Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to Consider Appointment of Community Development Commission Executive Director

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will consider the appointment of current Department of Health Services (DHS) Director Barbie Robinson to serve as interim Executive Director of the Community Development Commission (CDC) at its upcoming board meeting on January 14, 2020.

Robinson would be replacing the former CDC Executive Director, Geoffrey Ross who resigned on January 9, 2020. If appointed, Robinson will continue her regular duties as DHS Director and lead the work of CDC. 

“The County and our Board of Supervisors is confident in Ms. Robinson’s ability to lead both DHS and the CDC for the current period,” said Board Chair Susan Gorin. “Based on her leadership of DHS, we believe that Ms. Robinson has the management, leadership skills, and integrity to effectively lead the CDC.” 

The Board based its consideration of Robinson to lead the CDC by recognizing how integral housing is to one’s health and how both agencies serve the same community. Ms. Robinson has been instrumental in leading the County’s ACCESS Initiative (Accessing Coordinated Care to Enable Self-Sufficiency). 

This Initiative is designed to help vulnerable populations receive better coordinated care leading to improved and sustainable outcomes for health and well-being, while reducing administrative redundancies across the safety net departments who share this population. The ACCESS Initiative accomplishes this by identifying the most vulnerable residents in the community—those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, behavioral health and substance use issues, ongoing unemployment, and who may also intersect with the criminal justice system. This effort unites the work of the County’s safety net departments which is made up of Health Services, Human Services, Community Development Commission, Probation, District Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff’s Office, Department of Child Support Services, and criminal justice partners.

Robinson has been with the County since 2016 first as Assistant Director of DHS and then appointed by the Board as Director in February 2017. As the Director of Health Services, Robinson supports community efforts to address health disparities. Through her leadership the Department focuses its efforts on community health improvement and health equity that mobilizes community partnerships and resources to focus on key factors that influence health, including health system effectiveness, and ensuring the community has a healthy infrastructure which factors into the social determinants of health.

Robinson brings with her over 27 years of experience in the fields of health care administration, policy, and research. Before DHS, Robinson worked at the Federal level at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for 15 years overseeing the administration of Federal healthcare programs including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Medicare Fee-for-Service program.

“I am honored the Board has considered me to lead the CDC on an interim basis. If approved, I plan to work with the cities and community partners to develop housing solutions that support the housing continuum to meet the needs of our community. To that end, I look forward to working with the dedicated staff of the Commission,” said Robinson.

If the Board of Supervisors votes to approve Robinson for the position, she will begin work immediately.