March 24, 2026

King County

King County Exec. Girmay Zahilay has appointed Dr. Susan McLaughlin to serve as the director of the King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS). McLaughlin currently serves as the department's acting director.

McLaughlin will lead the department tasked with providing affordable homes for people experiencing homelessness, coordinating publicly funded mental health and substance use disorder treatment, promoting youth mental health, stabilizing immigrant and refugees in the region, supporting residents who have intellectual and developmental disabilities to participate fully in community life, and strengthening the human services workforce.

A licensed clinical psychologist, McLaughlin has more than two decades of experience across clinical care, research and public sector leadership. Her career has focused on improving systems that serve individuals experiencing mental health and substance use challenges, with an emphasis on access, coordination, and outcomes.

McLaughlin previously served as the founding executive director and chief executive officer of HealthierHere, where she led regional efforts to improve health equity through the Accountable Community of Health. She also served as director of the University of Washington Medicine Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview Medical Center, advancing work in clinical innovation, workforce development, and research to strengthen behavioral health systems.