Illinois Community-Based
Birth Justice
State Strategic Plan
The Summit
September 25-26, 2025 | Chicago, IL
Illinois Community-Based Birth Justice State Strategic Plan
The Summit
September 25-26, 2025
Chicago, IL
As part of an 18-month state strategic planning project
Black Midwifery Collective and Health and Medicine Policy Research Group convened community-based birth and reproductive health justice workforces and stakeholders to create a shared vision and joint action plan for improving perinatal health outcomes and birth justice in Illinois.
Looking ahead: The next Illinois Birth Justice Summit is planned for Spring 2027. More details to come! Sign up to receive email updates:
September 25, 2025
Day 1 was open to the public and stakeholders
Location: Chicago, Illinois
We presented results from multiple, recent Illinois community-based birth workforce surveys and landscape analysis. Attendees had a chance to join breakout sessions that were focused on themes that emerged from workforce survey results. We provided time and space for birth workers and stakeholders to discuss pressing workforce issues with people in their own profession and across disciplines.
September 26, 2025
Day 2 was by invitation only for community-based birth workers and thought leaders. Strategic planning facilitators led community-based workers in exercises to identify and prioritize strategies for the strategic plan. The group also began to map out activities and results for each goal.
Meet the Speakers
Star August
CPM, LM, ASM, CD, Founder and Executive Director of Black Midwifery Collective
Read Star's Bio
Star August is a midwife, advocate, and the Executive Director of the Black Midwifery Collective, a non-profit based in Chicago. Her work aims to improve health outcomes for Black birthing individuals by addressing disparities in maternal and infant health and increasing the racial diversity of community midwives. Today, Star is one of only two Black Certified Professional Midwives currently practicing in the state of Illinois. She stands to continue making history by installing the first Midwifery Education Accreditation Council direct-entry midwifery accredited college educational program in Illinois. Star is board chair of the inaugural Illinois Midwifery Board.
Lakesia Collins
IL State Senator for the 5th District
Read Lakesia's Bio
Magdalena Rivera
President/CEO of Illinois Migrant Council
Read Magdalena's Bio
Dr. Magdalena Rivera: Daughter of a late Farmworker, working on 3rd master’s degree, holds Bi-National PhD in Education, LULAC member for over 30yrs, Human rights advocate since age 16. CEO non-profit organization. Has worked in many different fields, from crop picking in farming fields to government, mental health clinics, banking, and other public and non-profit institutions. Helps husband manage the family real estate and grocery stores businesses. Recipient of many special awards and recognitions. Mother of a daughter and grandmother of four. Dr. Rivera is the President and CEO of the The Illinois Migrant Council (IMC), The Illinois Migrant Council (IMC) is a community-based non-profit organization with the primary mission of promoting employment, education, health, housing, crisis intervention and other opportunities for migrant/seasonal farm workers (MSFW), immigrants, refugees/asylum seekers and their families, and other low income rural communities in Illinois.
Karie E. Stewart
MPH, MSN, CNM, APRN
Read Karie's Bio
Karie E. Stewart is a practicing Certified Nurse Midwife with the University of Illinois Mile Square Health Centers and the University of Illinois Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. She has been a midwife for 6 years and is the current President of the ACNM Illinois Chapter Affiliate. Karie E. Stewart has been newly inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2023. Karie E. Stewart received her master’s in nursing from the University of Illinois Chicago and her master’s in public health at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She started a nonprofit organization in 2019 known as Melanated Midwives which aims to financially support BIPOC student midwives through their midwifery training programs with the goal of diversifying the midwifery workforce.
Chastity Mays
M.S.ED., CD(DONA), The Little Resource Center
Read Chastity's Bio
Chastity Mays is co-administrator for The Little Resource Center Carbondale and has held formal doula certification for 6 years. She has been working in family service and peer-support spaces for over 15 years. She has served clients in Southern Illinois, the Missouri Bootheel area, and Paducah, Kentucky. She stands with and advocates for families who are underrepresented and, in many cases, simply not heard at all. Among the many committees and councils, she is a part of Chastity sits on the boards of the Carbondale Public Library and the Birth Equity committee for the Southern Illinois Healthcare Labor and Delivery Unit at Carbondale Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, IL. Chastity is routinely involved in state and regional political efforts around Black Maternal Health and frequently presents her expertise and experience in public forums, conferences, and through legislative testimony. Chastity believes that representation and cultural awareness is vital to changing the exorbitant black maternal mortality rates. She also sits on the Promoting Vaginal Birth Committee with Southern Illinois Healthcare. When she is not furthering her education or supporting families, Chastity enjoys spending time with her three children, two of whom are now in college, so she loves to travel to go visit them. She also enjoys reading, hiking, crocheting, and the theatre.
Dr. Glenance Green
PhD, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Black Researchers Collective
Read Glenance's Bio
Recognized by WVON and Ariel Investments as one of Chicago’s 40 Gamechangers Under 40, Glenance Green, affectionately known as Dr. G, is a dynamic scholar, author, and community organizer dedicated to racial equity, Black liberation, and policy reform. A multi-talented leader, she holds a Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, with research focusing on Black women-led organizations leading resistance efforts against oppression through community-driven educational models, which not only advance their organizations’ missions but also have potential implications for shaping state and local education policy. A versatile storyteller, Glenance uses poetry, film, and other art forms as tools of healing and liberation. Glenance is also the author of Resilience in Rhyme, a powerful collection of poetry that explores themes of healing, resilience, and resistance, reflecting her deep commitment to using art and storytelling as tools for both personal and collective liberation. In addition to Resilience in Rhyme, she published Shades of Green, a collection of short stories, poetry, and prose examining the complexities of identity and lived experiences. Glenance seamlessly weaves together the power of data with storytelling, recognizing that stories are data in their most human form. She understands that numbers alone can’t capture the full truth of our lived experiences. Instead, narratives—whether shared through poetry or community testimony—offer a crucial layer of context, driving both personal healing and systemic change. As the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Researchers Collective, Dr. G works to advance racial equity by equipping communities with research tools to be more civically engaged and policy-informed, using publicly accessible data and participatory action research to address systemic inequities. She also co-hosts the Research in the Streets podcast, to discuss how research and data can be used by everyday people in everyday life. Dr. G serves on the Equity Advisory Council for the City of Chicago and is a board member of Kuumba Lynx, a youth serving arts organization that uses Hip Hop pedagogy as a tool of empowerment and social justice. With over 15 years of experience in research and the non-profit sector, Dr. G’s work bridges the worlds of community, academia, activism, and art, strengthening her contributions to movements for racial equity and justice.
Kiarri Kershaw
PhD, MPH, FAHA
Read Kiarri's Bio
Kiarri Kershaw is a social epidemiologist whose research focuses on understanding and addressing structural and social drivers of health and health inequities. She has extensive experience in the application of advanced geospatial and statistical methodologies using several large maternal and cardiovascular health cohort studies. Dr. Kershaw also has multiple federally-funded studies that involve primary data collection using ecological momentary assessments to examine associations of the places people go, who they spend time with, and everyday stressful experiences with various health behaviors and outcomes.
Lakeesha Harris
Executive Director of Chicago Volunteer Doulas
Read Lakeesha's Bio
Lakeesha Harris is an unapologetic Black Feminist, Abolitionist, is the current Executive Director of Chicago Volunteer Doulas, where their mission as a birth and reproductive justice organization is to center the lives of those most marginalized by inadequate medical care by providing doulas support. Previously Lakeesha was the Co-Executive Director of Lift Louisiana – centering policy changes needed to improve the lives of Louisiana’s women, their families, and their communities. In 2021 -2022 Lakeesha wrote and hosted Old Pro News – a limited podcast dedicated to educating everyone on the current issues and activism of Sex Workers globally. This was a continuation of her advocacy as the former Director of Reproductive Health and Justice at Women With A Vision, Inc, in New Orleans Louisiana. While there she co-led a campaign with Representative Mandie Landy, spearheading the first comprehensive statewide bills in the nation to decriminalize sex work. She along with current, and other former sex workers, developed the deep south decrim toolkit, lodging a statewide campaign to educate the community on what it means when sex workers are targeted and criminalized. During the 2021 legislative session, a group of 119 sex workers and allies provided three hours of testimony in the Louisiana State House – a first, not only in the deep south, but in any statehouse!
Nikia Grayson
DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM
Read Nikia's Bio
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C (she/her/hers) is a Reproductive Justice informed public health activist, anthropologist and family nurse-midwife who has devoted her life to serving and empowering people in underserved communities. Nikia graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in communications and public health respectively, from University of Memphis with a master’s in medical anthropology and from the University of Tennessee with a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nurse practice. She completed her post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University. Nikia has more than 15 years experience working in public health and nursing, with her more recent work focusing on reproductive rights and justice, birth justice, and midwifery. Nikia has a deep love for midwifery and growing the workforce of midwives and birth workers of colors in the south. She is passionate about being a disruptor to the current healthcare system and creating new models of care that integrate midwifery and center Black and brown communities. She works daily to ensure all persons have the rights and means to make decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health. Nikia is the Chief Clinical Officer at CHOICES Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, where they have opened the first non-profit comprehensive reproductive health care center in the country and the first birth center in the city. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for SisterReach, the only Reproductive Justice organization in Tennessee.
Camille R. Williamson
PhD, LCSW
Read Camille's Bio
In 2023 I completed my doctorate degree in social work at the University of Southern California. My focus area is the Black Maternal Health Crisis. And in my research, I conducted qualitative interviews to learn more about why birth inequities persist and what we can do to develop solutions for this problem. Thus far, I have learned so much about barriers at the community level in terms of access to quality care for marginalized birthing people; as well as challenges in our out-patient and hospital systems due to structural racism, inaccessibility, and generational trauma. I learned that public health officials need more time and intentional space with community members to garner their experiences, build respectful and trusting relationships, and determine sustainable solutions together. And most importantly, I learned that we need a community-centered approach to set reproductive health standards, address fragmentation within our health and human systems, and advance health equity through a coalition of providers, physicians, and birth justice champions. Most recently, I have been working on the Illinois doula and midwife landscape analysis with the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group. My role is to develop quantitative and qualitative research processes, collect and analyze data, and provide recommendations to the Illinois State Strategic Planning Committee. This research project will be paramount in helping healthcare administrators, providers, and community health workers to develop a stronger system for birthing people throughout the state by providing a baseline of information for data-driven decision-making for better health outcomes for birthing people. Although this is a challenging wicked issue, we have exciting opportunities to make pivotal improvements in the lives of those most marginalized. I am excited to see that the Illinois Department of Public Health is centering health equity to address the social and structural determinants that impact our most vulnerable populations. Given the priority areas of chronic disease, COVID-19 and emerging diseases, maternal child health, mental health and substance use disorder, and racism as a public health crisis we have a long road ahead of us to charter; however, I believe in this vison, and I am committed to this field of work as a thought leader, change agent, and collaborator for better maternal child health outcomes and population health overall.
Claire Hughes
MSW, LSW, The Little Resource Center
Read Claire's Bio
Claire is co-administrator for The Little Resource Center Carbondale and a licensed social worker who completed graduate fellowship training in Trauma-Informed Behavioral Health at SIU School of Medicine. Claire also holds formal training in Perinatal Mental Health from Postpartum Support International. She has been working in Maternal and Child healthcare and social service spaces for over 10 years. Claire sits on the board of the Illinois Rural Health Association, the strategic planning committee of the Illinois Public Health Association, and the Workforce Development Committee for the National Association of Community Health Workers.
Anna Yankelev
Director of Strategic Workforce Initiatives at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
Read Anna's Bio
Anna is responsible for overseeing efforts related to building a sustainable, equitable public health workforce, including managing the Good Jobs Chicago grant and various Community Health Worker initiatives at HMPRG. Anna works with local public health employers and training providers to ensure that employers have access to the workers they need to best serve their communities and that these positions provide the conditions and benefits workers need to thrive. Anna’s interests are at the intersection of health, work, and community, and how work can be used as a tool to build healthy communities and promote health equity. She began as a youth activist focusing on community engagement and organizing and furthered her passion for public health and social justice while earning her B.S. in Public Health from Brandeis University and her M.P.H. and M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). While earning her master’s degrees, Anna worked as a researcher for the UIC Center for Healthy Work and taught academic writing to other students. After graduating, Anna joined the Lake County Health Department (LCHD) where she oversaw the development, implementation, and evaluation of the agency’s internal strategic plan and Community Health Improvement Plan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anna also served as the Chief Community Mitigation Officer for Lake County’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) and developed and launched LCHD’s first Community Health Worker program. In addition to her professional role, Anna also serves as a facilitator for Radical Public Health and helped create its flagship course, Epidemics of Injustice. In her spare time, Anna enjoys hiking, cooking, and exploring new neighborhoods in Chicago and beyond.
Summit Host:
Strategic Planning and Facilitation:
Anna Yankelev
Health and Medicine Policy Research
Read Anna's Bio
Anna joined Health and Medicine Policy Research Group in January 2023 where her work sits at the intersection of community organizing, strategic planning, workforce development, and health equity. She began as a youth activist, focusing on youth engagement and community organizing and furthered her passion for public health and social justice while earning her B.S. in Public Health from Brandeis University and her M.P.H. and M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). After graduating, Anna joined the Lake County Health Department (LCHD) where she oversaw the development, implementation, and evaluation of the agency’s internal strategic plan and Community Health Improvement Plan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anna also served as the Chief Community Mitigation Officer for Lake County’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) and developed and launched LCHD’s first Community Health Worker program. At Health & Medicine, Anna leads coalition building, strategic planning, policy advocacy and implementation, and other initiatives that support the development and sustainability of Community Health Workers, doulas, midwives, behavioral health workers, and other public health roles.
Dr. Glenance Green
Green Solutions Group/ Black Researcher's Collective
Read Glenance's Bio
Dr. Glenance Green, also known as Dr. G, is an artist, civic researcher, organizer, and educator committed to advancing racial equity. In 2024, she was recognized by WVON and Ariel Investments as one of Chicago’s 40 Gamechangers Under 40. Her work bridges art, activism, and research, making her a sought-after speaker and facilitator in spaces where innovation meets social impact.
As the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Researchers Collective, Dr. G helps train communities to use participatory research and data as tools for civic engagement and policy change. Over the last couple years, the Black Researchers Collective has deepened its work in the birth justice community—launching a Community Action Research Project on Black maternal and infant equity in Auburn Gresham with BA NIA, partnering with the Chicago Reproductive Justice Coalition to examine barriers to reproductive and sexual health, and conducting a needs assessment with ReproTLC to better understand the needs of the workforce supporting abortion care. Her work reminds us that research is not just about data, but also about people, power, and justice — key themes at the heart of this summit.
The event is sponsored by:
The Agenda
Illinois Birth Justice Summit Program Schedule | Day 1: September 25, 2025
8:30-9:20am
Registration/Breakfast – Main Conference Room
9:30am
Land Acknowledgment
Shariah Sanders, Community Coordinator, Black Midwifery Collective, Doula, CBE, Birth Assistant, Student Midwife
Juanita Ahuehuetzin Montoya, Director of Midwifery / Partera, LCPM, LMT, LM, Birth Center of Chicago & ParterÃa 7 Generations Midwifery
9:30-10:00am
Intro and Warm Up
Dr. Glenance Green, PhD, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Black Researchers Collective
10:00am
Keynote Address: The Moment We Are In
Star August, CPM, LM, ASM, CD, Founder and Executive Director of Black Midwifery Collective
10:15-11:15am
Opening Plenary Panel – Main Conference Room
What is Birth Justice to you? What does it look like in your practice or work?
- Moderator: Dr. Glenance Green, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Black Researchers Collective
- Senator Lakesia Collins, Illinois State Senator
- Lakeesha Harris, Doula/Abolitionist/Human Rights Activist Executive Director, Chicago Volunteer Doulas
- Dr. Maggie Rivera, President/CEO of the Illinois Migrant Council National Treasurer of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
- Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM Chief Clinical Officer at CHOICES Center for Reproductive Health
11:15- 11:30am
Tea/Coffee Break
11:30-12:15pm
Didactic Panel: IL Birth Equity and Workforce Survey Results
Moderator: Anna Yankelev, Director of Strategic Workforce Initiatives at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
- Illinois Community-Based Birth Justice State Strategic Plan Overview
- Nora Kropp, CPM, MPH, Development, Research and Programs, Black Midwifery Collective, Birth Assistant, PCC Wellness Birth Center
- Illinois Doula/Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) Workforce Landscape
Environmental scan of birth workers in Illinois.- Camille R. Williamson, PhD, LCSW, Evaluation Consultant to Health and Medicine Policy Research Group
- Expansion and Strengthening of Community Birth Options in Illinois: A Birth Landscape Analysis.
Analysis focuses on home births and freestanding birth centers.- Karie E Stewart, MPH, CNM, FACNM, Melanated Midwives, NFP Founder, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, Consultant
- Southern Illinois Birth Equity Workforce Environmental Scan
Recent environmental perinatal capacity scan for Southern Illinois.- Chastity Mays, MS.Ed., Certified Birth Doula and Student Midwife, Co-Administrator – The Little Resource Center Carbondale
12:20 – 1:10pm
Breakout Sessions: Concurrent Data Processing Sessions
- Illinois Doula/Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) Workforce Landscape.
- Camille R. Williamson, PhD, LCSW, Evaluation Consultant to Health and Medicine Policy Research Group. – Main Conference Room
- Expansion and Strengthening of Community Birth Options in Illinois: A Birth Landscape Analysis.
- Karie E. Stewart, MPH, MSN, CNM, APRN, CNM, UIC Midwife Service, Founder, Melanated Midwives, NFP. – Lobby
- Southern Illinois Maternal & Child Workforce.
- Chastity Mays, MS.Ed., Certified Birth Doula and Student Midwife, Co-Administrator – The Little Resource Center Carbondale. – Big Board Room
1:15 – 2:30pm
Lunch – Lobby / Main Conference Room
2:40 – 3:40pm
Affinity Groups
Semi-structured, informal time for people with aligned issues to foster solidarity and talk about the issues on their minds.
- Group 1: Black Leaders Roundtable.
*This session was for organization Founders and Directors who identify as Black or African American. –Â BIG BOARD ROOM- Dr. Glenance Green, PhD, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Black Researchers Collective
- Group 2: Burnout, Stress, Secondary Trauma Affinity Group. –Â CONFERENCE ROOM A (RIGHT SIDE)
- Jill Manrique, Executive Director, Chicago Jobs with Justice & Angie Moreno, Organizing Director, Chicago Jobs with Justice
- Group 3: Immigrant and Migrant Leaders Roundtable. – CONFERENCE ROOM B (LEFT SIDE)
- Jacoba Cruz-RodrÃguez, DEM, Founder, Montuna.org, Consultant Alivio Medical Center, Interim EDO, Rockford FP Foundation
- Group 4: Early-Career Professionals Circle. – COMPUTER ROOM
- Dale Gardner, RN-MSN, CD, P.O.W.E.R.S (Pregnancy Options Wisconsin: Education, Resources, & Support), President
- Group 5: Anti Fat-bias & Disability Advocacy Group. – ENTRANCE AREA
- Rachel Williams, Full Spectrum Birthworker Specializing in Fatness and Disability
3:50- 4:50pm
Workshop Sessions
- Labor Organizing 101. – SMALL BOARD ROOM
Attendees learned about the first steps in organizing a successful campaign. After this training, participants were encouraged to connect with our organizers to see which organizing union might help them best.- Jill Manrique, Executive Director, Chicago Jobs with Justice & Angie Moreno, Organizing Director, Chicago Jobs with Justice
- Integration of Community based workforces in HC system. – BIG CONFERENCE ROOM
Integrating comnuity-based workforces into the larger healthcare system while maintaining the integrity of relationship-based care. Integration of nursing and CPM professions case studies were covered with specifics related to Chicago and Illinois history.- Tracey Smith, DNP, Assoc Exec Director, Public Health Practice, Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA), Director, IPHA CHW Capacity Building Center.
- Mary Sommers, Midwife, Director of MCH Programs and Birth Center, PCC Community Wellness.
- Lisa Masinter, Ob/Gyn, Director Office of Women’s Health and Family Services (IDPH)
- Medicaid Roundtable. – COMPUTER ROOM
Summit attendees received updates on the available Maternal and Child Health Provider types and guidance on the steps to enroll in Medicaid. Additionally, summit attendees received an overview of the Illinois Transforming Maternal Health Model (TMaH) and updates on the planned strategies to improve maternal health outcomes in the selected test regions.- Timika Anderson-Reeves (IHFS), Special Assistant for Maternal and Child Health, Illinois Healthcare and Family Services
- Brielle Osting, AM, MPP, Transforming Maternal Health Director, Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS).
- Supporting Queer, Trans and Gender Nonconforming Pregnant People and Their Families. – BIG BOARD ROOM
Designed by a Black nonbinary, disabled birthworker, this workshop provided the basics of respecting and caring for queer, trans and nonbinary pregnant people. It focused on affirming and respectful language, the barriers they face as marginalized pregnant people within an already marginalizing health system and how as perinatal health care workers you can both show up proactively and when harm may occur.- Rise, Founder, Riotous Roots, Queer Black disabled genderfluid artist, poet, writer, birthworker, educator and access consultant
5:00 – 5:30pm
Closing (Main Conference Room)
Affinity & Workshop Bios
Read Rise Bio
Rise (they/he) is a queer Black disabled genderfluid artist, poet, writer, birthworker, gender and neurodivergent affirming educator and access consultant. They are deeply invested in disability justice, access, centering wellness for Black queer folk, trauma education, and rest.
Read Jill Manrique Bio
Jill Manrique has been the Executive Director of Chicago Jobs with Justice since spring 2023, after first joining as an organizer focused on worker health and safety. A proud Chicagoan and lifelong advocate for working people, Jill brings experience from nonprofit fundraising, grassroots neighborhood campaigns, and workplace organizing. She and her wife, a union Bricklayer, live in Evanston with their three children.
Read Angie Moreno Bio
Angie Moreno (she/her/ella) is the Organizing Director at Chicago Jobs with Justice. She is deeply committed to supporting the Latine community and undocumented workers, with a strong background in immigration and labor rights. Fluent in Spanish and rooted in immigration and labor rights, Angie is a warm, dedicated, and energetic advocate for all workers.
Read Timika Anderson-Reeves Bio
Timika Anderson Reeves, PhD, LSW
Special Assistant to the Director for Maternal and Child Health
Timika Anderson-Reeves currently serves as the Special Assistant to the Director for Maternal and Child Health at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Timika champions statewide initiatives that empower birthing persons and families by promoting inclusive policies and innovative programs. Timika previously worked at Access Community Health Network, a Federally Qualified Health Center that provides comprehensive, quality healthcare services to address racial and ethnic disparities, and led several MCH initiatives while serving as the Director of Maternal Child Health and Women’s Health & Community Integration. In her personal time, Timika enjoys family activities and enthusiastically supports her children in their sporting and fine arts endeavors.
Read Mary Sommers Bio
Mary Sommers is the Director of Operations and Perinatal Education Programs at the Birth Center at PCC, one of only a few Federal Qualified Health Clinics that has a free-standing birth center, allowing options and access for pregnant people on Medicaid and other types of insurance. Mary is also the Academic Affairs Director of the Midwest Maternal Child Institute (MMCI). MMCI trains Certified Professional Midwives and Doulas. She is a Certified Professional Midwife licensed in Wisconsin, and holds a Master’s degree in Public Service from DePaul University. Mary has many years of experience and the wisdom that comes from witnessing more than 2,000 deliveries over the past 41 years.
Early in her career, she co-founded Chicago Community Midwives, a not-for-profit homebirth service. This not for profit sought to increase access to individual seeking homebirths regardless of ability to pay. Mary was a World Health Organization fellow, studying maternal health and lactation programs in Netherlands and England. Mary has worked for more than 40 years in community health as an administrator and director of perinatal health programs with an expertise in developing doula, midwifery, home visiting, and lactation programs. She has supervised more than 40 midwifery students and trained more than 100 doulas in her various administrative roles.
She is the author of More Than a Midwife: Stories of Grace, Glory, and Motherhood and The Doula Handbook. She is featured in the book, Bright Lights of the Second City: 50 Prominent Chicagoans on Living with Passion and Purpose by Betsy Storm.
Read Lisa Masinter Bio
Coming Soon!
Read Rachel Williams Bio
Rachel Williams is a full spectrum birthworker who bridges the gap between disability and fatphobia into the birthing space. Using her experience as a disabled and fat person.
Read Tracey Smith Bio
Dr. Tracey Smith is the Associate Executive Director for Public Health Practice at Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA) and the Director of the IPHA CHW Capacity Building Center. She received her Doctorate in Nursing Practice with a focus on health literacy and a masters in community health nursing with a minor in multicultural nursing. She worked for an academic institute where she achieved the rank of Associate Professor and was a healthcare provider at a Federally Qualified HealthCare Center for over 22 years before transitioning to IPHA. She currently lives in Springfield, IL and enjoys her family including two daughters and her husband of 30 years and a dog who runs the house. Tracey grew up on a dairy farm in a small central rural town in Illinois. Her parents did not have insurance and her father completed only 6th grade so much of her passion for this career has been built off those early years of her life.
Tracey has been involved in healthcare in numerous roles over the past 30 years allowing her to build skills to engage multiple types of health care providers and customers. She has led programs providing support services to local police systems, local health departments, federally qualified health care clinics, health care systems, schools, and community-based organizations (CBOs) through the integration of community health workers into interdisciplinary teams. She has received over $90 million dollars in grant funding to advance the profession of CHWs in Illinois. She also was instrumental in developing one of the first CHW training programs in downstate Illinois.
Since joining IPHA Tracey has been involved in developing a CHW 101 training program at IPHA that has trained over 1500 CHWs in the past four years and was the developer of the IPHA CHW Capacity Building Center. The Center also provides numerous CHW upskilling opportunities and consultation services to systems looking to integrate CHWs into their programming.
Her CHW training skills are built off her experience as a CHW for 10 years and as a program developer of CHW programs in Central and Southern Illinois for 9 years. She has presented locally, statewide, and nationally on CHW training, programming, and funding over 60 times in the past 10 years.
Tracey started her career in the maternal child field being a WIC and Case Manager at a local health department and then moved into being the charge nurse at a large hospital on the maternal-child floor. She has been a lactation consultant and childbirth educator.
Tracey has served on the board of a Critical Access Hospital, a rural school board, and numerous CBO boards and is passionate about improving the health and education of Illinois residents. She is currently a member of the Illinois Community Health Worker Review Board.
Read J Dale Bio
Dale Gardner, RN-MSN, CD (They/Them/Theirs)
P.O.W.E.R.S (Pregnancy Options Wisconsin: Education, Resources, & Support), President
Dale is a badass doula, nurse, mamma of 7, and passionate warrior for reproductive justice. They have worked alongside many Wisconsin based health organizations, such as The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, Madison Area Donor Milk Alliance, and Madison Doula Collective to provide education, support, and advocacy for birthing people in Wisconsin. They will continue to persevere in changing the landscape of reproductive healthcare and birthwork.
Read Jacoba Cruz-RodrÃguez Bio
Jacoba is a Direct Entry Midwife currently practicing ParterÃa de Duelo (Loss Midwifery) at Montuna.org. She is a Family Planning and Maternal Health consultant at Alivio Medical Center and interim Executive Director of Operations with Rockford Family Planning Foundation as well as a Training Specialist with Chicago Women’s Health Center. Jacoba is a Sexual Health/Sexology Educator and Coach with SHA and AASECT, a certified full spectrum and end of life Doula, Lactation (body feeding) Consultant, Childbirth Educator, Women’s Health Herbal Consultant, Reiki practitioner and Thanatology & Somatic/Sexologist Healing Specialist (Centro TanatologÃa, México and ISEE).
Moments from the summit
The outcome of this summit was the formation of 11 agreed upon goals for the strategic plan.