Peggy received her BSN from the University of Michigan graduating Summa Cum Laude and earned her Master’s degree in Health Administration from Grand Valley State University.

As Program Director for Strong Beginnings, a federal Healthy Start project that seeks to improve maternal-child health among African Americans and Latinas, Peggy manages an interdisciplinary program providing services to underserved pregnant women and their families since 2004. Before that she served for eight years as the Maternal Infant Health Coordinator for three urban clinics. She co-chairs a ninety-member community coalition working to eliminate disparities in birth outcomes with a focus on social determinants of health, racial equity, and community engagement.

The previous 25 years were spent as medical contractor for Peace Corps in the Caribbean and as a consultant for maternal-child health programs in Central America, Bangladesh, and West Africa. She developed community-based primary health care projects and advised national organizations on maternal-child health, integrated development, and program planning. She designed programs to train Community Health Workers and Traditional Birth Attendants, produced extensive low-literacy curricula, and launched several inter-agency collaborative partnerships.

Peggy serves on numerous coalitions locally and state-wide, on the National Healthy Start Association Board, and the National Evaluation Workgroup. She has been the recipient of several awards including the Excellence in Leadership Award, Service to Children Award, and the national CityMatCH Innovative Practice Award.