Susan N. Dreyfus

 Susan N. Dreyfus

Susan N. Dreyfus is president and CEO of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, a strategic action network of social sector organizations that has a national reach in thousands of communities across America.

She is dedicated to advancing equity in society through access and opportunity so all people can reach their fullest potential. She believes in the power of the social sector to be influencers of larger systemic change through its excellence, distinction, innovation, and influence.

Prior to joining the Alliance in 2012, Dreyfus was secretary for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. She was appointed by Gov. Chris Gregoire in May 2009 and approved by the senate. She served as a member of the Governor’s Executive Cabinet. She had responsibility for Medicaid, aging and long-term care, child welfare, behavioral health care, juvenile justice, economic assistance, and other human services.

Before her work in Washington state, Dreyfus served as senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Alliance.

In 1996 she was appointed by the Gov. Tommy G. Thompson Administration in Wisconsin to be the first administrator of the Division of Children and Family Services. Her responsibilities included child welfare, child care quality and licensing, youth development and an array of emergency assistance and other community programs.

Dreyfus is chair of Leadership 18, a coalition of CEOs from the largest and most respected nonprofit organizations in America, and was also the chair of its 2016 Executive Committee. She serves on the governing boards of the American Public Human Services Association, Generations United, the National Human Services Assembly, and the International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers.

She was appointed through the Speaker’s office in the U.S. House of Representatives to serve on the National Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities from 2013-2015.

In 2015, Dreyfus was named to The NonProfit Times’ Power and Influence Top 50 list of nonprofit leaders because she “has become part of the sector’s social change narrative.”

The American Public Human Services Association awarded Dreyfus its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 for her contributions to the field of health and human services in both the public and private sectors.

Dreyfus loves being with her family, including her husband of 39 years, circuit court judge Lee S. Dreyfus, Jr, her adult children, and three grandchildren; with another one expected later in 2017.