DHS | Department of Human Services

About the Commissioner: Anne Marie Ambrose

On June 23, 2008, Anne Marie Ambrose began working as Commissioner for the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS). Under her leadership, the agency has made significant progress in improving organizational effectiveness and performance, provider monitoring and oversight, and outcomes for children and families served by DHS. She is committed to better serving the needs of the children and families in Philadelphia by partnering with the community and other child-serving systems. Ms. Ambrose envisions DHS as becoming a leading child welfare agency in the nation.

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

Ms. Ambrose served as DHS Deputy Commissioner for Juvenile Justice Services from 2001 to 2005. During her tenure, Ms. Ambrose developed and led initiatives to reform and improve the juvenile justice system in Philadelphia. She was a tireless advocate for gender-specific services for girls entering the juvenile justice system and reduced chronic overcrowding at the Detention Center.

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 of Philadelphia. She left that position in 2000 to become the Deputy Commissioner for Juvenile Justice Services for the City of Philadelphia.
In January of 2012 Anne Marie Ambrose was the recipient of Casey Family Program’s Excellence in Leadership Award. She is a gubernatorial appointee to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and is a member of Georgetown University’s Juvenile Justice Leadership Network. 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.