Esther H. Gillies is a revered leader in social work whose five-decade career spans direct service, program innovation, public policy, research, and professional education. From her earliest days as a child protective services worker in Los Angeles County to shaping statewide protocols for responding to child sexual abuse, her work has helped define best practices in trauma-informed care, multidisciplinary collaboration, and ethical leadership. 

A graduate of Mary Manse College, Toledo, Ohio, and the University of Southern California, Esther brought academic excellence together with lived empathy to create system-wide change. Her distinguished career path included transformational leadership roles as Bureau Chief at LA County’s Department of Children and Family Services, overseeing services for over 50,000 children and 4,200 staff; Executive Director of the Childrens Center of the Antelope Valley, generated up to $1.7 million to meet the ongoing service needs; and Director of the Southern California Training Center for Child Sexual Abuse Treatment and the Family C.A.R.E. Center, consolidating complex services and funding streams to address victim recovery, offender treatment, and trauma prevention.

As Clinical Associate Professor at USC School of Social Work for over a decade, she co-chaired accreditation efforts, taught clinical and policy curricula, and was instrumental in launching the USC pioneer online MSW program. At California State University, Los Angeles, she developed groundbreaking curriculum for multidisciplinary team intervention in child maltreatment cases; training future professionals in coordinated approaches across child protective services, law enforcement, courts, mental health, and healthcare systems. 

Esthers visionary leadership extended far beyond her titles. She designed the Los Angeles County Child Sexual Abuse Program in 1981, expanding services from one program into a network of seven treatment programs serving approximately 600 child victims and their families weekly. She developed more than 250 training programs that served over 10,000 professionals across 48 counties. Her scholarly contributions include published works in seminal handbooks, government guidelines, and academic textbooks, advancing the field's understanding of diagnostic assessments, family systems, and trauma-informed treatment. She provided specialized AB141 training required for mental health professional licensing throughout California and served as expert consultant to numerous agencies statewide and internationally. 

Her deep involvement with community and professional boards demonstrates unwavering commitment to systemic change. She co-founded multiple advisory councils, created the California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (CAPSAC), and modernized the process of capturing information for the California Social Work Hall of Distinction while serving as President of the California Social Welfare Archives. 

Esthers extraordinary contributions have earned widespread recognition including commendations from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, California Legislature, and Lifetime Achievement Award by President Biden; the Governors Victim Services Award; CAPSAC Distinguished Service Award; Professional of the Year from the California Consortium to Prevent Child Abuse; and USC School of Social Works Award for Excellence in Leadership and Creativity. Her legacy continues to shape how institutions respond to child maltreatment through evidence-based, compassionate, and coordinated approaches that center the voices and healing of survivors.