Joanne Craig, MS, Chief Impact Officer for The Foundation for Delaware County, has nearly 30 years’ experience administering family health programs. She has been recognized with range of distinctions for her work, including Advocate of the Year by Public Citizens for Children and Youth; the Athena Leadership Award from the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce; the Delaware County Agency Director Award from the United Way of Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey; Generosity Magazine’s 2022 List of 45 Nonprofit Influencer’s, and March of Dimes, Woman of Achievement, among others.
Joanne founded the women and children’s services for the Crozer-Keystone Health System nearly 30 years ago. Through this initiative she was able to acquire a highly competitive and prestigious federal Healthy Start grant and renew this grant consecutively every 4-5 years since 1997. Since the Healthy Start program in Delaware County first received funding 26 years ago, the infant mortality and morbidity (IMMR) rate in the service area of Chester and the eight municipalities that surround the city has declined from 23 infant deaths per 1000 live births, to the current rate of 14/1000.
As a result of Joanne’s success in delivering supportive services toward reducing the disparity in Black infant mortality and morbidity rates and improving maternal and birth outcomes in the Chester community, she was invited to establish Nurse-Family Partnership in Delaware County. This program is now considered one of the most effective programs in the state. Joanne has built on this mission by adding numerous programs, such as, Medical Legal Partnership, the Housing Opportunities Program for Equity (HOPE), Cribs for Kids, Storks Nest, and El Centro, which meets the needs of Spanish-speaking people in the Chester area.
Joanne’s leadership has led work that has impacted tens of thousands of families in Delaware County. She is considered a thought leader and actively advocates for maternal and child health services, racial equity, policy changes and funding across Pennsylvania. Joanne is currently serving a second term on the Pennsylvania state Maternal Mortality Review Committee, where she has recently been appointed a co-chair. She also participates in the Pennsylvania Perinatal Partnership, and national coalitions including the National Healthy Start Association and Nurse-Family Partnership Administrators Innovation Committee. Despite her busy career and raising her daughter, Joanne has been active in her service sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and has been an active member of Delaware County advisory committees and boards including the Voices for Children Steering Committee for Delaware County and the Health Care Improvement Foundation board.
