Susan Roberts selected as new director of PACT

By Paul Huggins
phuggins@decaturdaily.com · 340-2395

Years before coming to Parents and Children Together, Susan Roberts saw families torn apart and at times felt helpless to undo the lifetime of violent behavior.

That experience will both motivate her and help her feel thankful for her new position directing the organization aimed at preventing family violence before it starts.

Roberts, 43, replaced Tiki Hubbard as PACT director last week. Hubbard resigned in August to become regional coordinator for All Kids, a statewide children’s health insurance program.

“It’s really nice to be in the area of prevention,” she said. “I have been on the other end. I have been in situations for so long where you were the last chance, and in a lot of cases it was almost too late.

“With PACT you get to focus on early learning and help people focus on skills on the front end, so children aren’t abused and neglected and families aren’t torn apart.”

Experience

Roberts has 20 years experience as a family social worker.

She joined PACT five years ago because it brought her work closer to home and family. She and her husband, Jeff, have two children: Katy, 16, and Logan, 7.

Prior to PACT, she worked for Family Options, a family preservation program based in Guntersville that was a last attempt to restore families before the state took custody of children.

She was a supervisor and trained social workers to help families in their homes. For PACT, Roberts was the parenting program manager.

Roberts has a psychology degree from David Lipscomb College and a master’s degree in business administration from Tennessee Tech.

Besides her experience, Roberts listed her “people person” personality as a strength that will help her guide
PACT.

That trait will be especially helpful, she said, in helping PACT deal with its most pressing annual problem: fundraising. The key is to stay in the public eye.

“I think more of my responsibility is to be in the community and let people and corporations know how they can help and there is a big need.”

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