Mayor Toni Harp has lured behavioral health expert Martha N. Okafor (pictured) back to Connecticut from Georgia to serve as New Haven’s new head of the Community Services Administration.
Okafor will start her position on May 28, according to a press release the mayor’s office issued Tuesday evening.
In her new job, Okafor will oversee the New Haven Health Department, the Department of Elderly Services, the Youth Services Department, and works with the state Department of Social Services to provide resources through State Administered General Assistance (SAGA).
“New Haven residents will benefit from Dr. Okafor’s extensive experience in the healthcare field as both an administrator and as an educator so I’m positively delighted to announce she’ll bring her expertise back to Connecticut next month,” Mayor Harp said in the release. “The city’s Community Services Administration has a broad and comprehensive set of responsibilities – I think we’ve identified and hired the ideal candidate for the job.”
According to the release, Okafor is “currently the director of the Division of Behavioral Health and an assistant pofessor at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Georgia,” as well as a “faculty member at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Massachusetts. She is also the Chief Executive Officer of a private community health and social services consulting business.”
“Previously, she served as a high-level administrator at the Georgia Department of Human Resources in the Public Health Division and the
Division of Family and Children Services. Prior to that, in Connecticut, Okafor was Director of the Family Health Division of the state Department of Public Health and Director of the Strategic Planning Division at the state Department of Social Services.
“I’m thrilled Dr. Okafor chose to return to Connecticut for the next chapter of her career and more specifically, chose to come to New Haven to join my administration,” Mayor Harp added.
Jackie James, acting deputy director of the CSA, will serve as acting director, effective Wednesday, until Okafor comes to town. Ron Manning, who has been the acting director, will resume his role Wednesday as deputy director.