Sloan Public Service Awards are the most prestigious recognition the City’s public servants can receive.
“Over the entirety of my career in public service to the City of New York and now leading a City agency, I have encountered no single individual who so effectively makes government work for the people we serve more than Dina Maniotis,” said New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham. “Our core values at OCME are integrity, dedication, and agency first, and Dina exemplifies these qualities in all aspects of her public service life. An exceptional leader and colleague, Dina uses these core values in critical decision-making both day to day and in the midst of crisis, as with her instrumental role in our agency’s complex, yet highly successful citywide response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Maniotis began her career of service as a counselor at Catholic Charities of Brooklyn & Queens, addressing issues that ranged from homelessness to the trauma of 9/11 to youth violence. In 2006, she was hired by the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) as the Director of Emergency Services to develop crisis response plans for incidents from hurricanes to terrorist attacks, and ultimately rose to the position of Assistant Commissioner at the agency. She took on her current role as Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in 2013. When New York City became the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, she was already prepared with sufficient PPE and flexibly managed the urgent needs of the moment, prioritizing staff safety.
“During my rewarding career in City government, I have been fortunate to serve alongside smart, compassionate and committed colleagues as we faced some of the toughest challenges of the twenty-first century,” said OCME Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff Dina Maniotis. “My fellow honorees across seven City agencies and I represent the hundreds of thousands of devoted civil servants who work each day and night to make our city safe, healthy and a place where every New Yorker can dream and succeed. Today is dedicated to all the exemplary civil servants that make our collective success possible.”
Maniotis is among seven winners of the 2023 Sloan Public Service Awards, marking their 50th anniversary this year. The distinguished civic leaders on the Sloan Public Service Award Selection Panel, chaired by Georgia Boothe, the Executive Vice President of Child Welfare & Family Services at Children’s Aid, selected the winners after extensive vetting. The more than 310,000 city employees from mayoral and non-mayoral agencies are eligible to be nominated. Maniotis is the second OCME civil servant to win the Sloan Award, following Deputy Commissioner for Forensic Operations and Investigations Frank DePaolo, a 2010 Sloan Award recipient.
“Dina is a force of nature,” said Joe Bruno, former Commissioner, NYC Office of Emergency Management. “She is a person who will spare no effort to work on behalf of the people of New York. She’s intellectually curious and always searching for ways to make grand improvements to systems of a large scale.”
“I can think of no one in my 23 years of city service who better deserves the Sloan Award for their exemplary job performance and tireless dedication to the public,” said Dr. Barbara Sampson, former New York City Chief Medical Examiner. “Simply put, Dina Maniotis is passionate. She is completely devoted and dedicated to people. Dina can do anything. She taught me what loyalty, caring, and determination mean.”
This 2023 winners are: Sergeant James Clarke, Community Affairs Officer, NYC Police Department; Kenneth Cobb, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Department of Records & Information Services; Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin, Executive Director of Housing Initiatives, NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice; Jennifer Lenihan, Senior Advisor / Assistant Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment; Dina Maniotis, Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff, NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner; Anita Reyes, Assistant Commissioner, Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Eric Smalls, Chief Technology Officer, NYC Emergency Management.
The winners are being honored today at their offices by the Fund’s executive team and members of the Sloan Selection Panel. The contingent’s day-long, cross-borough trip is a tradition going back decades, allowing winners to be recognized in the presence of their colleagues, where their accomplishments have taken place. Each winner receives a prize package which includes $10,000, a portrait, a video retrospective, and a commemorative plaque and brochure.
“Public service is the lifeblood of our democracy, and civil servants are the unsung heroes who keep our communities running smoothly,” said Adam F. Falk, President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “We congratulate this year’s Sloan Public Service Award winners for their tireless commitment to New York City.”
“Since 1973, the Fund for the City of New York's Public Service Awards Program has been honoring outstanding civil servants whose accomplishments and commitment to public service are extraordinary,” said Lisette Nieves, President of the Fund for the City of New York. “Their tireless work exemplifies the contributions and sacrifice of the City’s hundreds of thousands of dedicated public servants. The Sloan Awards give us the opportunity to share their achievements with the citizens of New York City who benefit from their work every day.”
"The remarkable talent that exists in New York City government is embodied by the Sloan winners, who are super civil servants going above and beyond the call of duty. Despite facing difficult circumstances, unparalleled pressures and unprecedented crises, these extraordinary city employees serve all New Yorkers on a daily basis with expertise, integrity, ingenuity, dedication and excellence," said Aldrin Rafael Bonilla, Executive Vice President of the Fund for the City of New York. The seven winners, from diverse fields such as public health, municipal archives, law enforcement, media and entertainment, housing justice, emergency management and forensic science, are representative of the hardworking public servants who keep the largest and most densely populated city in the country running smoothly. The routine, delicate and complex work they perform is often overlooked, but essential to the functioning and vitality of our city. The Sloan Public Service Awards are a gesture of gratitude and appreciation for their exceptional service to the city we all love and call home."
About OCME
Established in 1918 as the nation’s first comprehensive medical examiner office, OCME provides the public with the highest standards of service across the forensic sciences. The agency operates the largest and most advanced DNA public crime laboratory in North America, and houses laboratories in toxicology and histology, in addition to the nation’s only public molecular genetics laboratory. OCME is home to the country’s largest forensic pathology training program, having produced more than 100 board-certified forensic pathologists since 1990. OCME also houses a department of forensic anthropology and maintains a division of specially trained experts to respond to any and all mass fatality events and disasters.
About The Fund for the City of New York
The Fund for the City of New York was established by the Ford Foundation in 1968 with the mandate to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. For 55 years, in partnership with government agencies, nonprofits and foundations, the Fund has developed and helped to implement innovation in policy, programs, practices and technology in order to advance the functioning of government and nonprofit organizations in New York City and beyond. Signature Fund programs include the: Cash Flow Loan Program, Partner Project Program, Sloan Public Service Awards, Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics, and Community Planning Fellowship Program. To learn more visit Fund for the City of New York.
About the Sloan Public Service Awards
Since 1973, the Fund for the City of New York has honored outstanding civil servants with the Sloan Public Service Awards. The Awards, generously supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for over two decades, honor civil servants each year who exhibit an extraordinary level of commitment to the public. Award winners are carefully selected by the Sloan Public Service Awards Panel. The 325,000 employees working for mayoral and non-mayoral agencies, the Transit and Housing Authorities, the Health and Hospitals Corporation, the City University of New York, Department of Education, district attorneys’ offices, public libraries and others are eligible.