Bucks Writs - Spring 2017 - 20
feature
Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW
Interview with the
Commissioner
- Susan E. Dardes -
I have known Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia
going back to the time when the old Courthouse
was the new modern Courthouse, and she was my
wise and witty middle school classmate known simply
as "Diane Ellis."
Diane's innate community involvement and her empathy
for others sent her to the University of Pennsylvania
to earn her Masters in Social Work after obtaining
her Bachelor's Degree. She was asked to serve on the
Neshaminy School Board which was an honor as a young
mom, but it was a part time occupation that she did
Our Moms were friends at Church and we were junior
deacons, sharing donuts and tea between morning
services at Morrisville Presbyterian. I had always wanted
to be a lawyer and go into politics. She had always
wanted to be a social worker. We got it half right, I
think. I am a lawyer, she is a licensed clinical social
worker and she went into politics. She is also a part
time faculty member of the Social and Behavioral
Sciences Department at Bucks County Community
College. So, I asked her how it came to be that she
is in her third term as the minority Commissioner
of Bucks County, on the 5th floor of that old post
mid-century Courthouse.
In 2005, Ellis-Marseglia began
working with the Neshaminy
School District to create a
suicide prevention task force,
after the death of her daughter,
Becky. Now county-wide, the
task force raises awareness of
mental health conditions and
suicide risk.
Let's go back about four decades. Diane was raised
in Lower Makefield, the older of two children in a family
of active committee people, so local politics was in her
blood all along. When one of our eighth grade teachers,
Mr. Bergman, mentioned a career in social work during
class, it seemed a natural fit for Diane.
after the full time work day had ended. Then, she was
recruited for the Board of Supervisors of Middletown
Township, where she has lived for more than 20 years.
She supported healthy families by serving on the
Youth Aid Panel for Offending Youth from 1986 to
1998 and later, in 1999, created the Teen Task Force in
Middletown Township, to help create an environment
where teens had a voice in their community and planned
healthy activities. In 2005, she began working with the
Neshaminy School District to create a suicide prevention
task force, after the death of her daughter, Becky. Now
county-wide, the task force raises awareness of mental
health conditions and suicide risk. Each passing year sees
additional districts joining the program and participating
in a fundraising walk, called #holdonyoumatter. Diane
And then the Congressman dropped by. Peter Kostmayer
was elected in 1976 on Jimmy Carter's coattails as
the freshman Congressman for the 8th District of
Pennsylvania and came to speak at a Pennsbury High
School assembly. I don't recall the visit, but Diane did;
Kostmayer's talk made a great impression on her. So it's
no surprise that she came to be one of three women
delegates elected to represent Bucks County at the
Democratic National Convention this past July.
20
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bucks Writs - Spring 2017
Bucks Writs - Spring 2017 - 1
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