Angela Ford
Dr. Angela Ford’s career includes 45 years of experience working in various aspects of psychiatric social work, public health, community engagement and training. Her interests have focused primarily on health promotion and disease prevention, the mental health and aging of Black women, and the intersection of women’s childhood trauma and their adult health outcomes. As a social worker, Dr. Ford counseled adult women who were sexually abused as children and female adolescent survivors of sexual assault living in group homes; trained case managers throughout the Ohio Department of Child Welfare to work effectively with biological and adoptive families of sexually abused children. She also has served as a Peer Leader/Trainer delivering the National Council on Aging Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, Better Choices-Better Health, to older adults.
In June 2012, Dr. Ford accepted an early retirement from the University of Pittsburgh after 22 years of service, where she also received both her Master’s and PhD in Social Work, along with a Certificate in Gerontology. While at the University, she helped established the community satellite program for the Alzheimer Disease Research Center and served as its first Program Director; held a secondary appointment as Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH), Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences; and served as both the Associate Director of the Center for Minority Health and Executive Director of the Center for Healthy Equity.
Dr. Ford joined the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) in 2013. As the Chief Program Officer, she provides leadership for all BWHI programming and for the BWHI evidence-based lifestyle change program, Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life. (CYL2), implemented in several cities/states. Known as the Coach’s Coach, she is also BWHI’s Senior Master Trainer, providing oversight to our responsibilities as a CDC-designated training entity, and focuses on coach development that supports individuals in adopting positive behaviors to prevent type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions.