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Michelle Gordon is the Project Manager for Healthy From Birth For Life, and has worked for the Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network since September 2008.  Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network is based out of the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY and serves four counties (Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess and Putnam) with the goal of improving birth outcomes through provider and consumer education.  Healthy From Birth For Life is a social health marketing campaign created by youth, for youth in two areas of Westchester County that have been identified as being at high risk for poor birth outcomes:  Mt. Vernon and Peekskill.  The purpose of Healthy From Birth For Life is to engage youth (ages 13-21) in healthy lifestyle behaviors, with a primary focus on the prevention of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.  The campaign is designed and implemented by youth Fellows who attend weekly health education workshops, and use what they learn to construct community programs to educate their peers.  Healthy From Birth For Life was launched in 2006 and is funded by the Westchester County Youth Bureau.
 
Prior to joining the Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network, Michelle has had the opportunity to work with youth in various capacities, spanning the fields of education, mental health, nonprofit service providers and faith based organizations.  Upon graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Michelle was introduced to the educational system by working as an  English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher to children in grades two and four.  Soon thereafter she developed a passion for working with children with behavioral and emotional disorders (B.E.D.), and immersed herself into the arenas of special education and mental health, taking on the challenge of working in a self contained classroom for children with B.E.D. in grades 3-5.  Determined to find additional ways to support what she considered to be an underserved population, Michelle became the program coordinator of a day treatment facility in Durham, NC, designing therapeutic interventions for children, and hosting workshops their parents and relatives.  While working in Durham, Michelle also had the opportunity to work with other mental health facilities in her community as an intervention specialist, and became licensed as a therapeutic foster parent for children with B.E.D.
 
Michelle returned to Westchester in September of 2008, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Education with a dual licensure in general and special education at the College of New Rochelle.  As the Healthy From Birth For Life Project Manager, she uses her professional background to create a holistic approach to working with Healthy From Birth For Life Youth Fellows (ages 13-21) to accomplish their goal of creating healthier communities.  

For more information on Healthy From Birth For Life or the Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network, please visit www.lhvpn.net.