Renee L. Rider Named After-School Champion

The Afterschool Alliance today honored Renee L. Rider, Assistant Commissioner in the Division of Child Care Services at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) for her support for after-school programs at the “Breakfast of Champions,” a gala event in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Rider is actively involved in setting direction for the New York State Afterschool Network (NYSAN) and in developing high-quality after-school programs across New York State. Ms. Rider was one of just ten individuals from around the country honored for supporting and working on behalf of kids and families who depend on after-school programs. She was nominated for the honor by NYSAN.

In addition to Ms. Rider’s primary role in overseeing the Advantage Afterschool Program (AASP), a state-funded program administered by OCFS that serves more than 25,000 children, she also sits on NYSAN’s Operations and Steering Committees. She has helped the state’s after-school system build a relationship with the early care and education community in order to create a system that supports the education and development of children from birth through young adulthood.

Ms. Rider has also led cross-agency collaboration by helping create the first-ever cross-agency map of all active, publicly-funded after-school programs in New York State, and in initiating an effort to align after-school funding streams across city and state agencies. These efforts inform the decision making of state agencies and lawmakers.

• Read the press release here (PDF, 29 KB).