BUSSW, BC School of Social Work, and NASW-MA Celebrate Marylou Sudders (’78), Massachusetts’ New Secretary of Health and Human Services

“We are delighted to have her intelligence, knowledge, practicality, and strong leadership in this area of extreme importance in the Commonwealth,” Dean Gail Steketee told an audience of approximately 200 on Tuesday, March 24, as she kicked off an afternoon celebration in honor of Marylou Sudders (’78), Governor Baker’s new Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The event was co-hosted by BUSSW, BC School of Social Work, and NASW-MA and brought together social workers from all across New England to celebrate a leader in the field. The reception took place at the Massachusetts State House Flag Hall.

Governor Charles Baker, State Senator of Massachusetts Karen E. Spilka, BC School of Social Work Dean Alberto Godenzi, Executive Director of NASW, Massachusetts Chapter Carol J. Trust, NASW, and Chief Executive Officer of NASW Angelo McClain also spoke to Sudders’ lifetime dedication to public service.

Dean Steketee said Sudders’ appointment is a timely one. “Our own school is about to launch its Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health. We are particularly interested in drawing together experts in health throughout the [Boston] area as well as the nation. I am hopeful that Marylou will contribute some of her expertise as its needed in the future.”

Governor Baker told the audience he “couldn’t imagine picking anyone else” for the position. Sudders is charged with overseeing the largest executive agency in state government and a $19.4 billion budget. “She’s born for this job. And if she wasn’t born for it, she made herself the right person for this job over the course of her career.”

“One of the things I admire most about social workers is their ability to solve really complicated problems that present themselves almost on a daily basis,” Governor Baker said. “That’s one of the things I love most about Marylou… she’s a spectacular problem solver.”

Sudders earned her MSW at Boston University School of Social Work in 1978. In 2012, Sudders was appointed to the state’s Health Policy Commission for her behavioral health expertise. She has also served as Chair of Health and Mental Health at Boston College School of Social Work, where she will continue to serve as a visiting professor.

“If somebody had said to me in 1976 when I entered the School of Social Work that I might be a public official, a Commissioner of Mental Health, and a cabinet Secretary for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, I would have said ‘I don’t think so,’” Sudders said. “But what I’ve always said to students is the thing about social work is it opens any door that you want to run through, it is our inhibitions that prevent us from running through those doors. There is no greater education than a social work education to open up a wealth of opportunities for us. I would expect in ten years that there shouldn’t just be a one Marylou Sudders, but we should be populating as cabinet secretaries all across the country.”