Calling the new position her “dream job,” Liza Guroff has taken the helm of the Carroll County Youth Service Bureau with plans to expand mental health services beyond central Westminster to other areas of the county.
An experienced mental health practitioner and Sykesville Town Council member, Guroff is executive director of the CCYSB, the organization formally announced Thursday.
At the Carroll County Board of Commissioners’ Sept. 11 meeting, Guroff shared her plans to expand the CCYSB’s geographic reach and increase in-person appointments.
“While our community-based programs reach across the county, our work really has been very Westminster-centric,” she said at the meeting. “Over the next couple of years, with our talented staff, our goal is to reach more citizens, from Union Bridge to Manchester to Sykesville and Taneytown.”
Guroff will lead CCYSB’s efforts to offer mental health and substance use services to children, adults and families across Carroll County.
The role was previously held by Lynn Davis, who worked with CCYSB for over 40 years and served as its executive director for 24 years. Guroff stepped into the role following Davis’ retirement in June.
Currently, most of the Youth Service Bureau’s programs and services are based in its office in Westminster. The organization does have a few services for adults in mental health crisis and families in need of in-home therapy, and these programs currently serve about 175 families per year, Guroff said in an interview Friday.
Expanding the CCYSB’s outpatient services could help the bureau better serve rural residents, she said, especially given the limited public transit options outside Westminster.
“We’re looking at how to offer a step down from that intensity, but still be in the community, so more outpatient services,” Guroff said.
A resident of Sykesville for more than 20 years, Guroff is a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist who has been active in local politics in recent years. She was first elected to the Sykesville Town Council in 2021, and is serving her second term, which will end in 2029.
She was also a supporter of the Town Council during its legal battle with Warfield Historic Development, a developer that bought 12 buildings from the city of Sykesville in 2018 and attempted to turn them into high-density housing rather than making promised historic restorations.
Before joining CCYSB full time, Guroff was a senior vice president at Easter Seals, an organization based in Silver Spring that provides services to people with disabilities. She also is a member of the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists, and the former executive director of the Maryland Association of Behavioral Health Authorities.
“Being a resident of Carroll County, a mom in Carroll County, I’ve always been impressed with the work done here, and that’s why I joined the council as well,” Guroff said. “I’m humbled to be able to give back to the community that has given me and my family so much.”
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