Ellen Foley lives in suburban Philadelphia and sheepishly admits that she may have the lowest fitness IQ in the nation’s sixth largest metropolitan area. Since the birth of her two daughters, she has been too busy to take care of herself but has had plenty of time to work late and eat lots of carbohydrates.
Last year, she lost 30 pounds. Many people thought she was sick. "No," she says, "I was just fat." In an epiphany in the jungles of Camp VIP, a Girl Scout Camp nearby, she decided that she might have to start an exercise program to keep off the weight. The nuns never told her this.
At camp, Julie Victor, a former coach and local personal trainer, explained the science of weight and fitness management to the anti-athlete. From this, the Girlfriends’ Guide to Getting Fit was born.
A Wisconsin native, Foley spent her early adulthood moving from newspaper job to newspaper job in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, finally landing at the Minneapolis Star Tribune for 13 years. She also worked at the Kansas City Star.
She has worked as managing editor of the Philadelphia Daily News since 1998. She is the day-to-day operations chief for the newsroom of Philadelphia metro area’s second largest daily newspaper.
Foley has a long history of service to nonprofit organizations, including a 20-year membership in the Junior League. In 1996, she was chosen as one of 100 volunteers of distinction to be featured in the League’s centennial celebration. Her honor sprang from her founding of the Violence Against Women Coalition, a group that spent five years building public awareness of this issue in Minnesota. The coalition’s effort resulted in major public policy change.
She has won several writing awards and the journalists in her care have earned numerous honors, particularly for civic journalism, lifestyle coverage, design and in-depth reporting.
In 2001, she spent two weeks in Ukraine, formerly of the Soviet Union, teaching journalism as a foundation for democracy.
Foley lives in Wynnewood with her husband, Tom Mullaney and their two daughters. The neighborhood reminds her of her hometown Milwaukee. Her hobbies include napping on weekends, driving teenagers to shopping malls and moving.
The New Girlfriends Story
Her friends call her brilliant. And her resume would have you believe it.
Heather Hoehn, a former coach turned personal trainer, doesn’t leave her interests at the fitness center door. Her health interests have led her to seminars and classwork in medical issues. She has considered applying to medical school.
Barbara Cottman Jackson is a native Philadelphian. She is a graduate of Cheyney University and Rosemont College. Until she entered college, fitness and weight were not a concern. "I looked great (so they tell me), felt great and could shop anywhere," she said. "Being away at college was the first time I had unlimited eating opportunities. Cafeteria food three times a day, snacks, and late night meals of hoagies, cheese steaks and grilled sticky buns with cheese, set me on a weight-gaining spiral."
Ellen Foley lives in suburban Philadelphia and sheepishly admits that she may have the lowest fitness IQ in the nation’s sixth largest metropolitan area. Since the birth of her two daughters, she has been too busy to take care of herself but has had plenty of time to work late and eat lots of carbohydrates.