AUNY 2024 commencement ceremonies set for June 12

Graduates from the AUNY program have earned master’s degrees in School and Mental Health Counseling and Public Administration or completed Advanced Certification programs in Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling at Alfred University’s satellite campuses in New York City.

Georges H. Leconte, a 2015 graduate of the Alfred University, with a master’s degree in Public Administration from the AUNY program, will be the keynote speaker.

Leconte is chief executive officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem. Over his 30-plus year career in the health care field, he has held several key leadership positions, most recently as the senior associate executive director for the Ancillary Services Division at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, a 545-bed Level I Trauma Center in Queens.  Overseeing a staff of over 600, his division encompassed the Biomedical Engineering, Cardiology, Pathology, Pharmacy, Radiology, Radiation Oncology, and Respiratory Care departments.

He has previously served as the regional director of Elmhurst and Queens Hospitals’ Respiratory Care Services, and as the regional assistant director of Respiratory Therapy at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan. Leconte’s work also extends into education, as he has held appointments as an adjunct instructor and student advisor at New York University, and an advisory board member at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Some of his most notable accomplishments at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst include spearheading the development of an elective cardiac angioplasty program (originally one of only five such programs in New York State) alongside a rapid response team program; securing funding for and implementing a state-of-the-art CT/biplane for neuro-intervention, a CT/simulator for radiotherapy, an MRI suite, an angiography suite, and a 3-D mammography unit.

In addition to his master’s degree from Alfred University, Leconte holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Hunter College. He is a graduate of both the NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Leader Fellowship Program and of the NYC Health + Hospitals Leadership Development Program (at Baruch College), as well as the NYC Leadership Institute.  

Leconte is past president of the New York Regional Chapter of the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE).  He is also a member of the American Association of Respiratory Care, and the Lambda Beta Society (the national honor society for the respiratory care profession).

A licensed Registered Respiratory Therapist, Leconte put his respiratory therapy skills to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, joining clinical staff on the front line to provide care to those affected by the virus.  He also furthered that work through donations of PPE and supplies to organizations like Vin Gopal Civic Association to help combat COVID-19 in India, and the Association Medicale Haitienne A l’Entranger (AMHE) to assist with medical care for the Haiti earthquake victims of 2021.

Mr. Leconte’s professional work and work in the community have earned him various awards and recognition from organizations including the New York State Assembly, NYC Health + Hospitals, and the National Association of Health Services Executives.  He has also received awards from Health Education Action League (HEAL) for Haiti, in recognition of his major contributions to their efforts to provide nursing training and health science education programs in Haiti.