Peggy O’Toole-Martin was the Early Childhood Family Services Program Manager for Rochester Public Schools and retired in 2018 after working for 35 years as a parent educator, staff supervisor and program manager. She received her B.A. from the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota and her M.S. in Family Life Education/Family Studies from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Peggy has given presentations on a variety of parenting, early childhood, disability awareness, supervision and management topics. She has published materials about supporting families with children with special needs and the positive impacts of parent education classes on child behavior. She has served on the Board of Directors for Minnesota’s Association for Family and Early Education (MNAFEE), Rochester Public Schools Student Support Services and Parent/Family Involvement Councils, Rochester Interagency Early Intervention Committee, the Board of Directors for PossAbilities of Southern MN, The Arc Minnesota and Olmsted Medical Center’s Patient and Family Advisory Council.
She has been active on issues related to disability awareness, education, inclusion, and public policy advocacy. She has been married for 45 years and has three adult children, one with a cognitive disability. In her retirement she remains an active disability advocate.
“My philosophy of working with families is pretty simple. It is about understanding the diverse perspectives and needs of children and families, and supporting them so that they experience equity, good health, stability and happiness”.