Since being appointed Commissioner of the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) by Governor Kathy Hochul in December 2021, Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, M.D. has firmly established data-driven decision-making, harm reduction, and equity as the agency’s guiding principles across its continuum of services involving prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery. Under her leadership, New York State overdose deaths, which had reached historically high levels, declined following the introduction of free and easily available overdose prevention supplies and increased access to medication for addiction treatment (MAT)—including new Opioid Treatment Programs, mobile medication units, and all types of MAT in all 58 jails and 42 prisons in the state. New York also emerged as a national leader in Opioid Settlement Fund distribution to better serve those impacted by addiction. In addition, Dr. Cunningham established a Problem Gambling Bureau within OASAS to raise awareness and better address gambling addictions.

Dr. Cunningham is a physician, researcher, and public health professional who brings over 25 years of expertise in substance use treatment to OASAS. Prior to joining OASAS, she served as the Executive Deputy Commissioner of Mental Hygiene at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; was a practicing physician at Montefiore Health System; and a Professor of Medicine, Family and Social Medicine, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She has more than 25 years of experience in research, care, and program development that focuses on people who use drugs. Dr. Cunningham has also partnered with community-based organizations to develop pioneering programs to promote the health of this population. She has trained hundreds of doctors to treat substance use disorders; led several research studies and published research articles focused on treating substance use disorders; and served on numerous state and national advisory committees. In October 2024, Dr. Cunningham was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine for “being a national and international leader in the conceptualization of addiction, the development of evidence-driven programmatic innovations in treatment, and the rigorous evaluation of program effectiveness."