Suzanne Dworak-Peck, MSW ’67, a renowned social work practitioner, has been appointed the newest member of the USC School of Social Work Board of Councilors. As part of the advisory board, she will work alongside other professional, academic and community leaders toward the advancement of the school’s mission.

“The school has extraordinary leadership and has built such a marvelous program for our clients, our profession and our society. I would like to help further its goals,” she said. “I think that USC is one of the finest schools in the country, so it’s very easy to give back and to want others to experience what I have experienced.”

Dworak-Peck, who received both her bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degree in social work from USC, had always wanted a career that involved working with people. But it was a chance field trip to the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, then called USC County Hospital, that put her on the path toward social welfare work.

“There I had an opportunity to see a trained professional social worker in action, doing the kinds of things that I had hoped I could do,” she recalled. “When we arrived [back] on campus, I jumped off the bus and ran to the School of Social Work.”

Over her decades-long career, Dworak-Peck has established herself as a leader in the field. She served as president of the National Association of Social Workers as well as its California chapter. During her tenure, she is credited with strengthening NASW’s role in international social work, particularly its relationship with the International Federation of Social Workers, an organization representing social workers in more than 100 countries. She also served as president of the organization and is currently its first, and only, lifetime ambassador.

Dworak-Peck founded NASW Communications Network, Inc., which provided the media and entertainment industries with centralized information and resources for social issues and recognized outstanding portrayals of social workers.

Dworak-Peck also sits on the board of the California Social Welfare Archives (CSWA), which conducts its activities under the auspices of the School of Social Work, with its collections housed in the university library’s Department of Special Collections located in Doheny Memorial Library. Established in 1979, it maintains one of the most extensive and complete collections of California social welfare history.

“CSWA preserves the California history of our profession. I recognize that if we don’t preserve our history, it simply will be lost. It will be lost for many: future students, for teaching, the profession itself, the public’s understanding of what we do, and also understanding of clients’ needs and services they require.

“This is how we learn — from leaders in the profession,” she continued. “If we don’t understand about the leaders’ past, present and their vision, we are really less equipped and much less able to build if we don’t have and utilize this historical data.”

Among her many honors are being named Social Work Pioneer by NASW and Social Worker of the Year by the NASW-California Chapter, as well as receiving the NASW Foundation’s first International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award for advancing the public image of social work and the George D. Nickel Award for Outstanding Professional Services by a Social Worker from CSWA.