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Background

Thomas Foley joined ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences in September 2023 as a clinical assistant professor of public health. He will be involved in IPE and capstone experiences.

Foley has more than 15 years of experience planning, implementing, managing and evaluating health education and promotion programs and providing instruction, leadership, mentorship and training. He has designed, implemented and managed interprofessional, community-based student service-learning projects and precepted field experiences for undergraduate and graduate students.

As a community organizer and teacher in the Peace Corps Guyana, Foley conducted needs assessments, managed middle and high school classrooms and promoted student academic and personal growth, facilitated community meetings, created and advised youth-led health and environmental clubs, and was a participant observer in numerous cross-cultural events. After completing his service with the Peace Corps, Foley worked in disease prevention and treatment and promoted mental, physical and social health in diverse cultural settings in Washington, DC, at the individual, organizational and community levels. He designed, implemented, managed and evaluated individual and community-based programs, utilizing Community Organizing Theory and Transtheoretical Model of Change concepts when developing community programs and individual plans for sedentary adults with poor nutrition habits and substance use disorders.

After gaining work experience, Foley earned an MPH from George Washington University (GWU). While attending GWU, he worked as a health behaviorist and researcher on patient-centered collaborative teams at the GWU Medical Faculty Associate’s Weight Loss Clinic. He planned and implemented a hybrid telehealth/in-person approach to developing physical activity and nutrition self-management skills among a diverse set of clinic patients. Foley fostered intrinsic motivation within the patients using Motivational Interviewing and the Transtheoretical Model of Change. He designed and conducted a mixed methods evaluation of aspects of the collaborative approach.

Upon earning his MPH, Foley worked as a graduate research and teaching assistant at the Portland State University-Oregon Health and Science University School of Public Health, working with researchers in the university’s Institute on Aging. In Portland, Foley served on the founding steering committee that planned and implemented the Bridges Collaborative Care Clinic (BCCC), a student-led, interprofessional nonprofit clinic that serves Portland’s homeless population. As the founding co-director of BCCC’s training and education program, Foley co-led the design and implementation of the clinic’s training programs and health education and rehabilitation/prevention workshops, created an internship/field experience at the clinic, and served as the internship/field experience supervisor for several graduate and undergraduate students.

Foley then joined the MPH program faculty at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, where he taught epidemiology and was heavily involved in course design. While in Spokane, Foley served on the Spokane Homelessness Coalition and its Chronic Conditions Subcommittee.

Next, Foley served as the founding unit lead and a health and human sciences lecturer at Indiana University Fort Wayne. Under his leadership, the program rapidly grew within the first three years. He also served on the IUFW Executive Committee, as chair of the Student Affairs Committee, president of the Faculty Council and as a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce. Foley started the ADA Amplified Symposium speaking series to raise awareness of disability issues. He collaborated with community organizations to start ADA Amplified. The inaugural IUFW ADA Amplified Symposium featured Judith Heumann and a panel of paralympic athletes who competed in Rio and Tokyo. In collaboration with  community partners and schools at IUFW, Foley co-organized the inaugural Fort Wayne Community Health and Resource fairs at two local YMCAs, which provided experiential learning opportunities to students and screenings and resources to community members.

Education

• Master of Public Health, health promotion, George Washington University
• BA, English language and literature, University of Maryland, College Park

Research Interests

• The prevention and treatment of chronic diseases via health behaviors
• Sarcopenia and the benefits of progressive resistance training as sarcopenia prevention and treatment of sarcopenia among community-dwelling older adults

Clinical Interests

• Use of the Transtheoretical Model and the Stages of Change to help healthcare participants select and achieve health goals 

• Promoting holistic health and a participant-centered healthcare approach

Teaching Interests

• Health promotion
• Disease prevention
• Social health
• Behavioral health