Youngstown native and East High School graduate, Ursel J. McElroy, director of the Ohio Department of Aging, was honored by the Ohio State Alumni Association with its Alumni in Government Distinguished Service Award.

The ceremony was this week at the Ohio Statehouse. The award recognizes Ohio State alumni for careers of exceptional public service to the state. McElroy is among 33 Ohioans to win the award since its inception in 2006.

McElroy was appointed director of the department of aging in January 2019. As director, McElroy represents the interests of older Ohioans, administers the State Plan on Aging and oversees the coordination of long-term services and supports funded by the federal Older Americans Act, Medicaid and other federal, state and local dollars.

McElroy has 30 years of experience in local and state government. During her time at the department of aging, she led the state aging network’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, served as the governor’s appointed chair of state’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Task Force and Nursing Home Quality and Accountability Task Force.

In addition, she has held positions at the Ohio Department of Youth Services, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, where she served as deputy director of education and policy for a decade, managing education, policies, programs and initiatives impacting victims of crime.

Prior to joining the attorney general’s office, McElroy was chair of the Ohio Coalition for Adult Protective Services, a supervisor and investigator for adult protective services and a case manager for a senior services levy program. She planned and hosted Ohio’s first Summit on Aging, the state’s first Elder Abuse Research Symposium and the Elder Financial Exploitation Symposium. She has presented at the White House Conference on Aging and is a recipient of the Ohio Coalition for Adult Protective Services Outstanding Service Award.