Former Santa Barbara County DA Joyce Dudley speaks at POST wellness conference

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Former Santa Barbara County district attorney Joyce Dudley gave the keynote address at the 2026 POST Organizational Wellness Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

POST is the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

The conference put the spotlight on a statewide initiative for first responders that is named in Dudley's honor.

She spent almost a decade advocating for first responders.

Dudley pushed for stronger state-wide support following the Montecito mudslide in January 2018.

Her son, Sam was one of the many firefighters who responded to the disaster.

He sought counseling to process his experience.

"My dream is that we build both a curriculum and a system with built-in understanding and support, one that prioritized your wellness everyday. A strong program that is enduring, flexible, well-thought-out and broad based. So how often does this get to happen in life? Today is the beginning of my dream," said Dudley.

The Joyce E. Dudley Organizational Wellness Initiative offers training, guidelines, and resources for law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

For more information visit https://post.ca.gov