About nine months after the announcement that Phil Crandall, the longtime head of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, would be retiring in early 2016, a replacement has been named. Meet your new DHHS Director Kristin Brinks in press release form below: 

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors today announced the appointment of Kristin Brinks to the position of Director of the Department of Health & Human Services.

Brinks currently serves as the deputy director of Community Services for the El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency. There she oversees 13 programs including the health and human services agency programming at the Community Corrections Center, the In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority, and serves as the Agency’s liaison on homelessness. Brinks was hired by El Dorado County with the primary responsibility of improving the Agency’s reputation with community-based organizations and service providers. During her time there, she has been successful at strengthening relationships with the community and increasing access to services.

Prior to her time with El Dorado she worked with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) as an analyst, manager and then bureau chief. While with CDSS, one of the efforts she worked on was the expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) to county welfare departments and the area agencies on aging in partnership with the State Department of Public Health and the University of California, Davis. The program was aimed at promoting healthy eating and physical activity to low-income California residents.

“I was very impressed by her glowing references,” said Estelle Fennell, Chair of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. “She has accomplished a lot in her time at the state and her short time in El Dorado County, and I look forward to the great things she will help Humboldt County achieve.”

Brinks graduated from the University California Santa Barbara with a major in political science and a minor in history. She is scheduled to begin work with the county in January.

“Stellar service to the community in a fiscally responsible manner is a passion of mine,” Brinks said. “I am very much looking forward to working side-by-side with the dedicated team here in Humboldt County and community partners as a whole, towards the Department’s mission to reduce poverty and connect people and communities to opportunities for health and wellness.”

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