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, DC. 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 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
Assistant Director

Idalia Ramos is responsible for managing the administration of the Foundation and overseeing APF's fundraising and communications. Ms. Ramos was previously the APF's program director and was 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 specializing 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.

Emily Leary
Program Officer

Emily Leary is responsible for managing APF's scholarship, fellowship, grant, and award programs. Ms. Leary worked for the American Psychological Association for five years before joining APF in 2008, working in the Practice Directorate for one year and the Education Directorate for four years. In the Education Directorate, she coordinated APA's programs and resources for high school psychology teachers and staffed the APA Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools. She worked at the Council on Undergraduate Research for two years prior to joining APA. Ms. Leary received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Furman University in Greenville, SC, and is currently working on a Masters of Business Administration at George Mason University in Arlington, VA.

Jennifer Snowden
Development Coordinator

Jennifer Snowden 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 in 2007, Ms. Snowden worked as a Lead Communications Consultant for Sprint. Ms. Snowden received a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Howard University in Washington, DC and a master’s of Arts degree in Media Arts from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.