Mary Nakashian

Mary Nakashian is an independent consultant specializing in public policy, program development, management and technical assistance with particular expertise in policies regarding substance abuse and welfare reform. Current clients include the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the US Department of Health and Human Services, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the State of New York, and Demos: A Network for Ideas and Actions.

Mary spent 18 years working in state and county welfare agencies.She spent fourteen years at the Connecticut Department of Income Maintenance, where she held a series of jobs ranging from intake eligibility worker through Deputy Commissioner for Programs and Policy. She also spent four years as Executive Deputy Commissioner at New York City's Human Resource Administration where directed the work of 13,000 employees responsible for AFDC, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Welfare to Work, Child Support Enforcement, Day Care and Head Start.

After leaving government, Mary worked for five years as Vice President and Director of Program Demonstration at The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), where she designed, secured funds for, and directed national multi-site research and demonstration projects aimed at preventing or reducing substance abuse among vulnerable populations. Projects included Children at Risk, a program for at-risk preadolescents, Opportunity to Succeed, a program for ex-offenders, and CASAWORKS for Families, a program for welfare mothers. For five years Mary taught at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, as an adjunct professor.