Judy Willig, LCSW

Judy Willig is a retired nonprofit administrator, aging advocate and community organizer, as well as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. From1986 - 2020, she was the Executive Director of Heights and Hills, leading the agency through more than 30 of growth, guiding it from a small neighborhood grassroots effort to one of the largest and most well-regarded service providers for older adults in Brooklyn, serving close to 5,000 individuals and their families annually.  During her tenure she developed numerous innovative programs and community collaborations including intergenerational programming, corporate partnerships, a first of its kind in NYC Care Transitions partnership with a hospital, a Caregiver Support Program and the modernization of the Park Slope Center for Successful Aging.  

Ms. Willig is a leader within the professional aging and human services communities in New York City. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Project Guardianship, which provides services to the most vulnerable and she serves as a member of the Board of Directors of LiveOn NY (formerly Council of Senior Centers and Services), having chaired their Action Committee addressing advocacy and policy issues for close to a decade.  She was an active member of the Human Services Council, serving on both their Policy & Strategy and Workforce Development Committees.  She was also a member of the Mayor’s Non-Profit Resilience Committee from 2016 - 2020.   Additionally, she was a member of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies Leadership Council on Aging, a member of the steering committee of the NYC Elder Abuse Center, a member of the Adult Protective Services Community Advisory Board and she was a founding member of the New York City Family Caregiver Coalition, the New York City Hoarding Task Force and the Brooklyn Local Aging Network.  She also served for several years as a member of the Community Board 6 Human Services Committee. 

Ms. Willig is a published author and frequent speaker at citywide, state and national conferences on topics related to aging including: Care Transitions, Hoarding and the Elderly, Self-Neglect, Managing an Unmanageable Caseload, Caregiving, Worker Safety, Disaster Planning for the Elderly, Intergenerational Partnerships, and Corporate Partnerships. 

Prior to working in the field of aging, Ms. Willig worked as a social worker at the Lighthouse, providing counseling to those adjusting to vision loss and advocating on their behalf.  Earlier in her career, Judy worked in a Prevention Program, counseling families in order to avoid foster care placement, and in a residential treatment program working with children and teens with severe psychiatric and neurological impairments.

Ms. Willig received her MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work and her BA in psychology from Binghamton University.