NYSPEP MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: ANN-MARGRET FOLEY

NYSPEP serves parenting educators and the organizations that employ, fund, and support those educators. NYSPEP recognizes that effective programs and reliable resources are essential elements for parents and is involved in the development of a New Parent Kit.

NYSPEP Member Spotlight: Ann-Margret Foley

Ann-Margret Foley, MSW, is committed to improving the overall physical and social-emotional well-being of children in New York State. She has been actively involved in NYSPEP's initiatives for two years and serves as co-chair of the New Parent Kit Workgroup. To help inform the development of the Kit's contents, she has been conducting focus groups throughout New York State with pregnant and parenting families.

Ann-Margret Foley works for the New York State Department of Health/Health Research Inc. in the Community Perinatal Health unit. She is Project Coordinator for the First-Time Motherhood/New Parents Initiative, which promotes preconception health (healthy lifestyle prior to pregnancy), interconception health (healthy lifestyle between pregnancy) and to provide resources and information to newly parenting families to assist them with the transition to parenthood by providing supports and resources to successfully care for their children.

Previously, Ann-Margret Foley worked as Project Director for the Northeast Comprehensive Eating Disorder Center, a "Center of Excellence" in New York State for the treatment of individuals with eating disorders. She also worked for SUNY Research Foundation at the Center for Human Services Research through the School of Social Welfare at the University of Albany. She was the Survey Manager for the Healthy Families New York Randomized Trial -- Year 7.

Anne-Margret Foley has also provided direct services for various health and human service agencies, including child protective, foster care, and substance abuse in the Capital Region. She currently serves as a board member for CARES, Inc., a not-for-profit agency founded in 1990 which works in partnership with other agencies to assist individuals who are homeless or living with HIV/AIDS.

Ann-Margret lives in Delmar, New York with her husband, two teenage children, and 85 year old mother.