Susan Brooks Retires as Director and Chair of Human Services
On June 29, 2022, Susan Brooks retired her post as the director and chair of Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education.
Brooks spent more than 35 years dedicated to supporting and improving outcomes for children and families. Early in her career, Brooks served San Mateo County, where she supervised the multidisciplinary team for children’s services and was the founder and executive director of the San Mateo Perinatal Council, a nonprofit community collaborative. She joined UC Davis’s Division of Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) in 1997, where she served as the program director for the Northern Academy for nearly two decades and then as director and chair of UC Davis CPE Human Services.
“It is my honor to announce the official retirement of our colleague, Susan Brooks,” said UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education dean, Susan Catron. “Under her leadership, CPE Human Services achieved statewide and, in some cases, nationwide recognition for a number of key initiatives.”
Brooks and her team were pioneers in the development and implementation of Safety Organized Practice in California. As a strong advocate for Northern California counties and child welfare best practices, Brooks led the implementation of the annual Statewide CQI Conference as well as Research to Practice Conferences for the Northern California region, and she developed collaborative partnerships with several universities and national organizations that provide support for child and family safety and well-being. She was also instrumental in the development of training and support for secondary trauma for child welfare professionals. Brooks’ stalwart efforts, achievements and commitment to supporting positive outcomes for vulnerable children, youth and families have been tremendous, and we greatly appreciate her many years of leadership and service.
“Regarding transition of leadership, current program directors Alison Book and Nancy Hafer will co-lead UC Davis CPE Human Services on an interim basis, reporting directly to Jen Schwedler, associate dean for Academic Affairs,” added Catron. Further decisions about the leadership transition will be announced in the coming weeks.
A big thank you and congratulations to Susan Brooks for her many years of service to UC Davis.