Nonprofit State Policy Fellows

Janine Cook, MA, LPC, TF-CBT, PMH-C is a New Jersey licensed professional counselor with in over 17 years working in community based mental health programs. Janine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master of Arts degree in Mental Health and Clinical Counseling, both from Rider University. For the past 15 years, Janine has been employed by The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey as a clinical therapist working in adoption, child welfare, and maternal health services. In 2018 Janine received her certification in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) from the CARES Institute, Rowan University, School of Medicine, and has experience working with children and adults who have experienced various forms of trauma.

Mei Zhao, MPH, Serves as Postpartum Support International New Jersey Chapter Executive Board Members, dedicated to raise PMADs awareness in Public and funds in support of maternal mental health. She is certified in Mental Health First Aid and passionate to help more new parents to make a smooth transition to their parenthood, and create a happy family. She is an innovative Public Health Professional with management background, has more than ten years of experience managing and conducting health related programs which are grant funded by NIH, CDC, local Department of Health, as well as some non-profit foundations. Mei is currently an Adjunct Faculty and Program Administration in the Department of Public Health at The College of New Jersey.

Lindsay Lachant, DNP, CNM, IBCLC, PMH-C, is a Certified-Nurse Midwife, co-owner of a private midwifery practice focused on community-based, family-centered care. She is currently a board member and co-chair of the Vermont Chapter of Postpartum Support International (PSI).She has worked in maternal health for 20 years in various roles including RN, childbirth educator, lactation consultant, and for the past 11 years, as a midwife. Since becoming a midwife, it has become apparent that there is a tremendous gap in mental healthcare for pregnant people and families. Her goal is to make perinatal mental health accessible to all Vermonters. Lindsay received her certification in Perinatal Mental Health through PSI and is excited to expand her midwifery practice to include more comprehensive mental health services.

Kate Littlefield, LCMHC is a queer, white, parent, spouse, child, unapologetically emotional, aspiring liberationist living and working on the unceded lands of the Abenaki people now known as Vermont. Kate is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) with nearly 20 years of experience working with children, youth, families and individuals in a variety of settings. Seeing a significant gap in services and supports for people experiencing challenges with fertility and postpartum life, Kate opened up a small private practice in 2023 after years of offering support part-time while working full time and parenting. Kate’s practice has grown quickly in that short time as she expands offerings to include accessible but deeply meaningful support systems to individuals and families in a wide range of parenting seasons. She hopes to bring her passion and skills to the state/federal level to enact even greater systemic change.

Honour McDaniel, MPH, is the Director of Maternal and Infant Health Initiatives for March of Dimes in Alabama. A native of Franklin, Tennessee, Honour received her undergraduate degree in public health at the University of Kentucky. After undergraduate studies, Honour served in the AmeriCorps setting up and providing free vision screenings in preschools around Alabama. Once she completed time in the AmeriCorps, Honour received her MPH from the University of Alabama Birmingham in Maternal and Child Health Policy and Leadership and received a certificate in social marketing. She has background in program evaluation, needs assessment, and publications on evaluating infant mortality and reproductive coercion. Honour has worked with state entities in Alabama, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Honour serves as the chair of the Maternal Child Health/Substance Use Subcommittee of the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council.

Jackie Martinez is the Programs Director at Healthier Moms and Babies. Jackie has over 15 years of community service through case management services and community outreach. She has her Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management and the following trainings/certifications; Postpartum Support International Perinatal Mood Disorders “Components of Care” training certificate, Certified Lactation Specialist, Centering® Pregnancy Facilitator, Certified Baby & Me-Tobacco Free Program Facilitator, Certified Medical Interpreter, Certificate-Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana Institute.

Jennifer Norris-Hale, PMH-C, Is the founder of Mission: Motherhood and Training Coordinator for the Allen County Drug and Alcohol Consortium. She graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington with a degree in Apparel Merchandising and was in the apparel industry for over 10 years, spending most of that time building a career in Manhattan. Though her career took her to countries all over the world, it was in 2015 that she decided to make her way home and raise her children surrounded by family and friends. Since returning to Fort Wayne, she has continued developing her true passion in nonprofit work. She is an advocate for maternal mental health and was chosen as a TEDx Fort Wayne presenter in 2019 to speak on her experience with postpartum depression/anxiety. In 2020, she received her certification in Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders through Postpartum Support International. It is her mission to implement community-based programming for mothers, so they are seen, heard, and understood.

Tanya McKinney, MOL, is the Director of Operations for the Allen County Drug and Alcohol Consortium where she has worked since 2018. She is an experienced leadership professional with a demonstrated history of working in the Nonprofit Organization Management industry, and is skilled in Organizational Leadership, Substance Use Prevention, Motivational Interviewing, and Operational Efficiency. Tanya has years of experience in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. She is dedicated to addressing health disparities in marginalized communities with a focus on equitable health opportunities for all. Tanya graduated from Purdue Fort Wayne with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services and then with a Master of Organizational Leadership from the University of Saint Francis. At her core, she values being a Mother and working to address the inequalities in systems that will shape the future of her daughters and generations to come.

Rebecca Woitkowski, JD, serves as the Kids Count Policy Director for New Futures. She works to coordinate and lead early childhood policy and advocacy efforts in New Hampshire. Prior to entering into this role, Rebecca worked in private practice focusing on civil litigation and family law. Her experience working directly with clients led her to seek out policy work to help improve the lives of New Hampshire families on a greater scale. Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Southern New Hampshire University in 2008 and her Juris Doctor from the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2011. As a life-long resident, Rebecca has a deep love for New Hampshire and is eager for the opportunity to use her legal skills to help advance policies that will positively impact her home state. 

Sharon Ruyak, PhD, CNM, RN, is a certified nurse-midwife and faculty at the University of New Mexico, College of Nursing. She is currently a board member and secretary of the New Mexico Chapter of Postpartum Support International. Sharon has worked in service of maternal-child health for the past 36 years as a labor and delivery nurse, a certified nurse-midwife, and a nurse researcher. Her current focus is on how chronic stress affects the health and well being of birthing people and the implementation of community-based services to mitigate these effects. 

Jennifer Gonzalez is a Program Associate at Health Leads and a co-lead of the New York Coalition for Doula Access (NYCDA). She is a New York City based community doula and breastfeeding consultant focused on Maternal Health, Reproductive Health, and an Advocate for Community Based Doulas. In her current role, Jennifer works in various projects to ensure that maternal health clients are receiving the care and respect they deserve, and most importantly always advocating for their voices to be brought to the table when designing programs that involve them. Jennifer understands that when birthing people are equipped with the knowledge and information they need, they can make informed decisions that can be lifesaving, especially for people of color. She helps run a statewide coalition for doulas to ensure that they receive an equitable reimbursement rate through Medicaid and a doula friendliness hospital designation. Jennifer focuses on the membership engagement and communications in the coalition.

Elizabeth Pihlaja, MPH, is the Associate Executive Director of the Foundation for a Healthy North Dakota, where she can merge her love of coaching, strategic planning, community outreach, and education. She received both her B.S. in Child Psychology and Master of Public Health degree in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. After over a decade in public health, and having held a wide variety of jobs, from teaching preschool to administering multi-million-dollar grant programs, Elizabeth considers herself a jack-of-all-trades. Elizabeth previously worked as a Senior Dissemination Specialist within the national nonprofit ZERO TO THREE. She was also the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program Administrator for the state of North Dakota for nearly five years. Elizabeth lives in small-town Minnesota with her husband, two children, and pets. A first-generation descendant of the White Earth Nation, she loves beading and learning traditional practices and crafts in her free time. Elizabeth is also a birth doula and is passionate about expanding access to full-spectrum doula care, especially in rural areas.

Bryanna McDaniel, MPH, is the Director of Maternal and Infant Health Initiatives, Western PA, for the March of Dimes. Born in Texas, she has made Pittsburgh her home for the last few years. Her professional experiences revolve heavily around the non-profit and governmental sectors. She has gained experience in various fields, including but not limited to those related to sexual violence and intimate partner violence, transportation equity, LGBTQ+ issues, birth equity, and food access. Her goal is to make communities safe and healthy for all, regardless of income, race, sexuality, or status. Bryanna earned her Masters of Public Health from the University of Southern California. 

Sequoi Phipps-Hawkins is a Community-Based Doula in Richmond and Birth in Color RVA Director of Communications and Marketing. Sequoi is passionate about maternal health and reproductive justice. With 7+ years working in the nonprofit sector in the US and partnering with organizations around the world, Sequoi strongly believes that the work we do to invest in communities at all levels is some of the most valuable work being done today. From her studies in Human Geography and Urban Development at the University of Mary Washington, Sequoi says “It became quickly evident to me that investment in women is the avenue to invest in and support families. The data shows that when women and birthing people are taken care of, the entire familial unit thrives.”

Nneka Hall is a mother, full-spectrum doula, postpartum care specialist, International bereavement specialist, and maternal health advocate with a primary focus on black maternal and infant mortality. Before she founded Mother IS Supreme, Inc., she founded Quietly United in Loss Together (QUILT) in 2014, which is a Pregnancy And Infant Loss Awareness campaign designed to raise awareness of all types of loss from conception through a child’s first two years of life, teach healthy fertility through womb health education, provide support to families who suffer these losses and provide support for memory programs so they won’t close due to inability to afford supplies. She has had amazing opportunities, including speaking at Harvard Medical School’s Leadership and Development Program Conference, Postpartum Depression at the Massachusetts State House for Postpartum Depression Day, and the Massachusetts Medical Society’s PQIN Summit. Nneka sits on the Ellen Story Postpartum Postpartum Depression Commission and the Racial Inequities in Maternal Health Commission. She is currently an Ambassador for the United State of Women and Count the Kicks. She sits on the board of Postpartum Support International’s MA Chapter.

Doreen Hunter is Policy Advocate for Mother is Supreme. Hunter is also the co-founder of the Americas Conference to End Coercive Control, a proud mother, a survivor of domestic violence, and an advocate for women and children who are fleeing domestic violence. She speaks at conferences to raise awareness of abuse during pregnancy as well as the adverse long-term effects of non-physical abuse on children and adults. In her role as chair of the Texas chapter of the Stop Abuse Campaign, Doreen gave testimony at the Texas Capital to help ensure HB 902 – legislation that would make pregnant women a protected class in Texas – was enacted. She also led a small group that successfully had a bill introduced into the Texas legislature to help protect children. During that legislative cycle, Doreen held on the capital steps a vigil for children who died from child abuse that were connected to Family Court.

Jessie Colbert is the Founder and Executive Director of the Mass. PPD Fund, a nonprofit focused on improving communities’ capacity to address postpartum depression and other new parent mental health challenges. Prior to the Fund’s launch, Ms. Colbert served as the Development Director and Assistant Development Director for MassBudget, a state-level think tank. She was also the first Director of the Ellen Story Special Legislative Commission on Postpartum Depression, now a national model on the issue. She currently serves as an appointed Commissioner on that body, on the Mission Committee of March of Dimes New England Market, and on the Boston Women’s Leadership Council. Ms. Colbert lives in Boston with her husband and three children.

Ashlyn Rizzo is a board member and current treasurer of the Mass. PPD Fund. After enduring a 3-year fertility journey and surviving severe postpartum anxiety and depression, Ashlyn was determined to get involved in championing causes for maternal mental health. She believes that better understanding, recognition, and normalizing of these conditions can lead to actionable access to support, care, and healing. Her biggest focuses are bringing services and opportunities to light, finding solutions to fill in the current gaps in programming, and also helping to “Support the Supporters.” Originally from South Carolina, Ashlyn has lived in Boston, MA, for almost 15 years. She is currently the Director of Marketplace Strategy and Operations at Alyce, and has spent her career in logistics and supply chain – building out best-in-class delivery networks, e-commerce operations, and distribution systems. Working for both startup companies and Fortune 500 businesses, Ashlyn has experience working across all levels of an organization. She loves to use the foundation she has built in the business world to help shape the framework for the nonprofit arena. Formerly a board member at the Community Art Center in Cambridge, MA, she gained experience working in human resources and non-profit operations. Ashlyn is an avid sports fan and even does a weekly podcast for the Carolina Panthers. She lives with her husband, Brian, and their preschool son, Ollie.

Erin Crites is the treasurer of Postpartum Support International’s (PSI) North Carolina chapter and has been volunteering with PSI since 2019. Erin’s passion for all things birth has brought her to the field of maternal mental health to support families in having the most support during such a pivotal time in their lives. As a survivor of postpartum anxiety, Erin channels her own experiences when it comes to supporting families through her roles as a support group facilitator, Climb Out of the Darkness leader, and birth doula. She believes that every family deserves to be armed with the knowledge and tools to make informed choices and to use their voices to advocate for their rights. As a native of northeast North Carolina, Erin has firsthand experience with the lack of resources and access to care for new families. Through her volunteer work with PSI-NC and 2020Mom, she focuses on connecting families to community resources in order to rebuild the village that’s desperately needed in the 21st century.

Qu’Nesha Sawyer, PhD, LCMHC, LPCC, LCAS, NCC is a licensed clinical psychotherapist specializing in reproductive mental health and wellness. For over eight years, she has dedicated her clinical practice to providing culturally responsive perinatal mental health services to women of color and women of traditionally underrepresented and underserved backgrounds. Through her work, Qu’Nesha is a strong advocate for normalizing a birthing person’s experience before, during, and after pregnancy and desires to facilitate a narrative shift about perinatal mental health. She is cross-trained as a birth doula and leverages this background to further support individuals navigating their childbirth experiences. Qu’Nesha currently resides in Bay Area California and maintains a bi-coastal clinical practice.

Chandra Lewis is a wife, and reproductive justice advocate for all birthing people – especially those within marginalized communities. Drawing on her lived experience as a mother in loss, Chandra is able to serve her communities as a Full Spectrum Doula, Childbirth Educator in Training, Certified Grief Support Specialist with a focus on perinatal loss, and a Wisconsin Certified Peer Specialist who can provide individualized support during and after a loss. Through her work with various community organizations, Chandra is able to discuss how perinatal loss can be perceived, bring awareness to how the simple act or ability of grieving can be a privilege, and highlight how loss is intersectional and can affect all other aspects of being.

Felica Turner-Walton knows the power of presence, CEO and Co-Founder of Healing Our Hearts Foundation was born in Detroit, MI, and raised in Greenwood, MS. Through perseverance, she has worked her way from an insurance claims agent to now holding certification as a Grief Peer Specialist and Grief Educator. In 2019 Felica became a Full Spectrum Doula and in 2021 completed the Grief Educator Program through David Kessler and earned her Certified Grief Educator Certification. In 2022 Felica completed Pregnancy Loss Infant Awareness training with Nneka Hall. She made it her mission to be there for others after going through her own personal journey with loss. Attending multiple support groups, Felica noticed that there weren’t any groups that offered support aimed to handle multiple different experiences that Black people had as related to loss. After the passing of her 4-month-old son, Zaire, Felica’s life changed forever. “Lots of people don’t know what to say to someone who experiences a major loss,” says Felica. “It’s so important to have support. Healing Our Hearts is focused on removing the misconception related to loss by creating healing conversations around the cycle of life while acknowledging the emotions and feelings associated with bereavement. By removing the stigma and misconception about grief, Healing Our Hearts will help create a more sympathetic world that recognizes “that time doesn’t always heal“ and that no one just “gets over” the loss of a loved one.

Andrea Agalloco MSW, LICSW (she/her) is the Perinatal Mental Health Program Manager at Mary’s Center, a federally qualified community health center in the Washington DC metro area. Mary’s Center serves nearly 60,000 people annually of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds using an integrated model of health care, education, and social services. In her role, Andrea focuses on prevention, clinical services, advocacy, and community building, all with a focus on improving perinatal mental health outcomes for Mary’s Center participants. Andrea is a licensed clinical social worker and has been providing therapy to adults and adolescents since receiving her Master of Social Work degree from Catholic University in 2015. Andrea has worked for more than 20 years in the nonprofit sector in roles varying from nonprofit fundraising, event and conference management, program management, and social work roles within schools and foster care. Andrea is a mother and resides with her family on the outskirts of Washington, DC,in Silver Spring, MD.

Austyn Holleman LICSW, MSW, MPH is a Perinatal Mental Health Therapist and Program Coordinator at Mary’s Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Washington, DC. Austyn is also a community birth doula, and in the last year, she has started two Doula Programs at her organization to expand access to birth doula support for birthing people in need. She currently sits on the D.C. Department of Healthcare Finance Advisory Group and is offering her expertise to inform the rolling out of legislation that will expand Medicaid billing for doula services in the District. Her passions include reproductive justice, equitable access to mental health care, and community-based programming and policy work. She is a proud Tarheel, receiving all three of her degrees and her birth doula training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Austyn is thrilled to expand her knowledge and skills in perinatal mental health advocacy work through this wonderful Fellowship!

Elizabeth Wood has a B.S. of Physics from the United States Naval Academy and a Masters in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University. While this education did prepare her for a 15-year long career in the nuclear energy industry, none of it prepared her for the radical transition into motherhood. Driven by her own motherhood challenges, she founded Matrescence: 4th Trimester Planning & Support, a unique preventative approach to help expecting parents become more informed, prepared and supported in their 4th Trimester transition. She is also a certified Maternal Mental Health Peer Support Specialist, and serves on the Arizona Maternal Mortality Review Committee as well as Arizona’s Maternal Mental Health Task Force.

Jennie Bever is a mother, a healer and a visionary. She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University, and the Executive Director of 4th Trimester Arizona.

Cara English is the Chief Executive Officer of Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies (CGI) and Co-Founder of Terra’s Place, a maternal mental health clinical practice in Phoenix, Arizona. Cara served as a Behavioral Health Consultant at Willow Birth Center from 2017-2020, where she provided integrated behavioral health services for perinatal women and their families as part of the medical team of Certified Nurse Midwives and Nurse Practitioners. She also provided integrated behavioral health services to new mothers in partnership with Arizona Breastfeeding Center from 2015-2017. Cara led the Willow integration project to international acclaim through publication of outcomes in the International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC) and through presentations at International Foundation for Integrated Care Conferences (ICIC) in 2018 and 2020. She has extensive experience working with women and families with mental health challenges in both acute and community settings. Cara served as Vice-President of the Postpartum Support International – Arizona Chapter Founding Board of Directors, and co-chaired the Education and Legislative Advocacy Committees. She is a member of the Maternal Mortality Review Program and the Maternal Health Taskforce for the Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health. She serves as a consultant to the 4th Trimester Arizona nonprofit organization. Cara is a frequent presenter at perinatal health conferences and is an avid advocate for integrated care. Cara directs Culminating Projects in the Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) program at CGI. For her work to establish Cummings Graduate Institute, Cara was awarded the Psyche Award from the Nicholas & Dorothy Cummings Foundation in 2018.

Brace Gibson, J.D., is Policy Advocate for the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative. In this role, she serves as a liaison between the Colorado legislature, Governor’s office, and state agencies around maternal and infant health policy issues. Brace also provides leadership and support to the Maternal Mental Health Collaborative & Framework, as well as Colorado’s Teen Parent Collaborative. Brace believes that just opportunities to achieve optimal health are realized when those most impacted by laws and policies are properly represented as stakeholders of such initiatives. She is committed to applying an intersectional lens to perinatal health issues, diversifying participation in decision-making processes, and valuing lived experience at each stage of policy development, implementation, and evaluation. Brace earned her Juris Doctor from Indiana University Maurer School of Law with a focus on public interest law and policy. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Southern Indiana.

Laurel Hicks is a researcher, therapist and advocate focused on perinatal and infant mental health. She holds a research faculty position at the University of Colorado Boulder at the Renée Crown Wellness Institute. She specifically is passionate about investigating resiliency factors and interventions (especially mindfulness-based and peer-led interventions) that improve wellbeing during pregnancy and postpartum for the whole family system. She is also a Board Member of the Colorado State Chapter of Postpartum Support International and teaches prenatal yoga and works in private practice in Denver, CO. In her spare time, she loves hiking, ceramics, and creating.

Kayla Q Frawley (she/her): Kayla is a former Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), has supported the birth of approx 300 babies, was a Midwifery Educator for two MEAC accredited institutions, former family advocate, and now policy manager with Clayton Early Learning. She is a 2021 graduate of EMERGE Colorado and former community engagement chair with the Denver Women’s Commission. She manages the Parent Ambassador Program with Clayton — highlighting parent leadership and voice in state and federal policy. She is a co-author of Diverse Colorado Voices: Community led-solutions in the perinatal period, and co-convenes the Raise Colorado Coalition – a policy & advocacy coalition devoted to equitable state policy for the prenatal to age 3 time period. She has worked with families from the prenatal to preschool age for twelve-plus years in various capacities, completed her BA in Medical Anthropology, and is a current Masters in Public Health candidate with New Mexico State University.

Tonya Fulwider (she/her) is the Associate Director at Mental Health America of Ohio where she oversees the Education, Healthy Connections, Support Groups, Get Connected, statewide Mental Health First Aid and POEM programs, and serves as the co-lead on the CLAS Standards project (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care). She leads MHAOhio’s Public Policy and Advocacy work, and is a Certified Mental Health First Aid USA Instructor. Tonya is the co-founder of Perinatal Outreach and Encouragement for Moms (POEM), formerly a nonprofit organization that joined MHAOhio’s umbrella of services in 2013. POEM is one of the largest and long-running programs of its kind in the US, and was the recipient of the 2017 Innovative Programs in Care Award from 2020 Mom and the Marcé Society of North America. Tonya is a Postpartum Support International (PSI) Founder’s award winner in recognition of her outstanding contributions related to mental health and childbearing.

Lisa M Minor, MBA, CPC is Director of Caregiver Development & Communications for the Mandel Global Leadership and Learning Institute at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Lisa is a certified professional coach. In her 10 years at Cleveland Clinic, she’s provided both performance and development coaching to physician leaders, executives and leaders alike. Lisa holds a Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and an undergraduate degree in Communication and Culture from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Tenisha Gaines, CEO and Co-Founder of Village of Healing was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Tenisha has dedicated her career over the past 22 years to community and healthcare. Through perseverance she has worked her way from medical assistant to now holding a Master’s in Business Administration. In 2017 Tenisha became a Certified Lactation Counselor and in 2018 completed the coaching program through Case Western Reserve and earned her Coaching Certificate. In 2021 Tenisha completed Birthing Beautiful Communities training to become a Doula. Tenisha’s career has encompassed all levels of leadership, development, and mentoring. Tenisha has the ability to motivate and inspire individuals in identifying their potential. Through her dedication she has been able to make positive changes in the community she serves through advocacy and passion. Tenisha serves on several committees within the community that are dedicated to decreasing disparities that families in the community face daily. The health and wellbeing of her community remains at the core of Tenisha’s beliefs. She has committed her career to serving and advocating for black women.

Marianela Rodriguez-Reynaldo is a mother, postpartum doula, Certified Lactation Educator and Clinical Psychologist specialized in Perinatal Mental Health. She completed her Master’s degree at Xavier University in Ohio and went on to complete her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the Carlos Albizu University in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has been a PSI Coordinator in Puerto Rico for the past 10 years, has a private practice and led a monthly support group for parents who have experienced perinatal loss for 11 years. She is an activist for reproductive justice and human rights in maternal infant care. Provides training on perinatal mental health and trauma for health and birth professionals, is part of the expert panel for the Observatory of Obstetric Violence in Puerto Rico and serves as a Psychology Consultant for the Puerto Rico Health Department, Mother, Child and Adolescent Division Title V. In the last year she has been collaborating with an interdisciplinary group from the University of Puerto Rico to establish the first Center for Perinatal Mental Health in Puerto Rico.

Kristen Schulz coordinates the Early Childhood Alliance in Park City, Utah, which engages, educates, and supports members, children, parents, and the community-at-large to prioritize accessible, excellent, and equitable outcomes for children in the Wasatch Back from the prenatal stage through age three. In addition to her work with the ECA, Kristen has ten years of experience in public policy and government funding with one of the largest Habitat for Humanity affiliates, and ten years of experience practicing government-contract law with large, national law firms. Kristen is an honors graduate from the University of Texas School of Law and holds an LL.M. in Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Kristen lives in Park City, Utah with her husband and three kids.

Heather Dopp is a mother to two children and a survivor of perinatal anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation during her second pregnancy. Learning from her lived experience, Heather’s advocacy has taken her from the halls of the Utah State Capitol to the United States Capitol with the purpose of improving awareness and increasing resources available to mothers facing maternal mental illness within the United States. Heather is currently completing her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and looks forward to counseling mothers, parents, and families facing perinatal mental illness.