The Maternal Mental Health FORUM is the conference where change agents come to convene, collaborate, and take in cutting-edge content to close gaps in care.
The FORUM was fully virtual again in 2022, with mainstage and breakout sessions, and both topic and regional networking opportunities.
850+ cross-sector stakeholders in health care – including health systems, employer purchasers, insurers, public health and other government agencies, mothers, and more.
Here are a few of our favorite moments from the 2022 FORUM:
Welcome and Short Film Screening: From the Ashes – a Film about A Black Mother’s Rise from PPD
Presentation of the Maternal Mental Health Hero Awards
Panel 5: Closing Racial Disparity Gaps Through Policy Solutions with Congresswoman Underwood
Panel 6: How Massachusetts and Louisiana are Changing the Face of Maternal Mental Health
Keynotes and Panel 7: Americas Health Rankings Report & What in the World? What the U.S. Can Learn from Other Countries About Providing Mental Health Care
Senior Medical Director of Women’s Health Optum Health Solutions
Rebecca (Becca) Levine, MPH
Senior Maternal Health Advisor United States Agency for International Development, Bureau for Global Health
Catherine Monk, PhD
Professor of Medical Psychology, Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Psychiatry, Director, Women’s Mental Health @Ob/Gyn, Columbia University Medical Center, Research Scientist VI, New York State Psychiatric Institute Columbia University Medical Center
Opening Remarks: Where Do You Fit in the Constellation?
Joy Burkhard
Founder and Director Optum Health 2020 Mom
Sponsor Remarks
Neema Stephens, MD
National Medical Director for Health Equity Cigna
Stories from Moms
Theresa Fortune
Public speaker, Community Activist and Producer Communion with the Community
Mariel Mendez, MPH
Associate Program Officer Perigee Fund
Maternal Mental Health Hero Award Recipients
Jack DiMatteo
Senior Legislative Assistant Office of Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14)
Lauren Underwood
U.S. Congresswoman Illinois
Panel 1: Mental Health Screening and Integration in Primary and Obstetric Care
Chris Botts
Care Delivery and Payment Manager, Physician Practice Sustainability American Medical Association
Blair Dudley
Director, Transform Maternity Care Program Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH)
Neelima Kunam, MD
Medical Director Inland Psychiatric Medical Group Inc.
Jennifer Torres
Population Health Manager Square Care
Kevin Wildenhaus
Behavioral Science Lead, Janssen World Without Disease Accelerator Johnson & Johnson
Christopher Zahn, MD
Vice President of Practice Activities American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG)
Panel 2: TOXIC Film & Distress in Pregnancy Responsive Panel
Priya Bathija, J.D., MHSA
VP, Strategic Initiatives American Hospital Association
Katrice D. Cain, MA
Interim Executive Director First Year Cleaveland
Catherine Monk, PhD
Professor of Medical Psychology, Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Psychiatry, Director, Women’s Mental Health @Ob/Gyn, Columbia University Medical Center, Research Scientist VI, New York State Psychiatric Institute Columbia University Medical Center
Panel 3: How Hospitals Can and Must Up Their Maternal Mental Health Quality Game
Rebecca Alderfer
Senior Program Consultant ZOMA Foundation
Heather Hagenson
Director of Operations and Business Development Bloom Perinatal Behavioral Health Program, Saint Joseph Hospital
Deb Kilday
Principal, Women and Infant Services Premier, Inc.
Riah Patterson, MD
Medical Director, Perinatal Psychiatry Inpatient Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Aisha Syeda
Program Manager American Hospital Association
Jennie Torti, MPH
System Director, Perinatal Behavioral Health CommonSpirit Health Women and Infants Clinical Institute
Panel 4: Maternal OCD: Why We Must Understand and Do More
Jon Abramowitz, PhD
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Stephanie Cogen, MPH, MSW
Program Director International OCD Foundation
Kate DeStefano-Torres, MA, LPC
Founder/Director The Artemis Center for Guidance, LLC
Cindy Herrick, MA, PMH-C, CPSS, MHFA
Strategic Research & Special Projects Lead The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health (formerly 2020 Mom)
Mary Kimmel
Assistant Professor, Director of Perinatal Psychiatry and Medical Director of NC MATTERS University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Panel 5: Closing Racial Disparity Gaps Through Policy Solutions with Congresswoman Underwood
Anna Benyo
Senior Program Officer Center for Health Care Strategies
Chief of Obstetrics Program Director, COMPASS Perinatal Mental Health Program Assistant Professor Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine Northwestern University
Lauren Underwood
U.S. Congresswoman Illinois
Panel 6: How Massachusetts and Louisiana are Changing the Face of Maternal Mental Health
Joy Burkhard
Founder and Director 2020 Mom
Beth M Buxton, LCSW
Director, Maternal & Infant Health Initiatives Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Royce Duplessis
State Representative Louisiana – District 93
Amy Zapata
Director Louisiana Bureau of Family Health
Keynotes and Panel 7: Americas Health Rankings Report & What in the World? What the U.S. Can Learn from Other Countries About Providing Mental Health Care
Susana Castro-Alcaraz
Senior Medical Director of Women’s Health Optum Health Solutions
Rebecca (Becca) Levine, MPH
Senior Maternal Health Advisor United States Agency for International Development, Bureau for Global Health
Sean Mayberry
Founder and Chief Executive Officer StrongMinds
Vikram Patel
Harvard Medical School, Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Maternal Mental Health Start up Companies Virtual/Tech Solutions Fast Pitch
M. Natalie Achong, MD, MHL, FACOG
Senior Medical Director Clinical and Provider Transformation Aetna
Anna Consani
VP of Community & Strategic Partnerships Springboard Enterprises
Lauren Elliott
CEO & Co-Founder Candlelit Therapy, Inc.
Maureen Fura
CEO and Founder Mammha
Thomya Goode, MBA
Investment Associate Rhia Ventures
Viraj Parikh, PA-C
Co-Founder & Chief Experience Officer EmmaWell
Erin Russell
Senior Vice President, Product & Marketing Curio Digital Therapeutics
Ella Schwartz, MPAff
Senior Program Investment Officer California Health Care Foundation
Anne Wanlund
Co-Founder and CEO Canopie
Breakout Session: The Centering Pregnancy Maternity Care Model: The Power of Connection in Group Prenatal Care
Karen Saxer
Certified Nurse Midwife, Maternal Fetal Medicine University of North Carolina
Breann Westmore
Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs Centering Healthcare Institute
Breakout Session: The Role of Community-Based Health Workers in “Uplifting Maternal Mental Health”
Tarisha Fleurmond, MPH, CLC
Maternal Infant Health Trainer and Technical Assistance/Breastfeeding Specialist Cicatelli Associates, Inc (CAI)
Clare Friedrich, MA, CLC
Director of Maternal Infant Health Cicatelli Associates, Inc (CAI)
Elisabeth Salner, LCSW, MPH, PMH-C
Project Director CAI (Cicatelli Associates Inc)
Breakout Session: Using Brainspotting to Heal Perinatal Trauma
Jana Glass, LPC,PMH-C, MAC, BC-TMH
Founder Supportive Solutions, LLC
Jacqui Johnson, LPC, CCMHC, PMH-C
Clinical Director Sankofa Healing Studio
Breakout Session: 2020 Mom’s Latest Certified Peer Support Research: Supporting and Training Black Mamas and Doulas as Peer Supporters
Tonya Fulwider
Executive Director Mental Health America of Ohio
Cindy Herrick, MA, PMH-C, CPSS, MHFA
Strategic Research & Special Projects Lead The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health (formerly 2020 Mom)
Kay Matthews
Executive Director Shades of Blue Project
Lisa A. Melchior, PhD
President The Measurement Group LLC
Breakout Session: The Impact of Respectful Maternity Care on Maternal Mental Health
Catherine M. Hill, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Senior Director of Nursing Education, Research, and Practice Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
Breakout Session: Supporting Refugee and Immigrant families: Mobilizing community supports, stakeholders and structures
Deborah Young
Executive Director, Professor/Researcher/ECMH Empowering Communities Globally: for the Care of Children,
Breakout Session: We Serve Too: Supporting Military Families During Pregnancy and the Postpartum
Patience Riley, NCC, LPC (she/her)
Licensed Professional Counselor WHOA MAMA of Prepared to Prosper, LLC
Breakout Session: Pharmacogenetics – Genetic Profiling for Personalized Psychiatric Medication Prescribing: Speeding Up Recovery & Reducing Suffering
Cari A. Lalande, PharmD, RPh.
Vice President, Clinical Operations RxGenomix
Dr. Danielle Plummer
Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) Consultant, Educator and Patient Advocate HG Pharmacist
Breakout Session: An Intro to the Heartland protocol for screening and support of maternal mental health disorders.
Elizabeth Lowder
Co-Founder Sage Tree Therapy, LLC and Heartland PMAD Consultants, LLC
Kim Martino-Sexton
Co-Founder/Co-Owner Heartland PMAD Consultants
Breakout Session: The ‘Mothers and Babies’ Program: An Evidenced Based Program to help Manage Stress and Prevent Postpartum Depression
Alinne Barrera, PhD
Professor Palo Alto University
David Luk
EmmaWell
Breakout Session: Maternal Suicide: Prevention and Prevalence
Sidra Goldman-Mellor
Associate Professor of Public Health University of California, Merced