Barry Walston is a lifelong activist, community servant, and mentor to youth in the Albany community. Barry is emeritus of the Albany Black Child Development Institute who worked on responding to the unique strengths and needs of Black children. The majority of his professional career has been dedicated to working in human services and supporting programs that service populations at risk. Recently, he retired from the New York State Department of Health of thirty years as a public health practitioner. During his tenure he worked in the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute in the Bureau Division of HIV, where he piloted a number of initiatives within the Division of HIV Prevention. Barry is the President of Literacy NY of the Greater Capital Region, and the Grants Chair of the Albany Fund Education. He is a Board Member on the Juvenile Community Accountability Board and a member of the Albany Chapter of the NAACP and serves as their Youth Advisor to the NAACP Youth Council. Previously, he served as the Board President of TASC - Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes and the Interim Director of the Whitney M. Young Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program based in Albany, NY.