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Dr. Mary Kay Keller

MPA, Ph.D., CEIM, CFLE

President

Dr. Mary Kay Keller is a Family Scientist, Certified Educator of Infant Massage, and a Certified Family Life Educator and Coach. Mary Kay holds a Ph.D. in Family and Consumer Sciences her preliminary critical review topic was on the Science-based benefits of Infant Massage and her dissertation research was teaching Fathers to Massage their Infants (CEIM since 1998). This research was highlighted in a TEDxTallahassee presentation. Mary Kay holds a Masters of Public Administration with concentrations in Administrative Law and Human Resources Management (Developed a Classification and Compensation Plan for a local city government) and a Bachelors of Science with honors in Psychology, a minor in Sociology (Research: The responses of Nursing Professionals to the death of infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units).

Mary Kay's professional work in the field of Families and Children spans over 25+ years in Early Head Start, Family & Child Support Center, Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect, Elder Abuse & Neglect, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Prevention. Mary Kay has served as an adjunct instructor at Utah State University, Graduate Teaching Assistant at Florida State University, and is currently the Chair of Applied Family Sciences, M.S. online program at Wilmington University.

Service: Mary Kay has served as the past Vice-President on the Board of Infant Massage US, past president of the Family Support Utah Coalition, and Chaired the Research Committee; as the ED of the Box Elder Family Support Center and the President of the Utah Coalition of Family Support centers, Mary Kay advocated the Utah State Legislature and secured permanent funding for the Center and the following year secured increased funding for the remaining ten centers.

Private Practice: Mary Kay is a Certified Family Life Educator and Coach, her focus is on Optimal Caregiving practices for children. She currently provides education courses for parents who are expecting or are parents of 0-3 infants and toddlers, ex: Infant Massage, Sign Language and Emotional Connectin (Baby whispering) Emerging Adult, Individual, and Parenting Coaching.

Memberships: Mary Kay is a member of the International Association of Infant Massage-US (1998), the National Council on Family Relations (2002), and the Family Science Association (2018).

Personal: Mary Kay is enthusiastic about road cycling, mountain biking, and exploring. She loves traveling to new places and experiencing other cultures. Mary Kay grew up in the Military and lived in Japan, France, as a child, and all across the United States. She is most passionate about the current state of children in the United States and Globally. Mary Kay is currently presenting on these topics Nationally and Globally.