Roderick L. Bremby
Commissioner
Connecticut Department of Social Services
Professional Biography
Roderick L. Bremby was appointed by Governor Dannel P. Malloy as Commissioner of the Department of Social Services (DSS) in March 2011. The Governor’s nomination of Mr. Bremby for a four-year term as head of the $5.7 billion, 1,900-staff health and human services agency was unanimously confirmed by the Connecticut Senate.
Commissioner Bremby joined Connecticut state government after an extensive public-sector career in Kansas and Texas, and academic service at the University of Kansas.
From 2003 to 2010, Commissioner Bremby served as the Secretary (chief executive officer) of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, that state’s combined public health and environmental protection agency. Appointed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius, he led programs dedicated to providing disease surveillance and prevention efforts, bioterrorism planning guidance, local and rural health assistance, health care and environmental information, and statewide health promotional campaigns. In addition, he oversaw the regulation of public and environmental health functions, including child care centers, hospitals and medical facilities, laboratories, food service, establishments, landfills, confined animal feeding operations, and construction and operating permits for all companies with the potential to pollute the environment.
From 2000 to 2003, Commissioner Bremby served an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Kansas, where he also served as Associate Director of the university’s Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development, and coordinated the launch of the Institute for Community Health and Development.
At the municipal government level, Commissioner Bremby was Assistant City Manager of Lawrence, Kansas, from 1990 to 2000, serving as chief operating officer responsible for police, fire and medical, public works, water and sewer, parks and recreation, finance, information systems, airport management, and budget preparation functions. The Commissioner’s municipal experience also includes four years as an Assistant to the City Manager in Fort Worth, Texas.
Commissioner Bremby has contributed volunteer services to many civic endeavors, including service on the Boards of Kansas Action for Children, and the Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency. He co-founded the Lawrence Partnership for Children and Youth, a group fostering community collaboration on behalf of the well-being of children and youth. He is a past President of the Lawrence, Kansas, branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
During his first 16 months at the Connecticut Department of Social Services, Commissioner Bremby has directed initiatives in such areas as health care program restructuring, modernization of technology and business processes for improved client service delivery, and implementation of budget and legislative program changes. The Commissioner has worked with the Governor’s Office and the Office of Policy and Management to target reinvestment in the agency’s staffing and technology infrastructure during a time of record applications and caseloads.
Commissioner Bremby is a member of several executive panels in state government, including the Governor’s Health Care Cabinet, Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange, Health Technology Work Group, Basic Health Plan Work Group, Connecticut Employment and Training Commission, and Interagency Council for Ending the Achievement Gap.
The Commissioner holds a bachelor of arts degree in communication studies and psychology, and a master of public administration degree, both from the University of Kansas.
Awards include the national Sierra Club’s 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award; 2010 Kansas Public Health Association President’s Award; the 2009 Kansas Natural Resource Council Environmental Action Award; and the 2008 Kansas Public Administrator of the Year recognition from that state’s Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration. In early 2011, Mr. Bremby received a citation in his name, the Roderick Bremby Award for Exceptional Courage by a Public Official, from the Breaking the Silence Conference, an environmental public interest organization, in Kansas City, Kansas.
About the Department of Social Services
DSS is state government’s biggest agency in terms of budget – over $5.8 billion in state fiscal year 2013 -- and has nearly 2,000 staff statewide. DSS delivers a wide variety of services to children, families, adults, people with disabilities and the elderly, including health care coverage, child care, child support enforcement, independent living services, energy assistance, food and nutrition aid, and program grants. In the health coverage area alone, the department provides services to nearly 600,000 Connecticut residents of all ages.
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