BIOGRAPHY - SUSAN L. ADAMS

Dr. Susan L. Adams currently represents the 1st District on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. Born and raised in San Francisco, she attended Lowell High School and nursing school at San Francisco State University. She completed her master's degree in nursing at UCSF as a maternity clinical specialist and a women's health nurse practitioner. Her clinical practice and research focus was child bearing women with a special interest in addiction and recovery during pregnancy and motherhood. She graduated from the doctoral program at UCSF in 1998. Her research and dissertation work investigated the experiences of pregnant women and new mothers who were using crack cocaine. Susan is also a proud mother and grandmother.

As a County Supervisor, she serves on a number of boards and commissions including the Children’s Health Initiative Task Force, the Marin County Disaster Council, the Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health Task Force, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), the Association of (SF) Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the ABAG regional planning committee (RPC) and the state and national associations of counties (CSAC and NACo) serving as Chair on the Medicaid Committee of NACo. She also serves as Director of Emergency Services.

Susan has worked on a number of important issues within the community she serves including:

Community Health and Wellness:

• Improved access to healthcare for all, regardless of family income, through a Health and Wellness Campus. “Any door is the right door” means that Marin County residents can access healthcare and prevention services through any door on the new campus, which is located in the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael.
• Supporting single payer, comprehensive, universal health care.
• Working on many fronts to identify funding sources locally to provide access to healthcare for Marin’s children. Each year more children are enrolled due to her efforts. Her participation on commissions on a state and federal level keep universal healthcare on the front burner.
• Reinvigoration of the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, going from planning into implementation. She has been deeply involved with the work of Marin Project Homeless Connect which are held in different communities throughout the county.
• Development of a mentally ill offender’s court where non-violent mentally ill offenders are diverted into treatment instead of jail. This therapeutic approach to crime has resulted in a 70% reduction in recidivism in this population and a 55% reduction in psychiatric emergency room visits.
• Development of a Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps.
• Creating healthy communities through changes in infrastructure that allows healthier and safer choices for walking and biking
• Development of a nationally recognized Social Host Ordinance.

Environment and Land Use:

• Restoration and improvements in watersheds (Miller Creek and Gallinas Creek).
• Flood protection planning with the community.
• Lobbying state and federal elected representatives for funding to pay for flood control projects including a new pump station; also working with the county and the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a levee study in Santa Venetia.
• Actively involved with parks and open space and community groups for habitat restoration (Santa Venetia marsh and levees, goat grass eradication on ridges in Terra Linda.
• Superimposing sustainable green building practices in developing our communities.
• Promotion of recycling and safe disposition of waste.
• Revision, enhancement and expansion of integrated pest management programs.
• Supporting the institution of the Baylands Corridor in the general plan in order to protect sensitive habitat on the last few remaining marshlands and open spaces along the San Francisco Bay waterfront.
• Proactively addressing operational and environmental issues at the San Rafael Rock Quarry with the owners and the community.

Communication and Community Outreach:

• Provided leadership in the development of the County Government (G) Channel.
• Engagement with neighborhood regarding local concerns, e.g. Marinwood Village, Santa Venetia, Point San Pedro and San Rafael Rock Quarry.
• Monthly email newsletter (available by subscription and archived on the website)

Transportation and Housing:

• Instituting shuttle service in the Santa Venetia, Marinwood, Lucas Valley and Terra Linda communities to fill in the gaps in the local transit system.
• Re-striping roads throughout the district to create safer bicycle and pedestrian pathways including a new Lincoln Hill Class 1 multi-use path. Safe routes to schools and disability accessibility are also a key considerations.
• Undergrounding the utilities along North San Pedro Road.
• Engaging the Marinwood neighborhood in a community based planning process that will bring a mixed use retail/housing “village” to the community in an in-fill location.

Susan has been deeply committed to the concept of Healthy Planet & Healthy People and is working with her community to make it happen. She greatly appreciates the opportunity she has had to make a difference in her community.