Mary Kromrey has made good use of her master’s degree in health promotion and wellness management. Currently executive director of the Y School Age Services for the Ozarks Regional YMCA, Kromrey earned her way to the top.
She started as a Silver Sneakers adviser and class instructor and became associate executive director at the Downtown YMCA before stepping up to the plate with Y School Age Services.
In the role, Kromrey can help tackle one of her biggest goals – addressing food insecurity by increasing access to healthy, local foods.
“With one in four children in Greene County living in poverty and not knowing where his or her next meal will come from, the ORYMCA School Age Services answered our community’s call to begin working on improving access to healthy, farm-fresh food for our youth,” she says, noting she is especially proud to be at the forefront of this movement.
Helping further that goal, Kromrey is a founding member of the Healthy Living Alliance and has served on the executive committee for the past four years.
Leadership has been a big part of Kromrey’s career success. She is an active member of the statewide alliance Missouri Council on Activity and Nutrition, which advocates and educates statewide on policies and programs to decrease the rising rates of childhood obesity, and is a member of the 2015 Statewide Obesity Conference.
Kromrey’s also shines locally. She is a member of the city of Springfield Strategic Planning Committee, serving as the Public Health Chapter, Chronic Disease Prevention sub-committee chairwoman and currently is vice president-elect of community for the Junior League of Springfield.
“I provide support to the VP Community, serve on the Community Council and serve as a liaison between the JLS and Isabel’s House by serving on the Isabel’s House board,” she says.
Along with Kromrey’s leadership skills, she has the ability to influence those around her. In the past year she has served as a preceptor for the Missouri State University Dietetic Intern Program, where the Y serves as a community site, affording MSU students opportunities and experience in community health.
“We have had numerous students that have been able to utilize the information and skills developed while volunteering in our programs to successfully secure employment and to present at the National PLAY Conference,” she says.
For Kromrey, serving Y School Age Services is a dream job and allows her to showcase her passion for improving and serving community youth.
“In this role, I have been afforded the opportunity to align my personal passion – feeding children healthy, local food – with YUSA’s focus on ending childhood and community hunger and reducing childhood obesity,” she says.[[In-content Ad]]
