Abbey Kos

Deputy Chief Customer Experience Officer

Abbey Kos was appointed Deputy Chief Customer Experience Officer by Governor Kathy Hochul in March 2025. A trained user researcher and content strategist, she has more than 15 years of experience leading digital transformations for federal, state, and local governments across the United States and the United Kingdom.

Abbey joins the Executive Chamber from Amazon Web Services, where she managed Amazon’s digital experience portfolio for state and local governments nationwide. Prior to that she served as Director of Strategy at 18F, the White House’s “gold standard” of government transformation. While at 18F, she founded the agency’s service design team and led content for the first government-wide response to COVID-19.

Before her work in and for the state of New York, Abbey spent five years in London leading content for FutureGov (a transformation agency dedicated to improving local government social services) and Doteveryone (a responsible technology think tank led by Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho), as well as 10 years leading public affairs campaigns in Washington, DC. She is a frequent university guest lecturer, including at Harvard Kennedy School and the University of Michigan, and previously served on the board of Technologists for the Public Good.

Abbey holds degrees from Hiram College in Ohio and the London School of Economics and Political Science. She lives in Brooklyn.

Samantha Slusher

Empire State Fellow

Samantha K. Slusher (she/her/hers) is an Empire State Fellow serving in the Office of Customer Experience within the Executive Chamber. In this role, she is dedicated to refining and enhancing services to better meet the needs of all New Yorkers.

Prior to entering state service, Samantha served as the Director of the Equity in Infrastructure Project, where she engaged with efforts to promote economic opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses and communities. With a background in marketing and communications, she brings a wealth of expertise to her current position. Her career is distinguished by her advocacy with a diverse range of organizations, including non-profits, labor unions, employee associations, and private entities.

Samantha holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary and a master’s degree from Columbia University. She is from Long Island and currently resides in Albany.