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Margaret Brodkin

Resume

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Margaret Brodkin,
MS Social Administration (social work)

Nationally recognized children’s
advocate and policy pioneer

Relevant Work Experience
  • Director, New Day for Learning Initiative, an education reform collaboration among the San Francisco Unified School District, City and County of San Francisco, and San Francisco School Alliance, San Francisco, CA – 2009-2012
  • Director, San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF), San Francisco, CA – 2004-2009
  • Director, Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, San Francisco, CA – 1978-2004
  • Social worker with increasing levels of responsibility, including program director positions in child welfare, community centers, and community mental health in San Francisco, CA, Downieville, CA, and Cleveland, Ohio
Major Accomplishments
  • Widely recognized as the creator of the San Francisco Children’s Fund, the nation’s first local dedicated funding stream for children’s services. Led national dissemination
  • Advocacy and public policy work led to San Francisco’s national leadership on childcare, comprehensive youth development opportunities, model health and youth empowerment programs, and local governmental entities designed to promote and oversee children’s services
  • Organized and mobilized a city on behalf of children, creating a lasting, diverse and influential constituency for children, youth and families – considered one of the most powerful children’s movements in the country
  • Transformed San Francisco’s Department of Children, Youth and Their Families into a city hub of innovation, accountability and community engagement – doubled the budget (to $100 million); increased grants from 200 to 400; created 22 new initiatives, such as Anchor Institutions, Rec-Connect and After-School for All; and developed partnerships with 13 city departments
  • Launched San Francisco’s Community School Initiative in 12 schools, which led to the institutionalization of SFUSD as a community school district
Skills
  • High-level knowledge of children’s issues and programs, including childcare, early childhood development, out-of-school time, health, juvenile justice, education, youth employment, family support, violence prevention, and public and private funding streams
  • Inspirational public speaker – popular presenter at conferences throughout the country
  • Excellent policy analyst and writer of public policy documents – author of numerous needs assessments, reports and budget analyses
  • Organizational management and staff development – exceptionally high morale among all staffs supervised – doubled staff productivity at DCYF
  • Group worker and 25 years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Awards
  • Over 30 proclamations and certificates of honor from San Francisco Board of Supervisors, California Legislature, San Francisco Mayor’s Office, and U.S. House of Representatives
  • Honored by over 25 local organizations, including San Francisco Organizing Project, YMCA of San Francisco, San Francisco State University and San Francisco Children’s Council
Publications include:

Every Kid Counts: 31 Ways to Save Our Children, 1993

From Sand Boxes to Ballot Boxes: San Francisco’s Landmark Campaign to Fund Children’s Services, 1994

“Creating a Model Children’s Services Delivery System: Lessons Learned From San Francisco,” a chapter in the upcoming publication Handbook of Community Practice, published by SAGE Publications Inc., editors Marie Weil and Michael Reisch

Education

• B.A., Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio

• Columbia School of Social Work, New York, New York

• M.S. in social administration (social work), Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio