Staff photo by Fritz Busch New Brown County Human Services Director Anne Broskoff brings a wealth of human services experience to Brown County. She began working in the Brown County Human Services Office Dec. 4, replacing Karen Moritz who retired last fall.

NEW ULM — The new Brown County Human Services Director brings a wealth of experience to her new job.

Anne Broskoff of North Mankato, replaced the retiring Barb Dietz last fall.

She worked for Blue Earth County Human Services as a supervisor and children’s mental health case manager in addition to doing child welfare and disability services work for the Minnesota Department of Human Services in St. Paul.

“I enjoy helping people. I like to able able to assess people, get their needs met, help them operate better in life. However I can be of assistance, it makes me feel good about the work that I do,” Broskoff said.

Growing up in Plymouth, she was a peer mentor as a student. Broskoff earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Minnesota Morris and a master’s degree in psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

She moved to Mankato in 1995 and worked as a children’s mental health case manager for about nine years, then became a child welfare program supervisor for five years.

Broskoff moved on to the Minnesota Department of Human Services in St. Paul for five years. She traveled around Minnesota doing child welfare and quality assurance reviews of child welfare programs.

She returned to Blue Earth County 15 years ago, supervising child welfare and disability services, before coming to Brown County in December.

“I learned about the director position here and I was familiar with some of the staff here, primarily the supervisors, and found them to be hard-working, caring folks. I threw my hat in the ring to see if it was a good fit for them and a good fit for me. Clearly, it was,” she added.

“I think my job right now is to get a good understanding of human services operations here. I look at my first year as getting to know staff and human services programs,” Broskoff said.

“I have a lot of familiarity with the child welfare world but I still have things to learn about how it relates to some of the other pieces like financial assistance and child support. I look at my first year as a learning opportunity and get to know the community including school staff including superintendents, law enforcement and community organizations so I get to know who they are and they get to know me.”

Her husband, Albert Lea native Tony Broskoff, teaches at Mankato’s Central (alternative) Freedom School, a sober school for previously dependent teens. The Broskoff’s have two children. Alex, 17, attends Mankato West High School. Peyton, 19, studies business at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Broskoff enjoys quilting, sowing, walking and enjoying family in her spare time.