NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today named Rebecca Seawright as Chair of the Aging Committee. The standing committee oversees legislation affecting New York's older adults' quality of life and independence. It is also charged with legislative and budgetary oversight of the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) and its programs.

Representing the Upper East Side, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island, Assembly Member Seawright is the first woman to serve her district. She was previously Chair of the People with Disabilities Committee, Chair of the Majority Steering Committee, Secretary of the Majority Conference, and Chair of the Task Force on Women’s Issues.

“Assembly Member Seawright is an exemplary leader and legislator with a passion for constituent services,” said Assembly Speaker Heastie. “I am proud to appoint her as chair of this important committee. With her wealth of experience and wisdom, New York’s older adults will have a formidable and tireless advocate.”

“I am grateful to Speaker Heastie for this incredible opportunity to champion New York’s nearly five million older adults,” said Assembly Member Seawright. “New York has the fourth-largest population nationally of individuals over 60; these older New Yorkers enrich their communities culturally, economically, and socially. I thank the outgoing chair and my friend Assembly Member Ron Kim for his outstanding leadership. I look forward to collaborating with my committee colleagues to further Governor Hochul’s Master Plan for Aging, a comprehensive blueprint for serving older adults.”

Assembly Member Seawright also serves as a Director of the Legislative Women’s Caucus and collaborates with her colleagues as part of the Bipartisan Pro-Choice, Jewish, Environmental, and Gun Reform Legislative Caucuses. As a member of the Ways and Means, Banking, Codes, Higher Education, and Judiciary committees, Assembly Member Seawright represents New York’s 76th Assembly District. Since her election in 2014, she is known as a strong voice for over 140,000 constituents, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding for public schools, senior centers, parks, and non-profits.