New HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR Appointed In Santa Cruz Co.

From Santa Cruz Co. Admin. Officer: County Administrative Officer Carlos J. Palacios is pleased to announce the appointment of Ellen Timberlake as the new Director of Human Services.

Timberlake has 23 years of experience in County Human Services administration, including 17 as Assistant Director. For the past nine months, Timberlake has served as interim Human Services Director, succeeding Cecilia Espinola.

"Ellen is highly regarded in the community for her leadership, knowledge and experience," Palacios said. "Human Services is one of our largest departments and touches the lives of one in four Santa Cruz County residents. Under Ellen's stewardship, the Department is in good hands." "I am grateful for the trust Carlos has placed in me," Timberlake said. "I look forward to working with him, my leadership team and the Human Services staff as we work together to meet the challenges ahead."

Timberlake has played a leadership role in making Human Services more customer-oriented, and most recently led the effort to overhaul community program funding, resulting in the new CORE Programs funding model. Human Services delivers a range of federal, state and local programs to Santa Cruz County residents, including CalFresh, CalWORKs, Medi-Cal enrollment, and various elder care, foster and family care, employment services and veterans programs.

Timberlake has a Masters degree in education, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Virginia. She previously served as Director of Early Intervention and Prevention Services and as Senior Analyst for Adult, Family & Children's Services. Before that, she spent 10 years in administrative and counseling-related positions at UCSC and Vassar College in New York.

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