New York, NY, APRIL 11, 2016 – Spence-Chapin, a non-profit adoption and family services agency, today announced that the Honorable Bryanne A. Hamill (Retired) has joined the 108-year-old agency’s Board of Directors. The retired New York City and State Family Court Judge will serve on both the Legal Risk Management & Human Resources Committee and the Public Policy & Program Committee of Spence-Chapin.
For almost 10 years, Hamill served as a New York City/State Family Court Judge assigned to Kings County Family Court. After that she implemented and presided over New York City’s unique Youth Transitioning Planning Court, assisting youth in transitioning out of foster care. For the last several years she has been a member of the NYC Board of Correction and Chair of its Adolescent and Young Adult Committee. There she leads the Board’s reform and regulatory agenda regarding incarcerated youth in city corrections. She is the 2004 recipient of Excelsior College’s C. Wayne Williams award for Public Service, the 2013 recipient of CUNY Law School’s Public Interest Law Association’s Community Leader Award, and winner of the 2015 Advocate Award from Children’s Rights, Org.
“Bryanne has joined the board at a great time, while Spence-Chapin is expanding its Foster Care Pilot Program,” says Adam Cotumaccio, President, Spence-Chapin. “Her 25 years of legal and judicial experience in child welfare cases will be invaluable to our work.”
In the last year, Spence-Chapin has entered into two separate partnerships — with Catholic Guardian Services and The New York Foundling — to service the New York City Foster Care population. Through this Foster Care Pilot Program, Spence-Chapin works with both agencies to improve the permanency process, to help stabilize foster care placements, and to elevate the skill levels of staff working with foster and adoptive families. “After spending my entire judicial career advocating for the welfare of children in the foster care system,” says Hamill, “I’m thrilled that, in my retirement, I will continue to affect change and help these families as a member of Spence-Chapin’s Board of Directors.”
