Claudia Hammar, President

hammar@nyshcp.org
518.463.1118, ext. 809

Claudia Hammar joined HCP in 2007 and has served as President since May 1, 2015.  Leveraging her 35 years+ experience in strategic marketing, business development, and marketing communications and sales in her role as President, Claudia has focused on developing strategic public policy initiatives in support of HCP members and the home care industry, ensuring the Association is proactively preparing for the future with strategic planning initiatives and solid financial management strategies, and integrating a strong customer service orientation into all areas of the Association.  Claudia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Skidmore College.  

Claudia is passionate about spending time near the ocean, relaxing with a good book on the beach and traveling.  Places on Claudia's travel bucket list include Ireland, Australia/New Zealand and Tuscany.  When not working or traveling, Claudia spends most of her time with her family and playing with her four very active grandchildren. 

Mary Dworakowski, Director of Administration & Finance

dworakowski@nyshcp.org 
518.463.1118, ext. 804

Mary joined HCP in 2002 and has held various positions in the Financial Division over the years.  In her current role, Mary is responsible for maintaining the Association’s financials, reports and all insurance products, working with HCP’s external accountants and other financial entities, and she oversees and manages the Association’s human resources department. Mary also supports and sets up HCP and CHC Board meetings and coordinates all HCP staff-related activities.

Outside of work, Mary serves on the St. Jude Parish Council, volunteers for many church and community activities, and in 2011 she received the St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Community Service Award. She is also a Team Manager with Tastefully Simple and has received a variety of sales awards. In her “spare time,” she enjoys spending time with her four grown children and their families.

Alyssa Lovelace, Director for Public Policy

lovelace@nyshcp.org
518.463.1118, ext. 818

Alyssa directs HCP’s legislative and regulatory advocacy, and supports HCP’s strategy development and other related public policy initiatives.  Her specific areas of focus include managed care and managed long-term care, DSRIP, Federal home care issues, telehealth and training & certification. Alyssa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy with a concentration in public administration from the State University of New York at Albany.

Alyssa is a dog lover and has four dogs, Lexington, Khan, Captain and Fajita. Recently she developed a new found passion for gardening, while maintaining her other favorite past time of wine tasting with friends on her patio.

Robert Ward, Associate for Public Policy

ward@nyshcp.org
518.463.1118, ext. 811

Robert joined HCP in 2018 as Associate for Public Policy. He supports HCP’s legislative and regulatory advocacy, grassroots campaigns and other related policy initiatives. Robert holds a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in health policy/management from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the State University of New York at Fredonia.

Outside of work, Rob loves to spend time with his fiancé Jennifer, and his two cats named Gray and Pickles. He also likes to stay active by running and playing disc golf, and has recently traveled to Ireland, Montreal, and Miami, FL.

Scott Janke, Associate for Public Policy
janke@nyshcp.org
518.463.1118, ext. 806

Scott joined HCP in 2018 as Associate for Public Policy. He supports HCP’s State regulatory advocacy, Federal legislative and regulatory initiatives, emergency preparedness efforts and other related policy initiatives on behalf of New York State’s home care industry. Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts in U.S. History and is currently enrolled in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University at Albany in the Master of Public Administration program.

As a sports enthusiast, Scott is an avid New York Jets and Knicks fan. Outside of work, Scott spends most of his time with his fiancé Taylor, going out for dinner and drinks with friends at their favorite restaurants in the Capital Region. 

Dena Collins, Director of Information Systems

collins@nyshcp.org
518.463.1118, ext. 815

Dena joined HCP in 1990, she has held many positions over the years with the Association.  Today, Dena directs and manages all aspects of HCP’s infrastructure, including the administration of the Association’s computer hardware, software, computer network and the HCP and CHC websites. She also maintains HCP’s database and manages relationships with external IT vendors.

Dena loves spending time with family, friends and her three dogs, Cassie, Josie and Reggie.  When she’s not relaxing at her camp in the Adirondacks, Dena loves to get away from it all. One of her most recent adventures was island-hopping for 10 days in the Caribbean with friends.

Marissa Crary, Director for Marketing & Education

crary@nyshcp.org
518.463.1118, ext. 824

Marissa is responsible for HCP membership recruitment and retention, development and execution of CHC onsite and webinar programs, planning and support for the HCP Annual Management Conference & Exhibition, and sales of sponsorships and advertising for HCP and CHC. Marissa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the College of St. Rose in Albany, and earned her Masters of Arts in Communication from SUNY Albany in 2017.

As an avid snowboarder, Marissa loves the winter months.  She has snowboarded at several ski resorts all across the Northeast with the OC Ski Club, where she volunteers as their PR Chair.  Marissa also has a seven year old pet rabbit named Buster.

Cora Smith, Associate for Marketing & Education

smith@nyshcp.org
518.463.1118, ext. 825

Cora will assist with marketing for the Association, support membership recruitment and retention, help coordinate the HCP Annual Conference and plan and execute educational programs for HCP affiliate Community Health Care Services Foundation, Inc. (CHC). Cora holds both a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Master of Arts in Communication from the University at Albany.

Cora loves being outdoors. In the summer she enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking, going to the beach, and spending time with her friends and family. In the winter she loves to ski.

Nancy Erdoes, Director of Research & Information

erdoes@nyshcp.org
518.463.1118, ext. 810

Nancy joined HCP in October of 1996 as Manager of Research & Information and in that role, she provided in-depth analysis of industry data, oversight of HCP surveys, data collection and analysis on specific industry topics as well as general membership surveys. In 2006, Nancy retired from her full time position, but she continues to work for HCP on a part time basis, providing data analysis on key issues impacting the industry.

Nancy has three grandchildren who are all outstanding athletes, and she and her husband Rich are their most ardent supporters. They often travel throughout the region to attend their football and baseball games