Anne Marie Ambrose

On June 23, 2008 Anne Marie Ambrose became Commissioner of the Department of Human Services. The Philadelphia Department of Human Services' mission is to provide and promote safety and permanency for children and youth at risk of abuse, neglect and delinquency. The goal of the department is to strengthen and preserve families while empowering them to make choices that lead to safety, stability and well being. DHS partner’s with communities, providers, advocates and each other to develop and deliver preventative and culturally appropriate services that are consistent with the needs of Philadelphia's diverse communities.

From 2005 to 2008 Anne Marie was the Director of Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Services at the Department of Public Welfare Anne Marie Ambrose was responsible for the operation of four regional offices that provide licensing, child abuse investigations and technical assistance for public and private agencies as well as seven state-run facilities for delinquent youth including one for girls.

Anne Marie began her career as an advocate for youth in the juvenile justice system in Philadelphia where she spent 13 years as an attorney for the Defender Association. She left that position in 2000 to become the Deputy Commissioner for Juvenile Justice Services for the City of Philadelphia.

She is a member of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Girl’s Study Group, former Vice President of the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators and a gubernatorial appointee to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. In 2007, Anne Marie provided critical testimony before the United States House and Senate in support of the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

Anne Marie is a 1987 graduate of the Emory University School of Law.