Foundation selects Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski for Albert B.Craig Jr. Award
The Staunton Farm Foundation honored Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski with the Albert B. Craig Jr. Award for Innovation in Behavioral Health.
Podgurski is founder and president of The Academy for Adolescent Health Teen Outreach in Washington.
In presenting the award, the foundation noted that, for more than 30 years, Podgurski has dedicated herself to improving the lives of adolescents’ health and prevention. She believes everyone has worth and potential.
“Dr. Mary Jo embodies the spirit of the Albert B. Craig Jr. Her ability, energy, and years of service to youth and their families are what made her this year’s award winner. She is an inspiration to us all,” said Paul “Stoney” Griffiths, president of Staunton Farm’s board of directors.
Her programs educated more than 250,000 students in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties with in-school programs teaching youth about self-respect, respect for all, human sexuality, and teen pregnancy.
Her newspaper column, “Ask Mary Jo,” answers questions about health and sexuality.
Podgurski has authored 34 books, including The Nonnie Series for children. She has presented over 750 workshops locally, nationally, and internationally.
Podgurski founded The Washington Health System Teen Outreach in 1988 and a peer education program in 1995. She mentors young parents, has trained over 15,000 peer educators, and impacted the lives of more than 7,000 young parents.
The award is named in honor of the late Dr. Albert B. Craig Jr., of Rochester, N.Y., who was a professor of physiology and pharmacology at the University of Rochester Medical School. The purpose of the award is to recognize people who have challenged society to think in fresh ways about problems and solutions in mental health.
The Staunton Farm Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of people who live with mental illness and substance use disorders. The foundation works to enhance behavioral health treatment, support, and recovery through grants to nonprofit organizations in 10 Southwestern Pennsylvania counties, including Washington, Greene and Fayette.