Anne Frost, 2019 Pelham Person of the Year

Pelham neighbors Anne Frost and Peter DiPaola are two excellent reasons why Pelham has become known as “The small town with a big heart”, and have been selected as this year’s Pelham Civic Association’s 2019 Persons of the Year. 

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well if you ask Dr. Anne Frost, she’ll tell you that it takes a child in need to raise the consciousness of the village.

For the past 34 years, Dr. Frost has been a visionary humanitarian, applying her expert talent and commitment to advancing innovative healthcare initiatives throughout the nursing community – locally and nationally. She has had a direct effect on the well-being of thousands of children, teenagers, and families for more than three decades… beginning with her leadership role in creating Nurses Network of Pelham, along with co-founders Marie Grosso, RN, Joanne Rooney, NP, and Lynne Catina, BS, MA, RN. This has evolved into the current successful organization - Project Community - that brings together an exemplary model of nurses working in conjunction with the talent of community leaders in healthcare, business, education, and volunteerism. Their goal is to continue to develop innovative programs that can effectively address national health needs by mobilizing community-based programs, including:

• Project C.H.I.L.D.D.  (Community Helping in Learning about Developmental Disabilities) which furnishes children with special needs (ages 3-18) a social network and creative expression through art; provides dedicated teen mentors who foster important social relationships; and allows parents and siblings respite time.

• The visionary Project Rewind I and Rewind II programs correct the myths of alcohol poisoning and sexual assault by providing teens in their schools strategies, including bystander intervention.

Dr. Frost’s additional achievements include:

• Has a private practice in child/adolescent and adult psychotherapy

• Founding Member of Health Futures Inc. to facilitate patients with AIDS

• Founding Member of School Nurse Institute to develop models for school nurses

• Has held nursing positions in acute care as well as nursing education

• Local, State & National Speaker on Nursing Image and Media Mnemonics

• Former Director of the Master’s Degree Program at the College of New Rochelle

• Three terms as “Distinguished Speaker” for Sigma Theta Tau, International Nursing Honor Society

• A published author of articles on political action, social marketing, and community-based health promotion, and models of care

• Producer and moderator for Healthstyles for the NY State Nurses Association on WBAI-FM radio

• Recipient of awards from the Advocates for Child Psychiatric Nursing, the Journal for Holistic Nursing for the Outstanding Manuscript Award and American Journal for Nursing Media Festival for the New York State Nurses Association; Nursing Leadership Award from AANN

• Created programs on parenting strategies to help prevent eating disorders and childhood fears

• Recipient of the 2002 New York State Senate’s Women of Distinction Award and the 2016 Pelham’s Women of Distinction Award

• Recipient of Mt. Vernon’s Boys’ & Girls’ Club of Denzel Washington Award for Community Service

• Active in Pelham Civics Career Day, Special Olympics and Needy Cases Fundraising

• She has served as a Board of Director on:

- Pelham Children Center

- Pelham Counseling Service

- Pelham Art Center

- Bartow-Pell Conservancy & Museum

- Pelham Preservation & Garden Society

Anne has three children and six grandchildren:

Jennifer Frost & Will Garrow (Anne)

David & Carolyn Frost (Charlotte, Patrick, Connor, and Katherine Mae)

Val & Lauren Frost (Ryan)

Dr. Frost received her Bachelor of Science (BSN) from the University of Virginia and her M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University