Mayor Walsh Appoints Tanya Eastman to Director of Neighborhood Grants

Published on February 02, 2024

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced the appointment of Tanya Eastman to Director of Neighborhood Grants in the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD). Eastman is responsible for providing leadership and strategic oversight of the department’s diverse portfolio of federal, state, and local sector grants aimed at increasing safe, quality affordable housing and advancing neighborhood development goals. She also works to ensure grant strategies and programs align with the City’s priorities for neighborhood and economic development and inclusive growth.

Eastman has over two decades of experience leading programs and building talent, data, and administrative systems in the nonprofit, private, and philanthropic sectors. Prior to joining City government, Eastman served as the Director of Partners for Education and Business (PEB) at The Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY). In this role, she led a team committed to closing the gap between education and the STEM industry by engaging local employers in work-based learning programming for secondary schools across the region.

Prior to MACNY, Eastman worked as the Director of Education and Training at United Way of Northern New York where she was contracted to design and implement a robust training and leadership development program for the regional nonprofit sector. She also spent almost a decade as Director of Operations and Career Services at On Point for College, a community-based organization in Central New York known nationally for breaking down barriers that prevent young, underserved individuals from achieving post-secondary education and career success. Before returning to Syracuse, she started her career and spent over ten years on Wall Street at Merrill Lynch on the Equity Derivatives and Commodities teams.

Eastman received her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Computer Information Systems from Manhattan College, her Master of Business Administration degree in Strategy and Management from Columbia University, and her doctorate in the Ed.D. Program in Executive Leadership at St. John Fisher University. She continues to serve as an adjunct instructor at St. John Fisher University and at Le Moyne College. She is also a course facilitator in eCornell’s Women in Leadership Program.