John Cochran
John Cochran serves as Chief of Staff for New York State’s Office for the Aging. He previously served as the agency’s Deputy Director of its Executive Division and Assistant Director for Intergovernmental Affairs and Strategic Planning. Since joining NYSOFA in 2008, John has worked on a wide variety of aging issues, including community empowerment, civic engagement, long-term care reform, emergency response activations and planning, long-term care ombudsman program operations, and caregiver supports, among many others. From 1998 to 2008, John worked in the field of government relations. He started his career in New York State government in 1986 working for Assemblyman James Tallon (D-Binghamton) in his district, and then in Albany, when he served as Chair of the Assembly Health Committee and Assembly Majority Leader until 1992. From 1992 to 1998, John worked for the Speaker of the New York State Assembly as Director of the Assembly’s Committee for the Aging. During his tenure as Committee Director, he developed a keen understanding of the intricacies of the long-term care system and the field of aging, as well as the complexities of the human services network.
