Susan N. Dreyfus, the daughter-in-law of the late Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus, has been named the head of the Department of Social and Health Services for the state of Washington.
Gov. Chris Gregoire made the appointment. Dreyfus is currently executive vice president for strategy with Rogers Behavorial Health System Inc., and is a former senior vice president and chief operating officer of the National Alliance for Children and Families and Families International.
'Susan brings an outstanding record of accomplishment, particularly in the areas of child welfare and mental health services,' Gregoire said in a statement.
The agency Dreyfus is taking over is Washington state's largest agency, with more than 19,000 employees and a combined state and federal two-year budget of nearly $20 billion.
Dreyfus, 51, is a former administrator of the state Division of Children and Family Services within the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. She also served on the Wisconsin State Legislative Council on Adoptions.
Dreyfus is also a member of the Miller Park stadium district board.
She is married to Waukesha County Circuit Judge Lee Sherman Dreyfus Jr. Judge Dreyfus is the son of former Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus.
At a recent news conference, Susan Dreyfus said her husband supported her move to Washington state and that they would be 'living apart for some time.'