New York, NY (AHN) The American Fertility Association (AFA) announces, actress Brenda Strong will serve as the first national spokesperson for the fertility patient advocacy organization.

Ms. Strong who has reached stardom to many as Mary-Alice Young, the narrator and dearly-departed Wisteria Lane neighbor on ABC's primetime hit "Desperate Housewives," dealt with infertility and turned to the practice of yoga to manage and alleviate the associated stress brought on by the diagnosis.

She will use her spokesperson platform to educate infertile women and men on how they can re-connect with their bodies, reduce stress, and increase self esteem through exercise and complementary medicine.

"Brenda's holistic approach to fertility teaches us to treat the whole individual -- mind, body, and spirit. We have to balance the elements we can control with those that we cannot. That's an important message that too often gets relegated to the sidelines," says Pamela Madsen, Founder and Executive Director of The American Fertility Association.

This fall, Ms. Strong will begin a high-visibility media campaign to support The AFA and women and men on the journey toward wholeness and acceptance in their reproductive capabilities.

To kickoff her role as national spokesperson, she will serve as Master of Ceremony at the American Fertility Association's Kokopelli Ball at the Chelsea Piers on Monday, November 7, 2005.

Ms. Strong has taught at UCLA's Mind-Body Institute and produced and starred in "Yoga 4 Fertility," a video series designed to help infertile couples through yoga therapy.

She and her husband designed a system of yoga postures for women and couples experiencing infertility, which reduce stress, increase coping mechanisms, deepen awareness, increase relaxation capability, and improve circulation and muscle tone.