Dr. Colleen Friend is a courageous educator, practitioner, and thought leader whose four-decade career has redefined child protection, family violence prevention, and trauma-informed education across California and beyond. As a licensed clinical social worker since 1986, her comprehensive service spans frontline investigation, academic leadership, and statewide workforce development—all guided by unwavering ethical clarity and fierce advocacy for vulnerable children and families. As Interim Director of the School of Social Work at California State University, Los Angeles, and long- standing Director of the Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute, Dr. Friend advanced trauma- integrated curriculum, interdisciplinary collaboration, and specialized training in abuse prevention. She previously served as Professor in CSULA’s Department of Communication Disorders, leading the design and instruction of a child abuse-focused certificate program awarded to more than 700 students. Her collaborative leadership guided the Social Work School through The Council on Social Work Education’s re-certification, and her 2021 entry into the Faculty Early Retirement Program, was honored with Emeriti status. 

Dr. Friends practice leadership includes directing two major child advocacy centers: the Los Angeles County Child Sexual Abuse Crisis Center and Stuart House, where she expertly coordinated multidisciplinary forensic interviewing, child welfare investigations, and the ongoing training of the multidisciplinary team. At UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, she served as The California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) Coordinator for over a decade, facilitating federal training grants from The US Department of Health and Human Services and strengthening critical intersections between child welfare and domestic violence policy. 

She has trained more than 3,000 child protective workers and supervisors through her extensive partnerships with the Inter-University Consortium and University Consortium for Children and Families, now known as the LADCFS+UCLA Academy for Workforce Excellence. Her innovative workshops on intimate partner violence, domestic violence, parenting strategies, and interviewing techniques continue shaping the professional skills of frontline child welfare workers statewide. Dr. Friend's scholarly contributions include over 30 academic publications, guest co-editorship of Journal of Interpersonal Violences special child sexual abuse edition, articles in The APSAC Advisor and Chronicle of Social Change, and national presentations at APSAC, IVAT, CSWE, and the Academy on Violence and Abuse. She has served on editorial boards for Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, and The APSAC Advisor. 

Her professional affiliations include CAPSAC and APSAC as Board Member and Advisor, Council on Social Work Education, NASW California Chapter, American Academy on Violence and Abuse, and The ACES Health Champions Planning Team. She has served with distinction as Chairperson and Co-Chair of the California Social Work Hall of Distinction and Board Member of California Social Welfare Archives. Her prestigious awards include the President’s Award for Distinguished Leadership from the California Social Welfare Archives, Outstanding Professional Award from APSAC, UCLA honors for Innovative Teaching and Excellence in Administration, Contribution to Recruitment of African American Students, Telly Award for co-producing Heart of Intimate Abuse: A Companion Video, and The Mandel Leadership Fellowship from Case Western Reserve University. 

Dr. Friends distinguished career embodies social works highest ideals: combining rigorous academic scholarship with practical application, passionate advocacy with transformative education, and innovative approaches with sustainable results. Her enduring legacy continues guiding the profession in truth-telling, trauma-informed care, and protection of children and families.