It is with great excitement that the Philipstown Behavioral Health Hub Board of Directors announces that it has appointed Christopher R. Owens, MPA, as the agency’s Interim Executive Director. Mr. Owens will succeed Laurie Sigalos, whose tenure ended earlier this summer. Having joined the Hub in 2022, Ms. Sigalos diligently supported the Hub’s mission of providing a single, local point of access for mental health and addiction programs, services and education for individuals and families.
Under the leadership of Ms. Sigalos, the Hub:
Developed new tools designed to optimize the Hub’s communications with participants
Implemented new strategic partnerships with care-oriented organizations across Putnam County
Strengthened relationships between the Hub and public agencies committed to delivering quality services to the Philipstown area
"We are grateful to Laurie for sharing her unique skill set with us during an important time of transition for the Hub,” said Board Chair Alexandra Dubroff. “We look forward to building on the relationships that she fostered to continue and expand the Hub’s important work."
“I am excited that Chris Owens is bringing his expertise to the Hub as our Interim Executive Director,” added Ms. Dubroff. “Chris is a team builder experienced in working with for-profit, non-profit, religious, government and political organizations to better serve individuals and communities.”
Having just started in his new role as Interim Executive Director of the Philipstown Behavioral Health Hub, Chris Owens stated: “I am honored to serve as the Hub’s Interim Executive Director. As we all work to establish a new normal in our post-pandemic lives, it is so important to build and sustain trust between individuals in need of mental health assistance or substance abuse assistance and those who can and want to care for them. The Hub’s mission of making critical care connections is important to people of all generations and from all backgrounds, and the great staff and leaders of this organization always deserve and need support from the Philipstown communities and beyond. I am pleased to have this important opportunity to support the Hub and I plan to prove worthy of the trust the Board has placed in me.”
Mr. Owens, an experienced executive, leader and strategist, has dedicated his career to helping others. Most recently, he served for seven years as Chief of The Re-Entry Bureau and Director of the Alternatives to Incarceration Programs in the Office of the Kings County District Attorney (Brooklyn). His prior work included years in health care administration, after-school and summer school program administration, education advocacy, public affairs and community outreach.
Chris Owens is an Advisory Board member with two non-profit organizations, and a past Board President of the Weeksville Heritage Center and the Central Brooklyn Martin Luther King Commission. He was also a founding Board member of the Brooklyn Scholars Charter School. Mr. Owens was twice elected to the Board of Community School District 13 (Brooklyn), and also twice elected to New York’s Democratic State Committee from the 52nd Assembly District. Other than community service, Chris Owens’ passion is music, including composition and performance.
Mr. Owens holds a B.A. (Sociology) from Harvard University and a Master of Public Affairs in Domestic Policy and Urban & Regional Planning from Princeton University. He is a father of two young men and resides in New York City.