Suzanne Dworak-Peck

MSW ‘67

Suzanne Dworak-Peck has spent her career as a social work practitioner working with vulnerable and traditionally excluded populations. From reuniting foster children with their families, to unifying mental health organizations, to fighting for global human rights and social justice, she is a significant force in the field of social work. She has lobbied Congress, influenced international social policy, presented at the United Nations, negotiated business deals and shaped a primetime television show.

Dworak-Peck served as president of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) from 1986 to 1989, and during that time founded the NASW Communications Network, Inc. (NCN) which provides the media and entertainment industries with a centralized information and resource outlet for social issues, nationally and internationally. She is a past-president of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), which represents more than 500,000 social workers in over 80 countries around the world, and is IFSW’s first and only honorary ambassador. As president and founding member of the California Coalition for Mental Health, Dworak-Peck represented more than 30 mental health organizations, and served as president twice for the California Council of Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work and Nursing, representing more than 40,000 mental health professionals. She chaired the California Board of Behavioral Sciences which regulates the legal practice of over 40,000 licensees in clinical social work, educational psychology, and marriage, family and child counseling.

Among her many distinguished honors is the International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award from the NASW for advancing the public image of social work, 1993; the Alumni Merit Award from the University of Southern California, 2016; and the Andrew Mouravieff-Apostol Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the IFSW for outstanding contribution to international social work, 2016.