Veteran Resources & Support in Albany

Updated: July 2025

Albany is not only the capital of the Empire State but also a vibrant hub of support and resources for those who have served their country in the armed forces. With a deep appreciation for the sacrifices and contributions of veterans, Albany has developed an extensive network of services and assistance programs to help them transition into civilian life, access healthcare, find employment, and more.

Please note: this list is not comprehensive. There are many more resources for Veterans in Albany and across the CapNY. Please reach out to us if you need help finding them.

  • Healthcare Services:

Albany Stratton VA Medical Center
This vital facility serves as a lifeline for veterans in the Albany area. The Samuel S. Stratton VA Medical Center offers comprehensive healthcare services, including primary care, mental health care, and specialized services for veterans. They also provide programs tailored to individuals dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs)
Albany boasts several CBOCs throughout the region, ensuring that veterans have convenient access to primary care, mental health services, and other medical support.

  • Education and Training:

Veterans Education and Training (VET) Programs:
Albany’s colleges and universities actively participate in VET programs. These programs offer veterans educational benefits and support services, such as academic advising, financial aid, and credit for military training and experience. They make it easier for veterans to pursue higher education and transition into civilian careers.

New York State Division of Veterans’ Services:
This state agency assists veterans in accessing education benefits, including the GI Bill. They provide guidance on educational opportunities in the Albany area and assist veterans with the application process.

  • Employment and Career Services:

Veterans Business Outreach Center
Albany provides resources and support for veterans interested in entrepreneurship and starting their own businesses. This center offers training, counseling, and guidance for veteran entrepreneurs, including workshops to help them succeed.

Capital Region Chamber & Center for Economic Growth
These are places that can help with a job search & entrepreneurial resources for veterans.

  • Legal Aid and Housing Support:

New York State Division of Veterans’ Services
Beyond educational benefits, this state agency also offers assistance with legal matters related to veterans’ service, ensuring their rights are protected and providing guidance in the face of legal challenges.

Veterans & Community Housing Coalition
Albany is home to various organizations that offer housing support for veterans. This includes affordable housing options, financial assistance programs, and resources to help veterans find stable housing.

  • Community Support:

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and American Legion Posts
Albany is host to multiple VFW and American Legion posts, providing veterans with a sense of community, camaraderie, and support. These organizations foster a close-knit environment where veterans can share experiences and build lasting connections.

Veterans Outreach Centers
These centers offer a comprehensive range of services, including mental health counseling, employment assistance, housing support, and more. They serve as essential community hubs where veterans can access guidance and find a supportive network.

In Albany, a profound commitment to serving those who have served their country is evident. The extensive network of resources and services, from healthcare and education to employment and housing support, showcases the city’s deep respect and gratitude for its veterans. Albany stands as a shining example of a community that recognizes and honors the sacrifices and contributions of its veterans, ensuring they have the resources they need to lead fulfilling lives after their service.

  • Written by: Gabby Fisher

CapNY Healthcare Professionals Taking the Lead

Updated: July 2025

The Healthcare Cluster lays the foundation for CapNY’s vibrant economy, accounting for one in eight jobs regionwide. Major employers within the cluster include three major hospital systems as well as several health insurance companies.


One of those hospital systems is St. Peter’s Health Partners, a member of Trinity Health.

We had the honor of interviewing our local healthcare heroes and are pleased to highlight just a few individuals leading the way in providing excellent healthcare across CapNY. In this article, you’ll meet the following SPHP employees:

Dr. Vishwala Kasbekar, Physician with Capital Region Family Healthcare, a practice of SPHP
Dr. Sarah Pesek, Breast Surgeon
Dr. Thea Dalfino, Chief Medical Officer of SPHP Acute Care
Dr. Catherine Adams, Chief of Pallative Medicine
Dr. Holly Payne, Pediatrician

  • Meet Dr. Vishwala Kasbekar, Physician with Capital Region Family Healthcare, a practice of SPHP

Where are you from? Where in CapNY do you live now?

I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana but grew up in Monmouth County, New Jersey.  I currently live in the Latham area. I was looking for jobs from Boston to Washington, DC during my job search in preparation from graduating from residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.  I have traveled a lot for school.  I started at the University of Rochester for undergraduate degree and then went to George Washington University Mailman School of Public Health in Washington, DC for my master’s degree; followed by the island of Grenada for medical school at St. George’s University.  At the end of the day, I am an East Coast girl who wanted to stay close to home base in NJ.  CapNY was close to family and allowed me to be close to other major cities like Boston and New York City. 

Describe your role and how you ended up in the field

I was a determined child. Even as a child I knew I wanted to be a physician. I truly believe that if one is afforded the opportunity to succeed and shown how from a young age, they are able to achieve anything on their journey. As I grew up, I made sure that I took every opportunity available to explore this dream, which included going to a career academy high school that was geared towards the medical-sciences, The Academy of Allied Health and Science (AAHS) in Neptune, NJ. I am still involved in my high school by sitting on the AAHS’s Advisory Council.  The intellectual curiosity that began while at AAHS allowed me to succeed in my undergraduate degree at the University of Rochester in Neuroscience, then in my Masters Degree in Public Health in International Health at George Washington University, and finally my medical degree at St. George’s University in Grenada.

I am currently practicing primary care as an Internal Medicine and Pediatrics physician at Capital Region Family Health Care, in Rensselaer, NY. I also work as a Physician Consultant at Siena College Health Services in Loudonville, NY.  I also am involved in a significant amount of administrative work at St. Peter’s Health Partners Medical Associates. 

I serve as the chairwoman of the Primary Care Joint Operating Committee, serve on the Quality and Compliance Committees of the Board, as well as serve as a member of the Board of Directors for St. Peter’s Health Partners Medical Associates.  My other administrative roles are at Innovative Health Alliance of New York (IHANY) as a member of the Governing Board and Chairwoman of the Membership and Network Development Committee.  At SPHPMA I have won awards for Service to the Organization in 2018 and Provider Excellence Award in 2019. 

What do you enjoy most about working for SPHP?

I have worked in healthcare since I was 16 years old, in the back of an Ambulance and I can honestly say the people I work with at my office are some of best people I have worked with in my career.  The camaraderie of my colleagues and staff in my office allows us to get our unending work done in an enjoyable way .  Working with people who understand that there are frustrating parts in our day, but we have to put our patients’ care first.  Also, the key to SPHPMA’s success is that our administrative team is approachable.  They understand and are frank with colleagues that there are some things that we can’t make change due to the way healthcare is right now however, they are always willing to listen and ready, willing, and able to be change agents when needed.

Favorite thing about living and working in CapNY?

The diversity.  Multicultural, socioeconomic, and industrial.  You can be in farm country in some parts and then travel a few miles down the road and be in a small city atmosphere.  This allows for a diversity of people as well, which makes being a physician enjoyable.  The performing arts buff in me loves all the venues from SPAC and the Egg to Proctors and The Capital Reparatory Theatre.  One of the first things I did when I moved here was buy a subscription to Broadway shows at Proctors. 

  • Meet Dr. Sarah Pesek, Breast Surgeon

Where are you from?
I am originally from a small town in Western PA about one hour north of Pittsburgh called Mercer. However, I lived in Burlington, VT for six years for residency and did a one year fellowship in Providence, RI.

Where in CapNY do you live now?
I currently live in Albany in the Helderberg neighborhood. I moved here for the job. I had been in New England for 7 years total before coming here and wanted to stay close to the skiing and hiking that I had come to love in residency in Vermont.

Describe your role. How did you end up in the breast surgery field?
I am a breast surgeon and take care of patients with benign and malignant breast disease. I also work with patients who are at higher risk of breast cancer to help manage their screening and risk. Not all my patients are surgical!

I started in general surgery after I fell in love with surgery during my third year of medical school.  I loved the immediate impact you can have on a patient. Once I was in residency, I was drawn to surgical oncology, specifically breast. I loved the subtle nuances of taking care of individual cancer patients and personalizing the plan for each patient. I also enjoyed the finesse involved in the surgeries and the challenge of leaving the patient with a breast or chest wall that looked good with minimal deformity after their surgery.

I was an awardee for the “40 under 40 in Cancer” presented by the Lynx Group in 2020. I am also a Fellow of the American College of surgeons, inducted in 2020.

What are you future career goals & how do you feel you can make a difference at SPHP?
I want to continue to work on my oncoplastic skills, meaning giving the patient the best cosmetic outcome I can after a breast surgery. I want to make it so people do not feel that they need to ask for a cosmetic closure as something special, but expect it as standard of care treatment.

I work with some pretty amazing people. My partner, my office manager and I came to SPHP all around the same time in 2015 and for a while it was just us. I am amazed at the solid breast surgery program we have built and grown.  My OR team is also amazing and I always look forward to seeing them. The research team in the cancer department has helped immensely in bringing in and running a clinical trial here as part of multisite study for breast cancer localization.

What’s your favorite thing about living and working in CapNY?
I enjoy hiking and became an ADK 46er in 2021. I love my neighborhood in Albany, especially my street. We all became very close during the pandemic and still do a Friday night wave/happy hour out on the sidewalk each week. Halloween on my street is also amazing. I got 400 trick or treaters last year! As to Albany in general, I like that it is a city that feels like a small community. It feels like everyone is connected in a good way.

  • Meet Dr. Sarah Pesek, Breast Surgeon

Where are you from? Where in CapNY do you live now?

CapNY native! I grew up in Clifton Park and currently live in North Greenbush.

How did you end up in this role?

It was a long road to become the Chief Medical Officer of St. Peter’s Health Partners Acute Care Hospitals. After graduating from Shenendehowa High School, I majored in Biology at SUNY Geneseo then went on to complete medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. I met and married my husband while in medical school. He matched in neurosurgery at Albany Medical Center and I matched there in Internal Medicine. After completing residency I worked as a Hospitalist Physician at St. Peter’s before being promoted to the hospital’s first ever Chief of Hospital Medicine.

Over the next 13 years, the program grew from 10 providers to over 150 across 3 hospitals at its peak. I loved being able to split my time between the clinical practice of seeing patients in the hospital and running the hospitalist program, leading initiatives to improve the care of patients in the hospital, and learning about the business of medicine. In 2019 I graduated from Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College, with Master of Medical Management in 2019 and in 2021 became the first female Chief Medical Officer at St. Peter’s Health Partners.

Other rewards and recognitions include a 40 Under 40 from the Albany Business Review in 2011 and a Professional Achievement Award in 2012 from the SUNY Geneseo Foundation.

What’s challenging and what’s rewarding about your work?

Nothing is easy in healthcare right now. Colleagues who have worked for decades as physicians and nurses tell me they’ve never seen anything like it. What’s challenging is providing the highest quality care in the midst of a labor shortage. On a personal level, keeping up with the multitude of demands and projects is a daunting task.

There’s nothing quite as rewarding as making the right diagnosis or connecting with a patient or family and helping them through a difficult time. I don’t get to do frontline patient care as often as I’d like, but know that the work we’re doing with other leaders in the organization helps to improve care for the patients in CapNY. I love leading projects to create a safer, more efficient and compassionate work environment for our colleagues. The people are the most rewarding part of the job; I have the opportunity to work with some incredibly skilled leaders, physicians and nurses and learn from them every day.

What do you enjoy most about working for SPHP?

What I enjoy most about working for SPHP is the culture. Having been at numerous other hospitals throughout my training and career, I enjoy the compassionate, caring environment at SPHP. People not only care about patients, they care about each other.

What’s your favorite part about living and working in CapNY?

This is a tough question because there are a lot of things I love about the region. In the summer I love the close proximity to Lake George where we can go to our family’s house on the lake. In the winter I love the countless ski resorts near Albany. On a day to day basis I love that my children are receiving the same outstanding public school education that I received, that I don’t have any traffic on my daily commute and that I can live on 10 acres in the country and still make it to work in less than 20 minutes.

  • Dr. Catherine Adams, Chief of Pallative Medicine

Where are you from? Where in CapNY do you live now?

I am originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia and then did my medical school and residency training in Connecticut. Currently I am living in the hamlet of Slingerlands in Bethlehem. I wanted to settle down in an area with growth and leadership opportunities for me professionally as well as great schools for my son. I appreciate the variety of family events and activities available in Bethlehem as well as the short commute to work.

What are you future career goals & how do you feel you can make a different at SPHP?

While expanding palliative care services within St. Peter’s, Samaritan and Ellis hospitals, within the last year we have also developed a home-based palliative care program. It has been rewarding to be able to provide palliative care services to patients both earlier in their illness and in the comfort of their own homes. Both locally and nationally within the Trinity Health System, I am working on plans to expand the availability of this service.

What do you enjoy most about working for SPHP and living in CapNY?

I enjoy the family feel of working in a small community hospital while also having the opportunity to collaborate with palliative care leaders that are part of our larger Trinity Health system across the country. I also feel very fortunate that our Chief Clinical Officer Steve Hanks as well as the greater Trinity Health leadership understand and value the importance of palliative care.

My favorite thing about living in this region is access to the wide range of outdoor activities that help me make the most of my time away from work. From camping in the Adirondacks to fishing on Lake George, there are weekend activities within driving distance that I can enjoy with my family in all seasons.

  • Dr. Holly Payne, Pediatrician

Where are you from? Where in CapNY do you live now?

I’m originally from Cary, NC but my family and I are coming to New York from Kentucky, where we lived for six and a half years. We currently live in Clifton Park with our two young children.  I targeted the Northeast for a variety of factors, including culture and climate, and eventually narrowed my search down to New York state. When I saw this position available the area seemed like a great fit! There’s so much natural beauty here plus plenty of opportunities for my family.

Describe your role & how you ended up in pediatrics

I got into this kind of work because I enjoy helping families grow and watching children develop as individuals. There are a lot of challenges though, both general to any child and specific to some children, and that’s where families need a pediatrician to come alongside them and provide some assistance. I’ve found it’s better to teach healthy habits and lifestyles at a young age so children can keep those skills with them as they grow.  

People come from different backgrounds and experiences. There’s no one right answer for every child or every family, and that can be challenging to work through. Kids go through so many phases, not all of them easy! Helping to navigate through those difficult times and making a difference in their lives is rewarding.

What do you enjoy most about working for SPHP and living in CapNY?

There’s a wide network of specialists and referral options to make sure my patients are receiving the best and most appropriate care, hospital management has been respectful and collaborative, and I know I can rely on my partner in the practice. I feel like our patients are in good hands! As for CapNY, the parks! We have two energetic boys and having so many great options for outdoor play has been wonderful.

  • Written by: Gabby Fisher

Thriving in CapNY: Women in Digital Gaming

Updated: July 2025

CapNY offers a level up for those looking to break into the gaming space. Jobs in game design, character development, software, and so much more are plentiful with 24 studios (7 large, 17 indie) calling the region home.

An Industry BOOMING

Many have produced games of our childhoods such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater as well as present day digital escapes like Cooking Mama. At present, CapNY is home for more than 500 employees in the gaming industry from large, developed studios like Blizzard Entertainment to smaller, indie studios like Clockwork Games & Events.

The education needed for many of these roles can be earned at one of several CapNY schools. Specifically, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute –ranked 7th Best Undergraduate Game Design Program by U.S. News & World Report– offers up to a Ph.D in critical game design, among many other programs. The University at Albany launched a video game design program in 2021, shortly following the launch of its increasingly popular eSports program launched in 2019. 

We caught up with five women who are making their mark in the CapNY digital gaming world to discuss their paths, favorite CapNY spots, and what they love about working in the gaming field. From the moment an idea for the game gets going to the time it’s launched in stores, there are so many moving parts and years of expertise that go into every game out there. These ladies shared more about what they do as well as what advice they have to others looking to break into the industry.

Millie Harris, Technical and VFX Artist at Aestronauts and RPI student

Hometown: Barrington, RI
Currently Lives In: Troy
Favorite CapNY activity: Troy Waterfront Farmers Market

Harris has always loved gaming and art. She wondered, when it was time to start looking at colleges, if it might be possible to pursue both. She found RPI and then saw it was.

“I met all the people here. I knew that this was definitely the right fit for me and they have a really, really amazing game development program as well,” she said.

As part of her studies, she and several other students got to work on Aestronauts, now a small game development studio, through the STEAM garden program. Since it’s a small shop, she has to pitch in everywhere but her focus is digital sculpting, which uses software to push, pinch, shape a digital object to its desired look. Talk about a perfect match of technology and art!

“I take those sculpted models and I get them game ready, and then I create rigs for them so that our animator can bring the characters to life,” she said. “I feel like I can kind of touch on a bunch of different aspects of development and not just stick in one pillar or another, I can kind of reach into the art world a little bit and also like the technical programming world which is my favorite thing about being a technical artist.”

The gaming world is still a male-dominated industry; Harris notes she is often one of a few women in her classes. But, finding those other female classmates and creating a supportive environment has been incredible, she says.

Kathryn Ruiz, Founder, Lead Artist, Designer, Director and Producer of Eco Resilience Games and RPI Associate Professor

Currently lives in Glenmont, NY; studio in the Catskills
Favorite CapNY activity: Hiking, biking along the water–particularly the Hudson

Eco Resilience Games combines science, technology, and art to raise awareness about the condition and health of our water supply through immersive worlds to raise awareness for how to protect our real world. 

Ruiz worked on some of the first virtual reality programs in the 90s and it started her on a path to become a game creator and educator.

“I saw that I could express what I wanted to express through virtual, audio, and spatial ways using virtual reality. And gaming then began picking up speed and began commenting on our culture and I was hooked.”

Now, she teaches several courses in RPI’s Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences program and encourages her students to create games that contribute to the greater good and perhaps shy away from often violent or graphic games. She does this in a course called Games & Guts which challenges her students to create games outside of the gore realm. 

Just like her most recent launch, Algae Bloom Dynamics, a game focused on the magnitude Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) have in freshwater around the world. The game enables users to experience a clear-water lake that begins to have inputs of phosphorus from human activities. As this continues, underwater clarity will decline as the non-harmful algae begin to make the water green. The user must then make a plan to restore the water quality.

“We use our technology and design to show people what can happen to our world,” she said.

Steph Relyea, Producer, Blizzard Entertainment

Hometown: Plattsburgh, NY
Currently lives: Troy
Favorite CapNY activity – Whitewater rafting in the North Country, more locally – exploring downtown Troy

Relyea has always enjoyed gaming, but it was a spur-of-the-moment decision that started her journey to working behind-the scenes. She spotted an opening for a QA test at then-Vicarious Visions (now Blizzard Entertainment) and she went for it. It was a great learning experience, she said. In that role, she tested the games for function and overall experience.

After leaving the industry for a few years, she returned as a tools tester which helped her become a specialist in the software. Through the studio’s mentorship program and combined with her years of experience in the service industry, production seemed like a great fit.

“I have learned so much, I have challenged myself so much along the way, I love to learn and overcome new things,” she said. “As hard as it is, putting yourself out there is the key. All it takes is one person to give you a chance and it can change your whole path.” 

Day-to-day, she helps manage the teams and people that create games like Tony Hawk Proskater, Diablo IV, and Destiny. In a way, things have come around again now she’s mentoring those who were in her shoes at the start of her gaming career. Production roles can be a lot of juggling many moving parts and a key piece of success is making sure you don’t take on too much, she said. 

“If I can’t take something on and complete it without being stretched thin, I’m not going to do it. But that was one of the hardest things to learn, saying no when you’re at your max,” she said.

Adrienne Lange, 3D Character Artist, Blizzard Entertainment

Home state: Connecticut 
Currently lives: Colonie
Favorite CapNY activity – Indoor rock climbing and the Troy or Colonie Farmers Market

Lange was always an art lover but initially pursued a career as a behavioral therapist. Eventually, she felt a pull to pursue a more creative job. She taught herself the nuance of game design and technique to build on her natural artistic ability. 

“I did online courses, YouTube, and built up my portfolio,” she said. She then began applying to game design jobs and landed at Blizzard Entertainment. 

Now, she creates the monsters, animals, creatures, and people that are a core piece of a game. She has to make sure they look how they should before they move on to animators to start moving. 

“There is a lot of collaboration and working together so you have to enjoy those things in addition to being a creative person,” she said. “But yes, it is very, very exciting to see something you’ve created walking around and talking in a virtual setting. Exciting not only personally, but because it often represents a lot of people’s work.”

Being the creative mind behind many characters, including some in Diablo II, is a particularly rewarding career highlight for Lange. “I grew up watching my dad and eventually playing Diablo myself,” she said. “For me to be working on another game in the series is a truly full circle moment.”

Muse en Lystrala, Executive Director/Lead Composer Queenship Game Studio

Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island
Favorite CapNY based activity: I love hiking in the Catskills and High Peaks and getting burgers or garbage plates after!

As Queenship’s founder and a small company owner, she wears a lot of hats. As lead composer, she composes and records all the musical and sound assets for Queenship’s games. Juggling all these things –even with help- sounds exhausting, but she makes sure her employees take care of themselves. It’s perfectly on brand too, as Queenship’s games focus on mental health and management.

“I love that each day is different. One day I may be working on marketing tasks, the next composing music, the next writing narrative,” she said. “And as a person who suffers from chronic illness, I am very much a fan of the “work smart, not hard” school of thought, and doing this permits me to do just that.”

Coupling her love of music and gaming became a viable career option while she was studying at SUNY Schenectady. She started a chamber ensemble called Geek Musica, a classical group that performs video game and film music. A couple of years in, she started doing game jams at the Tech Valley Game Space. 

“After a year and a half or so of digging into the guts of game development, I realized that I had a good set of skills to either work in game development or to start my own company,” she said. Queenship was accepted to RPI’s Level Upstate accelerator program in summer of 2019, when the company also got its first investment and they have launched two games, and a third is very close!

Starting her own company means she’s not only the lead creative person but the human resources department, marketing, finance, and so much more. She has learned every aspect of what goes into a game as well as valuable workplace lessons.

“The best advice I can offer other women/femmes/femme-presenting people is this: prepare to be on your own, at least for awhile. It’s harsh, but it’s true. Seek out and befriend other women/femmes/femme-presenting people in games to learn from, to be mentored by, and to assist when you’ve started doing well. Develop new and existing skills by reading, watching YouTube tutorials, or investing in continuing education at your university or via an online platform like Coursera.

You’ll need to know a lot, and you won’t always be able to count on the big players to give you the information you need or want. Join Discord servers that aim to promote marginalized people, like Game Dev Galaxy or POC in Play. You’ll find people who have struggled to get to where you want to go and want to help you succeed.”

  • Written by: Lauren Mineau