Staff Biography
Alice Kennedy, MSW
SACHS/LIA Program Manager
adkennedy@sdsu.edu
Alice Kennedy is the Program Manager for the Southern Area Consortium of Human Services (SACHS), and the Leaders in Action (LIA) executive leadership development program. SACHS is a county/university partnership, which provides a forum for county human services directors to strategize collectively, plan, and respond to the complexities of public human services, i.e. statewide policies and practices, fiscal planning, social equity, legislative strategy, and staffing/executive development. Alice’s role is to convene, facilitate and guide SACHS and LIA toward established goals and outcomes.
Formerly the Assistant Director of the County of San Diego, Child Welfare Services (CWS), Alice has 30 years as a social welfare practitioner and administrator. She currently serves as a part-time lecturer in the graduate program within the School of Social Work at San Diego State University (SDSU) and also provides independent consultation and training on culture, race, and disproportionality. Alice holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Social Work from San Diego State University (SDSU), with an emphasis in Administration.
During her career in Child Welfare, Alice was appointed as the Ombudsman, Civil Rights Liaison, and Secretary of the San Diego County’s Child Fatality Review Committee. She established an Administrative Case Review (ACR) process to examine operational practices and guide system improvements in high-risk/fatal child abuse cases. She also successfully implemented the Department of Justice (DOJ), Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) Grievance Hearing process, which established an avenue to remove persons wrongfully listed in the CACI.
Having oversight of countywide departmental operations, hiring and staffing, and foster/adoption programs, Alice routinely partnered with the California Dept. of Social Services (CDSS) to implement numerous initiatives affecting families, communities, and the workforce. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alice was the agency lead for the CDSS Children’s Bureau COVID-19 Strike Force and participated in national leadership convenings to support best practices.
Ms. Kennedy’s strategic and solution-focused leadership drives her commitment to equip a new generation of human services leaders, advance racial equity, and strengthen families within their communities.
Learn more about Alice:
When did you join the Academy and what was your initial role?
I joined the Academy on August 2022.
Briefly describe your role and impact within the Academy.
I serve as the Program Manager for Executive Support and Development Programs, SACHS and LIA.
How does your work impact you? How has working at the Academy transformed your career and/or life?
My time with the Academy has just begun, but I look forward to bringing a problem-solving, solution-oriented approach to the work I perform in conjunction with the Academy.
What do you enjoy the most about working at the Academy?
The friendly staff.
What is a fun fact you’d like us to know about you?
I like to swim.