Keynote Speaker

Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha

Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha is the Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is the Founder and Director of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ), and of the Maternal Outcomes of Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab. In addition, she is the founder of the largest conference on Black maternal health in the United States held annually in April. In its 8th year, the conference has recently attracted participants from over 46 states and 10 countries. An active scholar, Dr. Amutah-Onukagha’s research investigates maternal health disparities, infant mortality, reproductive health and social justice, and HIV/AIDS as experienced by Black women. She also serves as the inaugural Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the university’s Public Health and Professional Degree Programs.

A well-published author, Dr. Amutah-Onukagha’s research has been presented in over 85 manuscripts, 8 book chapters, a best-selling book on Amazon, and a textbook on culturally responsive evaluation. Her research has also been featured across a series of platforms, including, The Lancet, TedX, USA Today, MSNBC and most recently in the New York Times. She also serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Women’s Health Issues. Currently, Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is the Principal Investigator of two multi- year studies on maternal mortality and morbidity. She is an active co-investigator on several other research studies with collaborators across the country.

In 2023, she received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the March of Dimes and the Academic Excellence in Maternal Health award from the IRTH app. In 2022 she received the John MacQueen lecture award from the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs. Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah- Onukagha was an honoree of the 2020 Top 40 under 40 Minority Leaders in Healthcare, as presented by the National Minority Quality Forum. She also holds federal and international appointments and was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to the Advisory Council on Infant and Maternal Mortality for a 4-year term. In 2024, she was appointed to serve as the Inaugural Health Equity Think Tank Director for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc, an international organization with over 125,000 members.

A community engaged leader, she is a founding member of Birth Equity Justice MA, a board member for the Neighborhood Birth Center in Boston, and a board member for Dr. Shalons’ Maternal Action Project. Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is also the President and Founder of Amaka Consulting and Evaluation Services, LLC, a minority and women owned public health research and evaluation firm. Dr. Amutah-Onukagha received her Master of Public Health from The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services before completing her Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of Maryland. She also completed the Kellogg Health Scholars postdoctoral fellowship with an emphasis on community based participatory research and health disparities.

CLOSING PANEL

Panelists:  Deborah McCarter PhD, RN, Farrah A. Sheehan, MSN, RN, IBCLC, CCBE (BFW), Jamie Belsito, Lucy Lomas MD

Paneslists Bios:

Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, Founder and Director of Maternal and Mental Health Leadership Alliance

Jamie founded MMHLA in 2019 to prioritize national policy on maternal mental health and currently serves as Director of Policy and Partnerships. A key advocate for maternal mental health, she has helped pass three federal laws, establish the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, secure funding for state programs, and create the first maternal mental health program for the U.S. military. Jamie represented the 4th Essex District in the Massachusetts general court and is currently the Town Moderator for the Town of Topsfield. She served as a Trustee of Salem State University, a Commissioner on the Ellen Story Special Commission on Postpartum Depression, and a Board member of the Massachusetts March of Dimes. She is also a former U.S. Congressional candidate, advocating for mothers and families.

Farrah A. Sheehan, MSN, RN, IBCLC, CCBE (BFW)

Farrah is a perinatal nurse educator, researcher, and consultant whose work focuses on respectful, equitable, and supportive care for all families; birth trauma recovery and prevention; and care for substance-exposed infants and their families. Farrah offers lactation care and birth trauma recovery support to NH families as an IBCLC and is a certified Birth Story Listener with Birth Story Medicine®. She provides training and consultation for health care teams across the country seeking to improve health care quality and health equity through the implementation of innovative practices and compassionate communication.

Farrah co-led the implementation of the Eat Sleep Console (ESC)model of care, an innovative approach to care for opioid exposed newborns, in all sixteen NH birth hospitals, and served as faculty on the National Institute of Health funded study,

ACT NOW, to train hospital teams across the country in ESC implementation. Farrah’s research experience includes qualitative research with Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine in the care of substance affected birthing people and their infants. She serves as Secretary of the board for the NH Breastfeeding Task Force, board member for Postpartum Support International NH Chapter and on NH’s Perinatal Substance Exposure Collaborative. Farrah lives in southern NH with her family, enjoys yoga, exploring the outdoors, travel, and ancestral research. She brings a passion for the use of ancient myths and storytelling to her work with families and professionals.

Deborah McCarter, PhD, RN, is a maternal-child health nurse and professor emerita of Saint Anselm College where she taught maternity nursing in the classroom and clinical setting.

Over her 45-year career she has been a staff nurse, lactation consultant, nurse practitioner, professor and nurse researcher, as well as a mother of two, proud aunt and great aunt. Her research and clinical focus have been on breastfeeding, particularly for Black Women, and in supporting women who are at risk or who are experiencing perinatal mood disorders. In her retirement, she joined the NAACP Health Committee with the hope to continue to exercise her passion for promoting health and well-being for child-bearing families.

LUNCHTIME STORYTELLER

Host: Kadyja Mower

Host Bio: Kadyja Mower is an advocate, speaker, and dedicated professional with a passion for advancing maternal health and well-being.

With a deep commitment to empowering mothers and improving outcomes for families, Kadyja draws upon her personal experiences and professional expertise to shed light on the critical issues in maternal care. She combines her background in mental health as a previous clinician with her lived journey as a mother to advocate for improved emotional, psychological, and physical support for women.

Kadyja’s work is rooted in a mission to break the silence around the challenges of maternal health, foster resilience, and drive systemic changes to ensure that no woman has to endure loss or hardship alone. Through her presentation, she inspires action, shares valuable insights, and champions the importance of compassionate, holistic maternal care.

CONFERENCE MORNING SESSIONS

Session 1: Restoring Black Motherhood: Healing Through Justice and Mental Health Advocacy

Host: Nicole Sublette MA, LCMHC, CMHIMP, CH

Host Bio: Nicole Sublette MA, LCMHC, CMHIMP, CH is a licensed psychotherapist in New Hampshire, doctoral candidate in Bioenergetic Medicine, National Guild of Hypnotists Certified Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master, and Certified Mental Health Integrative Medicine Practitioner. She has over 20 years experience working in the behavioral health field.

Session Description: Black maternal health disparities are deeply rooted in systemic racism and perpetuated by the chronic stress of "weathering"—the cumulative toll of racism on physical and mental health. This presentation examines how societal inequities, such as food insecurity, the pathologization of hunger, and harmful stereotypes shape the mental health outcomes of Black mothers.

This session is designed to empower attendees with practical tools to address systemic racism within healthcare and mental health systems. Participants will learn how to apply culturally responsive, trauma-informed care practices, advocate for equitable policies, and challenge harmful narratives surrounding Black motherhood. By fostering awareness and systemic change, we can collectively work toward improving maternal health outcomes and advancing racial equity in healthcare.

Session 2: Centering Voices, Building Power: Storytelling for Transformative Maternal Health Advocacy

Hosts: MacKenzie Nicholson and Tina Sherman

Hosts Bio:
MacKenzie Nicholson is the Senior Director for MomsRising in NH. As a young mom, she began volunteering for MomsRising while she earned her masters degree in Public Policy from the Carsey School at The University of New Hampshire. In her spare time, she loves to read, exercise, and on the few days that the northeast isn't freezing, relax at the beach! She lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her family and Golden Retriever - Irish Setter, Jack!

Tina is the National Director for the Maternal Justice Campaign at MomsRising. Tina has dedicated her professional life to supporting and empowering moms and families. She has served as a legislative aide in the United States Senate, has worked with several child and women's advocacy organizations, and is a certified birth doula. Tina and her husband JP are raising four boys ranging from 8 to 18 years, including 15 year old twins. She is active in her hometown and serves as Chair of town planning board.

Session Description: TMaternal mental health is a national crisis. Maternal health service providers struggle with a lack of access to mental health supports for pregnant and postpartum people, particularly in rural, immigrant, and low-income communities.
Multiple layers of disadvantage combined with the demands of pregnancy and parenting create circumstances that limit individuals’ access to culturally sensitive perinatal mental healthcare. Additionally, providers have limited understanding of what type of mental health supports are desired by their patients.

Session 3: SUPPORTING LATINA MATERNAL HEALTH IN NH:
FULFILLING THE CALL TO JUSTICE

Host: Trinidad Tellez, MD, Alka Dev PhD, and Daisy Goodman, DNP, MPH, CNM, CARN-AP

Host Bio: Dr. Trinidad Tellez is a Latina family physician, community-based health disparities researcher, educator, and public health / health policy professional with over 20 years’ experience operationalizing equity, diversity & inclusion and organizational cultural effectiveness to address health disparities, improve access and quality, and advance health and equity for all. Dr. Tellez champions authentic community engagement, collaborative partnership building, and equitable participatory processes as important mechanisms for facilitating and leading community-driven approaches to co-creating equity.
Dr. Tellez graduated from Dartmouth Medical School, trained at the UCSF-affiliated Natividad Family Medicine Residency in Salinas, California, and completed a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Fellowship in health services research and health policy at the University of California Los Angeles. As a community-embedded researcher and primary care provider in Lawrence, MA for over 7 years, she helped lead the Mayor’s Health Task Force Research Initiative Working Group’s efforts to promote equitable Community Based Participatory Research partnerships to ensure that all research conducted in Lawrence is truly collaborative, and of benefit to the community. She then led the New Hampshire Office of Health Equity for over 10 years and provided state-level leadership for aligning efforts state-wide to improve health and equity. She is currently an adjunct instructor for the MPH Programs at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at Geisel School of Medicine, as well as Tufts University School of Medicine. “Dr. Trini” is engaged in various BIPOC and immigrant community driven initiatives; and is in her second term as a Manchester Representative in the 400-member NH State House of Representatives. Dr. Tellez is Principal of [Health] Equity Strategies, LLC and serves as an equity consultant and community collaborator for multiple Maternal and Child Health initiatives.

Daisy Goodman is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a Certified Nurse Midwife by clinical background. She divides her time between training resident physicians in multidisciplinary, team based care for pregnant and postpartum people with behavioral health conditions impacting their ability to access care, research, and program development.

Ms Goodman leads a HRSA funded initiative focused on improving systems of care for rural pregnant patients with substance use conditions, and along with Dr. Trinidad Tellez and Dr. Alka Dev, recently co-led a community engaged project engaging postpartum people around the issue of evidence-based care for perinatal mental health conditions, funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the subject of this presentation.

Session Description: Maternal mental health is a national crisis. Maternal health service providers struggle with a lack of access to mental health supports for pregnant and postpartum people, particularly in rural, immigrant, and low-income communities. Multiple layers of disadvantage combined with the demands of pregnancy and parenting create circumstances that limit individuals’ access to culturally sensitive perinatal mental healthcare. Additionally, providers have limited understanding of what type of mental health supports are desired by their patients.

Methods: We used Emotional Journey Mapping (EJM), a group-based patient engagement approach rooted in equity and multicultural inclusion. 49 postpartum people from low-income, rural, LGBTQ, and the Latino and African immigrant communities, participated in seven EJM sessions, held in English, Spanish and Kinyarwanda. Participants shared their emotional responses to memories of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum experiences, then discussed factors that may contribute to each emotion. Participants collaboratively generated problem statements based on the experiences identified at each EJM session.

The second phase of this equity-centered engagement framework utilized Community Engagement Studios (CES). Community and clinical stakeholders participated in 4 CES sessions focused on creating solutions to the community-generated EJM problem statements, organized around the question: “what is the best way to support perinatal mental health across NH’s birthing communities?”.

Findings: Findings from both EJM and CES groups revealed significant discordance between how patients and providers understand the experience of pregnancy, postpartum, and birth.

Implications: Patients and clinical stakeholders identified a path forward to disseminate community-focused interventions for postpartum mental health, with the goal of choosing strategies that are equitable and elevate the needs and preferences of communities historically underrepresented in the design of maternal health programs.

Session 4: Culturally Responsive Care in New Hampshire

Host: Anna Adachi-Mejia & Talmira Hill

Host Bio: Talmira Hill led the Culturally Responsive Care project and assembled the consultant team. Talmira is principal of the T. L. Hill Group, an independent firm she founded in May 2001 that consults at the nexus of philanthropy and community change to strengthen social impact. Talmira brings over 30 years of leadership experience at the national level in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and public sectors, specializing in partnerships and collaborative enterprises to improve outcomes in low-income and underrepresented communities. Talmira earned her Master of Education degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC.

Session Description: This presentation shares the results of the project, “Culturally Responsive Care in New Hampshire: Celebrating and Uplifting Resources to Support Equitable Access to Behavioral Health among Diverse Communities.” In 2023 – 2024, we conducted focus groups, interviews, and an environmental scan. This team was comprised of people of color with a range of expertise in diversity, inclusion, and health equity. In addition to providing this expertise, they bring lived experience with the various inequalities in the healthcare system.

This project centered the lived experiences of two groups in New Hampshire, namely behavioral healthcare providers who self-identify as belonging to the African American/Black/Afro Caribbean, Latine/o/a/x, refugee and immigrant, disability, and LGBTQ+ communities; and adults from the African American/Black/Afro Caribbean, Latine/o/a/x, refugee and immigrant, disability, and LGBTQ+ communities who have attempted to access behavioral and/or mental health resources for themselves or their children, youth, and families.

This project accomplished three main objectives, namely: (1) gaining perspectives of people with lived experience, including diverse behavioral/mental healthcare providers and individuals and families from diverse communities who have attempted to access NH’s behavioral healthcare system; (2) conducting an environmental scan of informational resources based on key themes and issues emerging from the lived experiences of diverse people in NH; and (3) recommending ways to improve access to behavioral healthcare for residents in New Hampshire.

CONFERENCE AFTERNOON SESSIONS

Session 1: Team Birth: Solution for Dignity & Equity

Host: Kathleen Farrell MD, MPH, FACOG and April Henry MSN, RNC-OB, CNL

Host Bio: Kathleen Farrell, MD, MPH, FACOG is the Medical Director of the Family Center at Exeter Hospital and an OB/GYN physician with Core OB/GYN in Exeter, NH. Katie received her MD and MPH from the University of Washington through the TRUST (Targeted Rural and Underserved Track) program, a pathway focused on training medical students to provide care for rural and underserved communities. She completed her residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center where she was involved in improving Transgender GYN Care services. Prior to medical school Katie spent two years living in Cameroon where she worked with Traditional Birth Attendants to increase use of routine prenatal care in rural mountain communities. She has dedicated her medical practice to providing affirming care that promotes patient health and wellbeing across the lifespan, from preventative screenings to reproductive and pregnancy care into menopause and beyond. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, kayaking, running and eating baked goods.

April Henry MSN, RNC-OB, CNL is the current Chair of NH AWHONN. She is Director of the Family Center, Center for Reproductive Care and Maternal Fetal Medicine at Exeter Hospital in Exeter, New Hampshire. She has received degrees from the University of New England, Franklin Pierce University and the University of New Hampshire where she is currently enrolled in the DNP program. April received the 2022 Excellence in Nursing Award in Maternal Child Health Nursing from NH Magazine. April has been a perinatal nurse for 26 years in various settings across the country.  She is passionate about improving outcomes in birthing people and their families and honored to have a part in creating a positive birth experience for all.

Session Description: This session will focus on innovative approaches to maternal health, specifically the Team Birth model. Team Birth emphasizes a collaborative, patient-centered approach where a diverse group of healthcare providers—including nurses, doctors, doulas, midwives, and the expecting family—work together in real-time to ensure the best possible care experience during labor and delivery. This model promotes equity, communication, and shared decision-making to improve outcomes and experiences for birthing families.

Session 2: Anti-Abortion Centers: How "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" Delay, Dissuade, and Stigmatize Access to Reproductive Health Care

Host: Christina Warriner

Host Bio: Christina Warriner joined Reproductive Equity Now in the summer of 2023 as the organization’s New Hampshire State Director to lead its expansion into the Granite State. Christina is a Concord, New Hampshire native with a decade of experience spanning campaign management and strategy, non-profit community engagement and advocacy, and public service. She holds her MSW from Boston College, where she focused on social policy and community-driven interventions.

Session Description: ack women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals have historically experienced reproductive coercion and been systemically denied the information and services needed to make decisions about their reproductive futures, including access to abortion. In New Hampshire, anti-abortion centers (AACs), or “crisis pregnancy centers,” contribute to this by posing as resources for unplanned pregnancies, but in reality, exist to dissuade people from accessing abortion. These centers often target Black, brown, low-income, and young people with offers of free services, only to provide medical misinformation and abortion stigma. By delaying, deceiving, and stigmatizing access to basic reproductive health care, AACs exacerbate the high maternal mortality and morbidity rates among Black women and birthing people. In New Hampshire, Reproductive Equity Now has identified 22 AACs, which outnumber legitimate reproductive health clinics by more than 3 to 1.
Reproductive Equity Now’s Anti-Abortion Center Guidebook helps people find legitimate abortion care in New England and avoid anti-abortion centers. It exposes how these centers deceive patients, offers ways to raise public awareness, and provides tools to engage local officials on this issue.
Unfortunately, an unfriendly Supreme Court and federal judiciary has afforded anti-abortion centers significant free speech protections, making them exceptionally difficult to regulate. Right now, public education and awareness are the most important tools we have to blunt the impacts of anti-abortion centers and ensure all people can access legitimate reproductive health care.

Session 3: This Session will be co-presented by Wanda Castillo, Sindy Chown, and Trinidad Tellez.

Host: Wanda Castillo, Sindy Chown, and Trinidad Tellez MD, Alka Dev PhD

Host Bio: Wanda Castillo is a public health leader committed to bettering health and opportunity for all residents in New Hampshire – especially those who have been historically marginalized, voiceless, and invisible – who has meaningfully touched the lives of thousands of community members for the better in her 24 years as a community health worker and as a Latino community leader. Ms. Castillo began as a volunteer interpreter, facilitating connections between friends and family and necessary community resources. As she labored to safeguard the health and welfare of her neighbors and community members, Wanda established a solid foundation of trust and worked in a variety of positions that complemented her love of health, such as support worker for mental health, doula, lactation counselor, and EKG technician until she discovered her calling as a Community Health Worker (CHW). At the NH Minority Health Coalition, Wanda ran the successful Bright Start Home Visiting program, to assure that mothers in-need received the culturally and linguistically competent services they deserved. And as an embedded CHW at one of 3 neighborhood community schools, as part of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)-funded initiative, she earned the trust of families in the predominantly minority and immigrant student-serving school where she supported vulnerable students and families to be able to successfully navigate systems (education, health, municipal, justice, and more), and used her voice and the wisdom of her experience to advocate for their well-being while working to improve those systems.

Ms. Sindy Chown, CHW, is a Community Specialist for Centro Latino de New Hampshire, providing programs, education, and skill building for community members to navigate systems independently, enhance well-being, and thrive collectively successfully. She brings three and half years of experience as the bilingual/bicultural newborn navigator for Ready Set Launch at Elliot Hospital, where she supports moms and newborns with home visits and breastfeeding support. Ms. Chown is passionate about maternal mental health and is an active member of the New Hampshire Perinatal Quality Collaborative and other community networks promoting well-being.

Originally from Colombia, Ms. Chown now lives in Concord, New Hampshire. She is an accomplished artist who is passionate about promoting culture and physical well-being. She is the founder in 2018 and director of the Barranquilla Flavor Multicultural Dance Program, which provides an opportunity for youth ages 6-16 to learn and explore dance while building confidence, leadership skills, and friendships and to perform cultural dance from multiple heritages while promoting multiculturalism across New England. For fun, Sindy enjoys event planning/decorating for family and friends and has volunteered with Hearts for Kindness Concord Mom Prom since 2020. Sindy is also the proud mom to two amazing young women in college and high school; her youngest daughter has been a performer with Barranquilla Flavor since its inception.

Session Description: The Latino/a/e/x community is the largest racial/ethnic group in New Hampshire at 4.6% of the population. Latinos report experiencing bias, discrimination and a lack of inclusion or belonging. These experiences can cause stress and contribute to additional challenges to health and well-being and hamper the ability to thrive.

While many Latinos may be able to access services from mainstream organizations, they may not have their language assistance needs met with interpreters and translated materials as required by law, or they may simply feel a lack of respect, inclusion and cultural competence from service providers

Session 4: RECLAIMING OUR HEALTH: REST, RESISTANCE, AND THE POWER OF COMMUNITY

Host: Lucy Lomas, MD

Host Bio: Lucy Lomas MD is an expert in women’s health and wellness. Lucy is a board certified OB-GYN physician with over 15 years of clinical experience. She is the executive director of New England Medical Association, a network of black physicians and is Chair of the NAACP, Boston Health Committee. Lucy is a fierce advocate for holistic health and wellness. She graduated from the University of Southern California for Medicine (2009) and Biomedical engineering (2004). Lucy loves creating joyful experiences for her children, family and friends.

Session Description: In this talk we will explore how we can reclaim our health through three essential pillars: mindset, building a support team, and rest.

Session 5: Role of Fathers in Mental Health

Host: Cordan James

Host Bio: Cordan James is a dedicated advocate for fatherhood, family well-being, and equitable caregiving. As a father of three, he brings over two decades of parenting experience to the conversation on supporting maternal health and fostering stronger family connections. Cordan's personal journey as a young father navigating co-parenting has fueled his mission to empower fathers to embrace nurturing roles and redefine societal perceptions of masculinity and caregiving.

Through his work with organizations such as On Your Feet Foundation and his leadership in fatherhood initiatives with Fathering Together, Cordan has championed the importance of shared caregiving, emotional availability, and creating systems that uplift both parents and children. He is passionate about addressing male loneliness, advocating for paternity leave, and encouraging fathers to build meaningful connections within their families and communities.

As a keynote speaker, Cordan combines heartfelt personal stories with actionable insights, offering audiences a unique perspective on balancing family responsibilities and transforming fatherhood into a powerful force for societal change. He is committed to creating a future where all families thrive through collaboration, empathy, and mutual support.