Meet Margi: A Sit Down Q&A with ABC’s New Senior Program Officer

News | Thursday, May 10, 2012

Any Baby Can is honored to welcome Margi (Mar-ghee) Preston as our new Senior Program Officer. Margi oversees all ABC programs except Early Childhood Intervention, sits on the agency’s leadership team and provides strategic direction for program development. Margi’s non-profit experience and her work with children and families will help the agency continue providing excellent services and help forge new paths for future success.

What drew you to Any Baby Can?
I was drawn to Any Baby Can’s organizational stability and mission. When doing my research, I heard so many good things about the agency, and the mission really spoke to me. The Senior Program Officer position was also a big draw. It fit my experience and expertise, and I especially liked the program evaluation and development component.

What is the biggest challenge facing children and families in our community?
I think the biggest challenge is the complexity of issues that families face. It’s rarely a singular issue being dealt with but rather a multitude. There are general issues like self-sufficiency and life skills that families struggle with, plus specific issues like physical and mental health concerns. I love that Any Baby Can addresses all aspects of families’ needs.

What are your goals at Any Baby Can?
My goals are to maintain the quality of services while developing strong program tools and systems. I’m working to look at the big picture and help us improve our efforts to measure impact. Being relatively new to Austin, a personal goal is to learn more about community resources that are available to families.

What are you most excited about at Any Baby Can?
I am excited to offer what I have to enhance the great work that Any Baby Can is already doing. The staff development and mentoring component is also exciting to me, as well as the work in program evaluation and quality assurance to measure impact of services.

Fun Facts about Margi

Hometown: Marietta, Ohio
Education: Bachelor’s of Social Work, Sam Houston University
Previous Position: Executive Director, Family Crisis Center of East Texas
Family: Husband, Dan, four daughters, and an English Bulldog, Harley
Austin Faves: The Hill Country, flea markets, access to amazing arts and music, Bess Bistro