 In 1996, she undertook a Doctorate of Philosophy in political science and industrial relations at ANU, looking at the role of community movements in the framing of the Program of Action for the United Nations Conference on Population and Development, which she completed in 2003.In the 1970s and 1980s, she was instrumental in the formation of several national parks protecting old growth forests through her work in the Concerned Residents of East Gippsland.In Canberra Foskey continued to campaign for protection of forests in SE NSW and East Gippsland, as well as working on forest policy.