Who We Are

Mike Alvaro is the President and CEO of the Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State (CP State). Mr. Alvaro joined the Agency in October 2003 and has overseen the Associations’ regulatory and policy issue advocacy and education at the State level. CP State was founded over 75 years ago by families and today fulfills its mission of advocacy and education for 24 independent Affiliates providing supports and services to people with cerebral palsy and other significant disabilities across NY. Mr. Alvaro also is a leader of the state’s New York Disability Advocates (NYDA), a statewide disability advocacy organization representing over 300 provider agencies of disability supports and services in New York. In his role at CP State, he works with Affiliates and Board members to identify priority issues for advocacy and education.

Mr. Alvaro has spent over 30 years in the disability and health advocacy field. Prior to joining CP State, he worked in various roles at the Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS), the Hospital Trustees of New York State and, the upstate hospitals’ Iroquois Healthcare Alliance. While at Iroquois, he initiated cooperative efforts among hospitals, developed advocacy efforts on behalf of its 58 upstate hospital and health system members, and helped establish one of the State’s first health information exchanges (HIXNY). He has obtained and overseen grants to assist disability providers implement a telehealth triage model ($13 million) supporting over 8,000 people in certified residences in NYS, support hospitals in workforce retraining (TANF – $1.5 million), and create the Centers of Excellence in the care and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders and other complex disabilities (BIP – $7.3 million), among others. He also has expertise in staff development, fiscal management, nonprofit governance, membership services and marketing. He has an undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and an MPA in health policy management from SUNY’s Rockefeller College.

Angela Anderson joined the Affiliates Services staff in July 2018, bringing with her 20 years of professional experience as an administrative assistant for executive level staff in several different industries. Ms. Anderson serves as the initial contact person for most interactions with the Affiliate Services Office and acts as a liaison between Affiliates and Affiliate Services Staff, answering questions and directing requests as appropriate. She also handles scheduling and correspondence for Affiliate Services staff and assists with coordinating details for the CP State Annual Conference and other meetings and trainings. She came to CP State from Trans World Entertainment in Albany where she was the executive administrative to the CEO.

Cheryl Bradway has been with CP State for over 21 years, currently providing office management and a wide variety of support for the Affiliate Services Office. She takes a lead role in organizing the Annual Conference, is responsible for the artistic design of all publications, and assists with website and social media administration.

She is a key liaison between Affiliates and Affiliate Services Staff, answering questions and directing requests as appropriate. She also coordinates the flow of information and mailings to the Affiliates. Ms. Bradway assists the Vice President of Government Relations tracking legislation, filing necessary lobby reports, and organizing lobby days and rallies. Prior to joining the CP family, she worked for over 15 years at the Healthcare Association of NYS providing support for their Government Affairs Division.

Barbara Crosier is the Vice President for Advocacy & Government Relations at CP State. She joined CP State in December of 1994 after having worked for the Healthcare Association of NYS and the New York State Senate Finance Committee. Ms. Crosier is responsible for advocacy on behalf of and support to all of the CP State Affiliates, staff, consumers and families regarding legislation and public policy, and serves as liaison between the CP State Affiliates and the New York State Legislature, Governor’s Office, New York State Agencies and Congress. Ms. Crosier has almost 30 years of experience monitoring, analyzing and interpreting state and federal budgets and legislation; facilitating the development of legislative priorities and agenda, lobbying for or against and negotiating relevant legislation, organizing lobby days, rallies and other public education efforts, preparing and presenting testimony, position papers and policy analysis. She responds to legislative staff and member requests on a variety of issues including supports and services for people with developmental disabilities, special education, Early Intervention, Article 28, and various issues of interest and concern to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Ms. Crosier has a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters in Public Policy from Rockefeller College at SUNY Albany.

Bill DeVoe joined CP State as Director of Communications and Advocacy in September of 2019. He oversees all internal and external communications as well as statewide advocacy efforts. Mr. DeVoe previously worked for the Capital Region BOCES where he was responsible for developing and implementing strategic, organization-wide communications for numerous school districts. He also spent almost four years as managing editor of the Spotlight Newspapers where he managed the newsroom, coordinated production schedules, edited copy and wrote a column and weekly editorials. He previously worked as a reporter at three news publications in the Capital Region.  Mr. DeVoe also served three years in the United States Army as a tank gunner and platoon leader. He studied English and Journalism at the University at Albany.

Mary Beth Durocher joined CP State in October 2018 in the accounting department.  Ms. Durocher works on payroll, benefits, insurance plans, accounts payable and accounts receivable. She is responsible for submitting Financial Reports to the Finance Committee and Board of Directors. She previously worked at Iroquois Healthcare Alliance for 26 years in the accounting / HR department.  Prior to that Mary Beth worked at General Electric in various accounting positions. She has a B.B.A. in Accounting from Siena College.

Tim Ferguson joined CP State Affiliate Services in May 2018 as Director of Special Projects and Online Learning. He will continue to develop web-based learning tools for CP State and its Affiliates as well as coordinate with CP State and Affiliate staff on special projects, including the Centers of Excellence in the Care and Treatment of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Complex Disabilities project.

Mr. Ferguson comes to the Affiliate Services Office after serving as an assignment manager and web editor at WTEN/WXXA TV, the ABC/FOX Affiliate in Albany.  Previously, Mr. Ferguson spent eight years as a middle school and high school teacher and academic advisor at school districts in central New York and the Capital District.  He has both a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree from the University at Albany as well as a Master’s Degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Kelsey Massyk joined CP State as an Administrative Assistant in the spring of 2023. She performs administrative support for the CP State Affiliate Services office and its executive staff, coordinates meetings and conferences, as well as performing internal IT support. Kelsey previously worked for local small businesses in operations and information technology management. Kelsey has a bachelor’s degree in fine art from University at Albany.

Cindy Morris  serves as the Project Director for the Community Health Outreach Project, a grant funded by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.  Ms. Morris oversees, coordinates, and is responsible all activities associated with the grant, both before and after the awards process.  She established the protocols for proposal submissions and reviews all proposals for completeness while ensuring compliance with organizational standards.  She is responsible for marketing, outreach, and customer service as it relates to the grant.  Ms. Morris provides timely and accurate reports to the grantor, and seeks additional funding sources to support, expand, and develop new programming in alignment with the vision of the leadership team.

Prior to joining CP State, Ms. Morris served as Executive Vice President of United Iroquois Shared Services (UISS), Inc., and United Iroquois Select, LLC, both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of Iroquois Healthcare Association, from November 2014 through her retirement in May 2018.  UISS is a group purchasing organization and supply chain resource for its 900 healthcare and non-healthcare members, and UI Select is a healthcare consulting firm.  In her EVP role, Ms. Morris was responsible for providing oversight of marketing, business development, and strategic planning.  She managed the day-to-day operations of the organization and served as the primary liaison to the board of directors.  She worked closely with the contracting team to drive savings and value for the membership while maintaining a healthy profit for the organization.  Ms. Morris negotiated and maintained valuable strategic partner relationships throughout her tenure.  Ms. Morris led the UISS client relations team, which is charged with helping members find solutions to improve cost and quality, and was responsible for managing growth strategies.

Karly Smelson serves as Vice President of Program Research & Policy Development.

Karly comes to us from the NYC Department of Education where she most recently oversaw the implementation and policy work around Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for the Office of School Health.

She began her tenure in the Department of Education in 2014 as a manager in the Impartial Hearing Representation Office in the Division of Specialized Instruction and Student Support. She then worked within that same division in the Special Education Office on special education policy and due process-related projects.

Karly has a JD from New England Law Boston, and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Law from Binghamton University. She lives in Niskayuna with her husband and daughter.

Deb Williams has worked for CP State for more than 25 years and is currently the Vice President for Reimbursement and Regulatory Compliance in the Affiliate Services Office. Ms. Williams works with CP State Affiliates on issues related to clinic services, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, Medicaid managed care, and other health care related issues. She works closely with NYS DOH staff on issues of concern to CP State Affiliates.

Ms. Williams joined CP State as the principal researcher on the Medicaid Managed Care Project, a grant funded by NYS DOH, where she conducted research on reimbursement and service utilization for people with developmental disabilities. Prior to joining CP State, Ms. Williams worked for the NYS School Boards Association, conducting research on various education issues.

Ms. Williams received her master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was a Public Policy Fellow at the Center for Women in Government at SUNY Albany.