Ann Edwards

With 26 years of executive leadership in the public sector, Ann brings a unique perspective to people and organizations. Her primary strength is in cultivating and fostering relationships, having developed, coached, and mentored many government leaders. Strategic planning, organizational culture change, team development, and communications are additional strengths. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, greatly informing her perspective on people and interpersonal dynamics.

Ann excels in collaborative enterprises, having worked in tandem with State and regional leaders to address major issues. She is decisive, with a readiness to use innovative approaches to problem-solving. She demonstrates courage when difficult or unpopular decisions are required and speaks concisely and effectively before diverse groups. One of her greatest talents is hiring the right people; she hired a highly competent and effective executive leadership team.

As the prior County Executive for Sacramento County, she oversaw 13,000 employees and a budget of over $6 billion. Accomplishments as CEO include shifting organizational culture to one focused on doing the right thing, accountability, and supporting people. This included revamping the development review process, making it easier to do business in Sacramento, multiple training curricula to develop rising leaders, and greater transparency in communicating internally and externally. Ann held multiple executive leadership roles in the County. She was Director of Human Assistance, Chief Deputy County Executive for Countywide Services, Health and Human Services Director, and Mental Health Director. She was also Health and Social Services Director in Solano County. Other accomplishments include launching Project RoomKey during the pandemic and shifting the organizational culture at the Department of Human Assistance. While working with Mental Health Services, Ann re-designed mental health service delivery, implemented the Mental Health Services Act, was one of the first in CA to use MHSA to build dedicated units for clients with a mental illness, and oversaw the implementation of a new IT system for tracking and billing mental health services. Additionally, she led the Child Protective Services (CPS) reorganization and improved outcomes in critical areas, re-designed IHHS Services, developed and instituted a Quality Assurance Policy for investigating death, near death, and critical incident cases.

Ann has a bachelor’s in social work and a master’s in counseling from CSU, Sacramento. She completed the Harvard Leadership Program for State and Local Government Executives, and she earned the UC Davis Certificate in Coaching for Life and Work. Ann was the Co-lead for the CalSAWS Executive Steering Committee to develop a 58-county JPA and served as the Chair of the CalWin Board of Directors. In 2020, she was the CWDA President.