Former Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley will speak to public safety leaders during the 2026 POST Organizational Wellness Conference in San Francisco, where the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training will highlight the statewide first responder wellness initiative named in her honor.

The Joyce E. Dudley Organizational Wellness Initiative provides training, guidelines and resources to help California law enforcement agencies support officers, dispatchers and professional staff before, during and after the demands of public safety work.

Dudley began pressing for stronger statewide wellness support after the 2018 Montecito debris flow, when her son, Santa Barbara County firefighter Sam Dudley, responded to the disaster and later sought counseling to process what he had witnessed.

His experience led Dudley to consider the many first responders who may suffer in silence or lack consistent access to support.

“Once I became aware of the extent of the problem and the possible solutions, I couldn’t let it go,” Dudley said. “It wasn’t about him anymore. It was about all the other first responders who work in the fields now or will work in those fields in the future.”

POST Commission Chair Geoff Long proposed naming the initiative for Dudley, crediting her with initiating and sustaining the effort. The commission approved the motion by unanimous consent.

Dudley’s keynote address will be at 8 a.m. Sept. 29. For more, visit https://www.eventcreate.com/e/2026-post-wellness-conference.

Dudley served in the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office for more than three decades, including 12 years as the county’s elected district attorney. She also served on the California POST Commission, including as chair.