Co-Sponsored with Black Mamas Matter Alliance
Thursday, September 19th at 2pm ET / 1 pm CT / 11 am PT (90 min)
Are you ready to raise your voice for policies to support birth centers to thrive in our communities?
Are you eager to learn about exciting and successful efforts to make policy change led by and accountable to our communities?
If you're a yes, please join us for this action oriented policy session!
Register for this event here!
Our amazing panelists include:
Angela Doyinsola Aina, MPH, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Black Mamas Matter Alliance
Indra Lusero, Founder & Director, Elephant Circle
Shanti Moore, RN, BSN, Doula, Birth Justice Training and Curriculum Coordinator, SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
Tanya Smith-Johnson, MS, CPM, Founder and Executive Director, Birth Future Foundation, President, National College of Midwifery
Dr. Heather Skanes, Oasis Women’s Health
Moderator: Denicia Sam Cadena
Angela Doyinsola Aina
Angela Doyinsola Aina, MPH is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, where she works to convene Black Maternal Health professionals and community-based organizations to develop trainings, programs, quality improvement initiatives, research projects, and black feminist advocacy strategies to advance holistic maternity service provision, policy, and systems change in global public health. She has over 14 years of public health experience, working in different capacities on projects focused on: incorporating health equity strategies into reproductive and maternal health initiatives; strengthening strategic planning and community-based workforce development; and data collection.
Ms. Aina has served as a Public Health Analyst, Health Communications Specialist, and a Public Health Prevention Service Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for over 5 years, working on Zika and Pregnancy, scientific program management, and 2014 Ebola response Staffing.
Angela’s expertise and perspectives on Black Maternal Health has been featured in media outlets, such as the Huffington Post, The Atlantic, the Root, HLN/CNN, and highlighted as an advocate for Black Maternal Health in Time Magazine.
Indra Lusero
Indra Lusero, is a human rights attorney licensed in Colorado, and founder of Elephant Circle and the Birth Justice Bar. Indra designed Colorado’s ambitious Birth Equity bill package that passed in 2021 and has been involved in legislation to eliminate the shackling of incarcerated people during pregnancy and birth, create a presumption against incarceration of pregnant and postpartum people, improve midwifery and birth center regulations, and to create more humane policies for pregnant people impacted by substance use.
Indra also spearheaded the creation of "Birth Rights: A resource for everyday people to defend human rights during labor and birth," and “Mobilizing the Office for Civil Rights’ Authority to Address Obstetric Violence and Obstetric Racism.” As a Queer, Genderqueer, Latinx/Genízaro parent rooted in the Rocky Mountain west, Indra is attuned to the importance of people on the margins and our role in leading the dismantling of oppressive systems to build a more equitable world.
Shanti Moore
Originally from Chicago, Shanti has called Atlanta home for over 20 years which is where she began her professional career as a Registered Nurse. It was during the 13 years she spent in mental health nursing that her passion for advocacy began to grow. After working as an RN, and a licensed massage therapist, she began her work as a doula in 2017 by providing volunteer labor support to birthing people from underserved communities. In 2020, Shanti joined SisterSong’s Birth Justice Team and through her work with the organization, has helped to create and facilitate Birth Justice trainings, a Queer Parenting Panel for Queer and Transgender individuals exploring avenues to parenthood, a summer series to educate pregnant people about pregnancy nutrition and exercise, and a Labor Support Training for birthing people with limited access to doulas. Shanti is a birth justice activist and continues to use her skills and experience to directly improve birthing outcomes for Black and Brown people and other marginalized communities.