American Psychological Foundation Staff

Elisabeth R. Straus
Executive Vice President/Executive Director

Elisabeth Straus became APF's first Executive Director in 1991 when the organization had assets of less than $990,000. The organization has since grown into a thriving $15 million foundation. Prior to her position with the Foundation, Ms. Straus had a long career as an educator and writer. Previously, she was Director of Communications and Student Placement at the Human Resources Research Organization's Technical Education Center in Washington, D.C.. As a researcher for the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs in 1980, she provided position papers and background information to the White House on the Equal Rights Amendment. Ms. Straus serves on the Board of Trustees for the Kingsbury Center in Washington, D.C., a non-profit educational organization devoted to the success of children with learning disabilities. Ms. Straus graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania and received a Master of Arts from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Idalia Ramos
Deputy Director

Idalia Ramos is responsible for managing the administration and finances of the Foundation and overseeing APF's communications. Ms. Ramos has previously overseen the APF's fundraising and been responsible for managing APF's funding programs. Prior to joining APF in 2005, she was at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, an association of philanthropic organizations. Her responsibilities there included developing and managing program content and planning conferences and workshops on knowledge management, organizational learning and evaluation in philanthropy. Previously, Ms. Ramos worked at DDB Bass & Howes, a public policy, communications and public relations consulting firm specializing in women's and social issues and as a consultant in international and domestic health care and insurance markets. Ms. Ramos received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale University and a Master's of Public Policy with a concentration in culture, values, and social policy from George Mason University.

Kim Palmer Rowsome
Senior Development Officer 

Kim Palmer Rowsome is responsible for APF's fundraising activities. Formerly she was APF's Program Director, where she managed the scholarship, fellowship, grant and award programs. Prior to joining APF Ms. Rowsome was a research assistant for the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University while attending graduate school full-time. Previously Ms. Rowsome worked at Beacon House, a community-based organization, as the Education Director, where she developed and implemented educational programming for at-risk youth. Ms. Rowsome received a bachelor's degree in family studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master's of Public Administration with a concentration in non-profit management from George Mason University. 

Claire Meaney
Senior Development Coordinator

Claire Meaney is primarily responsible for maintaining APF’s donor database by updating donor records, conducting donor research, handling correspondence, and processing donor contributions. She also assists with event coordinating and fundraising strategies, as well as writes and edits articles for APF related publications. Prior to joining APF, Ms. Meaney interned with the Mental Health Program at the Carter Center where she assisted with all aspects of program initiatives, including the annual symposium, Journalism Fellowships and public events. Ms. Meaney received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and studied for a year at Emory University, Atlanta, as part of the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Scholarship.

Parie Kadir
Program Officer

Parie Kadir is responsible for managing APF's scholarship, grant, and award programs.  Prior to joining APF, Ms. Kadir worked as a research assistant for the National University of Ireland, Galway. Previously Ms. Kadir was a database coordinator for The Global Fund for Children and a foundation grants coordinator for Citizens for Global Solutions, an international peace and justice organization. Ms. Kadir received a B.A in Economics and a B.A. in Government and International Affairs from George Mason University as well as a Master’s of Arts in Gender, Globalization and Human Rights from the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Samantha Edington
Program Coordinator

Samantha Edington began working at APF as a Program Coordinator in September 2011 after graduating from the University of Virginia in 2010 with a B.A. in Psychology. While in school, she conducted several independent quantitative psychology projects and presented a poster at the L. Starling Reid Undergraduate Research Conference. Samantha also worked as a Research Assistant for Behavioral Health and Technology (BHT), a small research group within the University of Virginia Health System’s Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences. After graduating in December 2010, Samantha continued working at BHT and coordinated a national online clinical trial of an Internet intervention designed to treat pediatric encopresis. She also assisted with the development of a national trial to treat insomnia using SHUTi, an Internet intervention based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.