Alumni
Profiles of Success
Sue A. (Garfinkel) Seidenfeld
Executive Director
COPE Center, Inc.
B.S. Biological Sciences 1976, Purdue
"The counseling process and seeing people really make a change in their thinking and behavior is amazing to be a part of."
While attending Purdue, Sue Garfinkel was active in a number of areas outside of the classroom. She participated on the women's field hockey team for one season, as well as made time to do volunteer work at Home Hospital. Also active in research, she worked as an assistant for Dr. Peter Waser and participated in animal behavior research at Wolf Park under Dr. Klinghammer.
After graduating from Purdue, Sue attended Hunter College, where she earned a Masters in Public Health in 1979. Sue feels that her experience at Purdue gave her an advantage in her graduate studies in Public Health. "I feel I was well-prepared to move educationally and ultimately professionally in a variety of directions because of the outstanding undergraduate education I received," she states. Beyond course content, Sue learned analytical thinking, as well as the application of scientific research to practical experience. And perhaps most importantly, she learned to have confidence in herself. The one regret Sue has regarding her undergraduate years is that she wishes she had taken advantage of more of what Purdue had to give her as a student. "I now believe I did not avail myself of all Purdue had to offer at the time I was there," she says. "I would strongly encourage students to look into all the things Purdue provides."
After earning her masters degree, Sue gained a great deal of experience in public health and prevention, and eventually became involved in the addictions field. In 1986 she became co-founder and president of Addictions Resource Systems, a private firm providing consultation and training services for corporations, addictions treatment programs and their staff, social service agencies, schools and the community. She has more recently served as Addictions Manager at Catholic Community Services, MCG Behavioral Healthcare in Newark, New Jersey, and as Director of Addictions Services at Bayonne Hospital/Bayonne Behavioral Health in Bayonne, New Jersey. Sue credits Purdue for providing her with the foundation for her perspective on health care issues and the science of addiction. "My experience at Purdue in Biology provided me with an understanding and a depth of knowledge which I believe helped me to be a better counselor for people suffering from substance abuse, dependence, and HIV/AIDS," she explains.
Today Sue serves as Executive Director of COPE Center, Inc., a private, non-profit center that works with outpatient counseling and prevention programs specializing in substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and family crisis. The mission of the center is "to provide quality behavioral healthcare services that are affordable, accessible, and responsive to individual and community needs." As director of COPE, Sue is responsible for day-to-day operational issues, as well as personnel issues such as the evaluation of health plans for employees of the center. Sometimes her days are spent working with grants—new grants, renewals, monthly, quarterly or annual reports. In addition, many of Sue's responsibilities take her out of the office. "I am involved with a variety of grass roots and community based coalitions, such as AIDS, homeless, domestic violence, as well as county and state groups such as task forces around substance abuse and AIDS." She also serves on the Board of Directors for the state Addiction Treatment Providers Association, and attends municipal and county planning meetings. "A typical day for me can vary greatly," she says. "That is one of the things I like so much about what I do."
Sue finds her work very rewarding. "The counseling process and seeing people really make a change in their thinking and behavior is amazing to be a part of," she explains. "Being the Executive Director of this small not-for-profit place presents me with tremendous opportunities to develop new and innovative programs and services to meet the needs I see in the communities I work in and with. I still can't believe that after 20+ years of doing this, I love what I do."