THE SARASOTA POST,
When Mary Ann Legler courageously spear-headed the Healthy Teens Coalition, a decade ago, Manatee County had one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. By 2014, under Mary Ann’s insightful guidance, the Coalition began empowering teen advocates to raise awareness about sexual and reproductive health through informative presentations to their peers. Mary Ann based her teen advocacy approach on empirical evidence, which supports the success of teen advocates throughout the world. Under her leadership, Manatee County has seen a 55% decrease in teen birth rates among 15-18-year-olds in the past eight years.