Moran, Margaret A.

(Margaret Maggie A. Moran)

PERSONAL: Born in Lowell, MA; daughter of John (a welder) and Jane (a registered nurse; maiden name, Mungovan) Moran. Education: Catherine Laboure School of Nursing, nursing diploma, 1964; Emmanuel College, B.S. (psychology), 1976, M.S. (health services admin.), 1992. Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Writing, walking, music theater.

ADDRESSES: Office—KidsTerrain, Inc., P.O. Box 560, Wilmington, MA 01887. E-mail—mmoran@kidsterrain.com.

CAREER: Staff nurse, charge nurse, and director of public health in Massachusetts, 1964–79; BCBSMA, Boston, MA, nurse reviewer, supervisor, manager, and director of managed care, 1979–90; Choate Health Systems/Management, Woburn, MA, senior vice president of marketing and program development, 1990–97; KidsTerrain, Inc., Wilmington, MA, founder and chief operating officer, 2000–. Moran & Associ-ates, Wilmington, principal of health-care consulting. Member of board of directors, Association of Ambulatory Healthcare, 1995–98, and Network Defenders, 1996–97.

MEMBER: Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

AWARDS, HONORS: Presidential Award, Emmanuel College, 1976.

WRITINGS:

(With Lawrence Best and Eunice Hartman) How One Managed-Care Organization Collaborated with Providers to Create a Public-Sector Continuum of Care, Jossey-Bass (New York, NY), 1996.

Someone Took My Bike (juvenile), NewVoices (Wilmington, MA), 2000.

Afraid of the Dark (juvenile), NewVoices (Wilmington, MA), 2001.

The Magic in Me (juvenile), NewVoices (Wilmington, MA), 2001.

(With Laurel Kiser and others) Access to the System of Care in the Integrated Behavioral-Health Continuum: Theory and Practice, American Psychiatric Press, 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: Margaret A. Moran told CA: "I have spent over twenty-five years in the health-care industry in various positions, ranging from staff nurse to senior vice president of marketing and program development. My primary interest has been in the children's-services arena.

"For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to write children's books, but I talked more about it than putting into action the fulfillment of that wish. As I child I never had the opportunity to read books and never remember anyone reading to me. As an adult I relized very quickly the importance of reading, and how much I missed by not having that opportunity.

"When I am asked today about a particular incident that motivated me to create KidsTerrain and begin to develop communication tools (stories) for children and parents, I have one very compelling answer. When in February of 2000 a six-year-old boy, brandishing a.32-caliber handgun, killed his six-year-old schoolmate in Flint, Michigan, I felt an obligation to develop a communication company that would be values-driven and be a model for parents and children. KidsTerrain products encourage dialogue between children and parents based on the experiences of the six KidsTerrain kids who come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The KidsTerrain kids confront real-life issues that children and families deal with every day across the country and around the world. Some of these issues include bullying, fear, stress, death, self esteem, consequences of actions, a new sibling, divorce, grief, healthy attitudes, protecting the environment, safety, secrets, friendships/popularity, illness, and spirituality.

"The Magic in Me was created as a result of a conversation with a colleague who wished other people could see the magic she saw in her nephew. Her nephew was experiencing isolation from his peers at school. It became apparent to me that helping children build self-esteem is essential. This resonated so profoudly with me that The Magic in Me was written with the hope that every child would find their magic and that they could take that good feeling with them along their journey of life."