Neil Sheehan

Neil Sheehan is Outreach’s Executive Vice President Emeritus. With Outreach since 1982, he was handpicked by President Emeritus and CEO Kathleen Riddle for the role of Chief Operating Officer, a post that he held until 2018. Throughout his tenure as COO, his impact was felt across the agency’s programs, administrative growth and fundraising initiatives, having had oversight during that time for Outreach’s residential programs, Long Island and New York City outpatient services, and Outreach Training Institute (OTI). He also worked closely with the Board of Directors on fundraising initiatives.

Among his accomplishments, Sheehan helped open the agency’s second adolescent residential facility in Brentwood in 1992. The move further expanded Outreach’s adolescent services and solidified the agency’s presence in Long Island. Sheehan also helped guide strategic efforts to develop and expand the Outreach Training Institute and its programs. Over the past 20+ years, the Institute has trained more than 3,000 individuals, bringing quality CASAC courses to prospective and current drug and alcohol treatment professionals.

Sheehan also provided oversight for the development of Outreach’s biggest annual fundraiser – the Metropolitan Luncheon, an effort which he continues to champion in his ‘Emeritus’ role. Well known as Manhattan’s premier luncheon, the event regularly attracts 700-800 attendees from varying industries.

A passionate volunteer for many community nonprofit causes, Sheehan was a longtime participant and Board member for the St. John’s Bread and Life Soup Kitchen as well as a Co-Chair for the Affordable Housing Task Force for the North Brooklyn Waterfront Rezoning. A lifelong resident of Brooklyn, he is Chairperson and Co-Founder of the North Brooklyn Angels, a volunteer-powered non-profit that has been feeding meals to the community since 2017. Sheehan holds a Master of Science in Urban Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Community Organizing from Hunter College.