As Executive Deputy Commissioner of Mental Hygiene, Dr. Petit will oversee the Agency’s work to support the wellbeing of all New Yorkers, including mental health services across the lifespan, alcohol and substance use disorders, justice-impacted populations, crisis services, and community-based systems of care.

Dr. Petit is a first-generation American, proudly Latino and bilingual, shaped by two cultures, two languages, and the particular resilience that comes from straddling worlds. As a board-certified Adult, Community, and Public psychiatrist, Dr. Petit has devoted his 30-year-career leading healthcare systems to improve and sustain access to needed supports, services, and treatment. An active voice in national policy and practice transformation, Dr. Petit serves on SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) National Advisory Council, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s Medical Director Institute (MDI), the United Hospital Fund (UHF) Health Policy Forum, and Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) Committee on Technology and Psychiatry. Dr. Petit currently serves as Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, where he teaches an advanced behavioral health policy seminar. Most recently, he served as CEO of Quality Healthcare Solutions and previously as President and CEO for Services for the UnderServed. He also held leadership roles at behavioral health services organizations including as CEO and President of Coordinated Behavioral Care, and Regional Senior Vice President of Beacon Health Options. Earlier in his career, Dr. Petit served as Associate Commissioner at the NYC Health Department from 2004 to 2007 where he oversaw a behavioral health portfolio spanning mental health, substance use, and developmental disability services.

Dr. Petit earned his medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires and completed his psychiatry internship and residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital School of Medicine. Additionally, he completed a public psychiatry fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian-New York State Psychiatric Institute.