Father Peter Young Award for Community Service
The Father Peter Young Award is granted to a company or individual who has demonstrated a strong commitment to giving back and service to their community. The award is named in honor of the inaugural recipient, Father Peter Young, who has dedicated his life to improving the lives of those the system has left behind.
Congratulations to the 2026 recipient of the Father Peter Young Award for Community Service, Maureen O'Brien
Maureen E. O’Brien is a life-long New Yorker. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.A.) and New York University (M.A.). In 2023 Maureen completed, Women on Boards, Succeeding as a Corporate Director, at Harvard Business School.
In 2018, following a national search, Maureen was appointed the first female President and Chief Executive Officer of New York State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID). NYSID is the designated facilitator of the Preferred Source Program for individuals with disabilities. Maureen manages the execution of over 3,000 state and municipal contracts valuing $380m on behalf of 140 disability service provider member agencies and corporate partners. Annually, more than 5,000 individuals with disabilities are gainfully employed through the program. Maureen combines her private sector experience and inclusion expertise with her desire to provide opportunities and advancement to individuals with disabilities, bringing transformational change to the organization.
After serving as the Director of State Operations to 20th Congressional District Representative and Homeland Security Appropriator John E. Sweeney, Maureen became the Director of Government Affairs for Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI) in 2007. In this capacity she handled the company’s public safety government relations work on large strategic projects. In her tenure at MSI Maureen secured public funding for over $1b in public safety projects.
Maureen’s reputation in the state houses she has called on and among the partners of NYSID is that of an honest broker and trusted advisor with a keen understanding of the political process. Those who work closely with her are witness to her sense of humor, deep network of respectful colleagues and persistence in leaving no stone unturned.
Maureen is a Director at the New York State Enterprise Technology Corporation, M3 Placement and Partnership and Life Plan, CCO NY. She is Vice Chair of the Board of Governors at the Center for Disability Services and a member of the Albany Medical Center Hospital Affairs Committee. Maureen is a partner of the CEO Commission for Disability Employment. She formerly served in leadership positions on the boards of Double H Ranch, Maria College, and Christian Brothers Academy.
Maureen was a recipient of the Andrew Heiskell Community Service Award and on two occasions the quarterly MSI Foundation Volunteerism Award. In 2012, 2013 and 2016, Maureen was inducted in the MSI CEO Circle – recognition of performing in the top 10% of the company. In 2016, she was a recipient of The American Institute for Public Service Foundation Jefferson Award. In 2020, Maureen was recognized by City and State New York as a Socially Responsible 100 Leader making our state better for New Yorkers.
In 2021, she received a Game Changer Award from Special Olympics New York and the Anthony J. Koenig Volunteer Service Award from the Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State. In 2022 she received the Key For Women Achievement Award. In 2023, Maureen was named the non-profit leader of the year by the Capital Region Chamber and in 2025 she was honored by Maria College with the Catherine McCauley award.
Maureen is a member of the Notre Dame Club of Northeastern N.Y., The Notre Dame Monogram Club and The Notre Dame President’s Council. Together Maureen and her husband Dr. Paul F. Vogt have four boys Patrick, Andrew, Christopher and Gabriel.