For this special Legends Edition of Feature Friday, we are proud to spotlight a pioneer whose leadership, vision, and unwavering dedication helped shape the New York State Association of Personnel and Civil Service Officers into the thriving organization it is today — Alan Schneider.

Alan’s impact on the Association is woven into its very foundation. When he first began attending conferences, he was stunned to find fewer than 20 members gathered each year for a one-day meeting at the Hotel Syracuse. The agenda barely changed, the speakers rarely varied, and attendance from across the state was nearly nonexistent. Rather than accept the status quo, Alan decided to help redefine what the Association could be.

As First Vice President — and later as President — he championed sweeping improvements that transformed the conference experience. He worked with the New York State Department of Civil Service to convert the event into a full training program, expanded it into the multi-day format we know today, and moved it to rotating resort locations to draw broader participation. He personally recruited county and city civil service administrators statewide, encouraging them not only to attend but to bring their staff as well. Attendance skyrocketed from under 20 to 75, then 95, then 125. And when the Association later held its conference at the Sagamore Hotel at exceptional rates, attendance surpassed 200 — a milestone built on the foundation Alan helped create.

It’s no surprise that even in retirement, one of the things Alan misses most is the Association itself — the conferences, the camaraderie, the daily problem-solving, and the opportunities to support personnel officers from every corner of the state. The association ultimately renamed the scholarship to the conference in Alan’s name to honor his dedication and passion he put into every event.

Alan served as the Personnel Officer for Suffolk County for 36 years (1983–2019), working under six County Executives from both parties. His career began earlier as the Personnel Director for the Town of Islip and as a Wage and Salary Analyst for the Nassau County Civil Service Commission. He holds a Bachelors in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Relations.

Since retiring — “not of his own volition,” he jokes — Alan has remained deeply engaged in public sector personnel work, consulting with towns, villages, libraries, fire districts, unions, and law firms. One highlight: assisting the Town of Babylon in establishing its own Civil Service Department, the first town to do so since Colonie in 1975.

Alan continues to work as a consultant specializing in civil service, personnel, and labor relations. His expertise remains in high demand, and he enjoys staying connected to the practical challenges and unique issues that arise in the field.

While his consulting work keeps him busy, Alan dedicates nearly all of his free time to one thing that matters most: his grandchildren. Whether it’s baseball, softball, soccer, or hockey, you’ll find him in the stands. Outside of family life, he enjoys basketball and baseball — sports he played in college — and remains an avid hockey and European soccer fan.

Alan considers his greatest professional achievement the transformation of the Association’s conference program. His innovations — expanding the conference, professionalizing training, recruiting new members, and broadening participation to include city administrators — fundamentally changed NYSAPCSO’s trajectory.

“These changes began the growth of the Association for the many wonderful people who continued that throughout all these years,” he says. “That is what I miss most — even more than the job I held.”

Alan attributes his success to one key asset: deep, accumulated knowledge and the ability to apply it to the daily, complex problems that civil service work presents. That practical problem-solving mindset is something he continues to leverage as a consultant today.

Alan’s guidance is simple and timeless:

• Learn something new every day.
• Solve problems — never cause them.
• Be the best employee you can be.
• If you become a supervisor, treat your employees how you would want your children to be treated: with kindness, respect, and dignity. Loyalty and hard work follow naturally — with only a rare exception or two.

If Alan could change one thing in the civil service world, it would be to modernize the Rule of Three. He advocates shifting to a Rule of Ten for open-competitive lists, allowing appointing authorities more flexibility to select the strongest possible candidates. Only three states still use such a restrictive rule — a fact he believes no longer serves the needs of today’s workforce.

Alan Schneider is more than a former Personnel Officer or Association President — he is a builder of community, a driver of progress, and a mentor whose ideas shaped a generation of civil service professionals. His legacy lives on every time our members gather for training, connect with colleagues across the state, or participate in the vibrant, growing Association he helped envision.

Thank you, Alan, for your leadership, your passion, and the foundation you helped create for all of us!

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