Tammea has spent twenty-seven years as an operations and program leader utilizing an anti-oppression, racial equity, and feminist lens. Most recently, she served as the Chief Executive Officer at Global Foundation for Girls, a Birth and Health equity global foundation focused on girls, gender-fluid youth and birthing persons of color. Before this she held executive-level roles for several national social justice foundations and reproductive and birth justice organizations; before that, as the chief operations officer of strategic development for a national intervention organization for women of African descent facing reproductive injustice, birth injustice, and sexual violence. She has worked for almost 3 decades in community health, leading health equity and health allied projects.

One of Tammea’s proudest achievements includes a partnership with the Commission on Human Rights, where she commemorated the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, receiving recognition from Community Counseling and Mediation. Another cornerstone of her experience includes partnering with the Obama Administration on two projects, most notably a racial equity project between the United States and South Africa.

An educator by nature, Tammea has taught at the university level for over 10 years, covering topics around women, children, health equity and gender. Her credentials include a BA in education with a concentration in children’s rights and a master’s in social work, where she graduated cum laude with a concentration on community organizing. Tammea also earned a specialization certificate in global social work with a concentration on trauma and sexual violence. In addition, she has her MBA with a concentration in international business and is a Doctoral candidate focused on Health Equity & Maternal Health in communities of color.

Tammea is a trained birth and postpartum doula and birth justice activist. Offering her services in Black and brown communities grounds her and centers her practice as a somatic practitioner. She is one of 10 members in the country, sitting on the Funders for Birth Equity council, and she is an established public speaker and community birth justice educator.

As Chief Administrative Officer, Tamara oversees the Information Technology, Administration and Human Resource teams and drives the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion imperative at CHI. With over 30 years experience in group health insurance, Tamara managed cross functional teams to collaborate on innovative enterprise wide projects and held several leadership roles in systems and operational improvement, large group Underwriting and program design and implementation. With a passion for improving systems by reducing barriers to access, Tamara served on Boards of local organizations and was an elected official in the Town of Randolph, MA.

As Chief Experience Officer, Shannon works to ensure CHI provides high quality experiences and support to our healthcare partners so they have everything they need to implement and expand access to Centering care. Her primary area of responsibility is to oversee the implementation, training and support services offered by CHI. Since joining the organization in 2015, Shannon has continuously worked to enhance the quality of services offered, evolve CHI's service delivery workforce structure and capacity and build new workstreams to complement standard service offerings. Early in her career, Shannon was inspired by her opportunity to work as a Centering Coordinator in a New York City health center and experienced first hand the impact Centering can have in participants' lives. Working at CHI brings Shannon's passions for maternal and child health and health equity full circle.

As Chief Strategy Officer, Mia works closely with the Executive Team to develop, execute and sustain key strategic capacities focused on growing, measuring and articulating CHI's reach and value proposition. As CSO, she leads CHI's efforts in federal and state payment policy matters, business development and data strategies. Mia brings extensive experience in the federal and health consulting space through her work at various government agencies, consulting firms and health plans. Through her efforts as a passionate public servant, Mia has been engaged in ground-breaking efforts including the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and has been a sought after resource for government compliance and health policy initiatives which has led to countless recognitions in the field. She is also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. as well as other community-focused organizations.

Oluwabusola is an Associate Centering Advisor who collaborates closely with the Director of Facilitation Services and Director of Consultation Services to offer essential administrative support to the Centering Advisor team. She is a dedicated public health professional driven by a profound commitment to maternal health and addressing racial disparities. Graduating with a degree in Public Health Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, she possesses valuable experience across customer service and healthcare domains, coupled with specialized skills in project planning and coordination.

As a Centering Advisor, Christina works directly with clinics to implement the Centering model through facilitation training and consultation services. Christina comes to Centering with over two decades of experience in building and implementing various programs aimed at systems change toward greater equity.

A member of the Human Resources team, Gisely provides support and assists with recruitment, maintaining employee records and on-boarding new staff. In her role, she is also responsible for managing print and material vendor relationships and supports inventory monitoring activities. With an education in HR management, Gisely comes to CHI with experience in administration. 

Jessica works collaboratively with healthcare organizations to build sustainable Centering models with a focus on patient-centered care. She comes to CHI with over 15 years of experience in Prenatal & Childbirth education, Centering facilitation and coordination in a FQHC community clinic setting. Her experience in Women’s Health and Family Practice drew her to CHI. She is dedicated to health equity efforts by supporting healthcare organizations to build a solid Centering foundation to address healthcare disparities in vulnerable communities.

As a member of the Practice Transformation Team, LaShonda is responsible for providing the best customer service possible. She holds a degree in Business Administration. Also, she has a background in customer service within the military and office administrative work. Her big passion is to help others and strives to leave smiles on the faces of everyone who contacts CHI. She believes that smiling is good for the heart!

Chiquita Brake, RHIT,CPC, AHIMA Approved ICD 10-CM/PCS Trainer, is the Billing and Coding manager at Centering Healthcare Institute (CHI). She is proudly the first Black woman to lead a group of the Raleigh North Carolina Coding Chapter 2010 and 2011 as the VP and President. With 20 years of experience in the Health Information Management field from working claims, denials, billing, practice management, medical office administration, implementation of ICD-10-CM, revenue cycle management, auditing and educating providers and local community college students, and coding multiple specialties; 17 years on the provider side and 3 years on the payors.

She is committed to helping CenteringPregnancy sites to navigate successfully on increasing reimbursement for Alternative Payment Models (APM) along with educating providers and medical coders on the requirements.

Kennedy provides day-to-day executive support and serves as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the office of the CEO. Initially a member of the Practice Transformation team, she moved into a more operational and administrative role in early 2020. Kennedy comes to CHI with sales and customer service experience. 

With 8 years of expertise in the IT field, Ashley has cultivated her skills while predominantly focusing on the healthcare and construction sectors. As an IT Coordinator, she holds the responsibility of extending support to the organization's technology department, covering tasks related to maintenance, documentation, and assisting end-users.

Amanda provides consultation services and facilitation training to staff at healthcare practices to support the successful implementation of the Centering model. A Public Health Social Worker with expertise in mitigating the health effects of psychological trauma through social cohesion, she has over a decade of experience in group dynamics and facilitation with a passion for social justice and community building. As a Centering Advisor, she is energized by the process of consulting with new Centering sites to create thriving and dynamic programs that meet the needs of diverse communities.

A member of the Practice Transformation Team, Ruth assists clients and Centering staff in technical, business, and administrative processes related to the practice of Centering. She is a lapsed philosopher, trained disease interventionist, and former COVID 19 Case Investigator. Ruth is dedicated to the possibility inherent to public health and applies her training to help spread the centering model to communities it can help.

In her role, Gianna provides support to the Practice Transformation team through administrative, organizational and communication contributions. She has worked in both non-profit and healthcare practice settings with experience in data entry, multi-department collaborations, schedule management and customer assistance. Her fluency in Spanish has helped her become an advocate for those with language barriers.

As the Director of Business Development for Centering Healthcare Institute, Mary is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of Centering, with a particular focus on New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, and Unified Women's Healthcare affiliates through collaborations with healthcare providers and systems, funders and government agencies. She is the lead on a number of key Centering initiatives. Her journey with Centering started as a provider facilitator, coordinator and in-house trainer of at a large hospital outpatient clinic in North Carolina. A Certified Nurse-Midwife, Mary comes to CHI with over 25 years of healthcare experience and is passionate about providing care for the whole person and improving health outcomes with the Centering model. She completed her Bachelor's degree in nursing at Boston College, and her Master's degree in nursing at the University of Rhode Island, and her office is based in Massachusetts. Mary is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, an affiliate member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and has been inducted in Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Please reach out to Mary directly at mfitzmaurice@centeringhealthcare.org or schedule a meeting or webinar on her calendar.

As a member of the Practice Transformation team, Makeda is responsible for organizing engagements that play a role in bringing about the Centering practice site implementation to fruition. She administers correspondence to achieve excellent client satisfaction. Makeda comes to CHI with experience in customer service and working with non-profit organizations in New York City.

As Senior Director of Information Technology, Jon is responsible for CHI's IT infrastructure and staff and has been with the organization since 2015. He brings over 15 years of experience in the Information Technology field, focusing largely on enterprise CRM and ERP application management. Outside of the office, Jon enjoys time with his wife Kim and their daughter Lily.

John is the Salesforce / IT administrator at CHI. He has over ten years experience in IT systems and infrastructure management with a specific focus on Salesforce CRM implementation, integration and administration.

In his role as Accounting Manager, Deus assists the Director of Finance with daily operations of the accounting department. He has a strong background in accounting and financial management with over 15 years of experience working as a public accountant.

As National Director of Policy, Mahak is responsible for developing and implementing CHI’s policy strategy at the state and federal levels. Also, she will serve as an advisor, policy and budget analyst, advocate, and strategist who works with states, policymakers, practice sites, employers, payers, and other stakeholders to support the sustainability of the Centering model and anchor Centering as the emerging value-based payment model. Prior to joining CHI, Mahak served as a chief policy and advocacy officer for a child advocacy organization that advanced a range of strategic child well-being policies at the local, state, and federal level. Additionally, she has over 10 years of experience in designing and executing advocacy campaigns, engaging stakeholders across the state to improve child well-being outcomes, and facilitating key decision maker conversations, and lobbying.

As the Communications Manager, Dillon focuses on building CHI’s social media and email marketing capability as well as supporting the communication needs across the organization. He comes with over 10 years of experience in digital communications, developing and implementing social media campaigns and managing audience engagement across online platforms.

Cherelle comes to CHI with over 7 years of experience in varying aspects of human resource management. As the Director, of Human Resources for CHI, Cherelle plans and coordinates all administrative functions of our organization. Serving as the link between staff and managers, she enhances human resources by planning, implementing and evaluating employee relations and human resources policies, programs and practices.

Katherine is responsible for ensuring effective delivery of CHI's facilitation services and co-manages the Implementation Advisor team. She has spent the last years working at the intersections of public health, social work and social change. She has worked on a variety of issues on the program and policy sides, including reproductive and sexual health, immunizations, domestic and sexual violence prevention, and abortion access. Having grown up in South and Central America, Katherine moved to the United States as an adolescent and currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

Mary is a social worker and public health professional with over 15 years of experience implementing evidence-based reproductive health programs. She has extensive experience as an instructional designer and trainer and has trained hundreds of clinicians, public health professionals, social workers, and other helping professionals across the country. As a doula and childbirth educator as well, Mary's passion is changing communities to better support children and families and to improve health equity. Outside of work, Mary enjoys spending time with her family on her small farm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Jessica brings 20 years of customer service experience to Centering Healthcare Institute as the Senior Client Relations Manager. In her role, she oversees the Client Relations team, with the goal of ensuring that people contacting CHI get their questions answered and needs met. Jessica brings her excitement around quality improvement and quality assurance to her team, the Practice Transformation Department, and the whole of CHI. Outside of work, she loves being a mom to a budding soccer player, going to concerts and binge watching true crime.

As Director of Special Initiatives, Tanya provides leadership to the Implementation Awards Initiative. With over 10 years of experience at CHI, Tanya has been instrumental in providing direction for developing quality and improvement processes at the organization. She has led the charge on data and outcomes management including developing processes for data collection and evaluation, site readiness assessing, Site Accreditation and consortium-building. Prior to CHI, Tanya was the Manager of Chapter Grants at the March of Dimes National Office. She also established the Office of Global Health Education & Training at Columbia University Medical Center in 2003 and was the administrative director for a post-graduate program at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.

In her role, Anna provides support and technical assistance to Centering practices in the Midwest and Southeast regions. She was introduced to the Centering model as pregnancy care manager in the health department and Federally Qualified Health Center settings, while working primarily with immigrant populations. Anna is proud of her two decades’ commitment to maternal and child health, during which she has contributed to state and national non-profits, led grassroots organizations and sat on multiple boards. Anna is bilingual, a trained birth and full spectrum doula and a returned WorldTeach volunteer, having served two years in Costa Rica.

Surendra Pokharel joined CHI in 2016 bringing his versatile experience in accounting and finance, encompassing banking, distribution, auditing, financial management, book-keeping, accounting, and compliance services. His positive attitude not only brings warmth to our office but has also resulted in his successful team building, innovative solutions, and the organizational capacity to maintain quality service, even during periods of internal consolidation and rapid business growth. When not in the office, Surendra enjoys meditation, sports and spending time with his family and friends.

She is public health analyst with a strong foundation in racial disparities, global maternal health and qualitative/quantitative data analysis. She has several years of experience in working with organizations that seek to reduce social/economic and health disparities for underserved populations, globally and domestically, through data driven methods. Prior to joining CHI, she worked in a variety of public health areas, including COVID-19 emergency response, improving opioid prescription protocols in hospitals at the University of Michigan, foreclosure prevention among low-income residents in Detroit, and reproductive health research and physician workforce development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

As the Director of Business Development, Lisa is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of Centering across seven states through collaborations with healthcare providers, payers and government agencies. Lisa comes to CHI with over 33 years of experience in healthcare working with primarily independent physician practices, hospitals and health insurance payers. She has a strong background and understanding of revenue cycle management, merit-based incentive payments systems' reporting and outcome measures, with an emphasis on technology and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Liz is a public health professional with extensive experience in program management, training, and working with clinic leadership on systems change and population health initiatives. She has an MPH in health behavior and health education and has focused much of her career on intimate partner violence. Liz loves leading workshops and group facilitation. She finds it fun, engaging and exhilarating. She joined CHI in 2017 as a consultant because she is passionate about increasing Centering into our healthcare system.

As CHI's Director of Implementation Services, Deanna is an expert in the clinical implementation of the Centering model and manages a team of consultants. Her education in business administration and previous experience in international business has provided Deanna with the keen eye to evaluate implementation processes at a macro level to showcase the impact the Centering model can make. Her responsibilities also include managing initiatives and collaborations with healthcare providers, public health advocates and organizations to improve maternal health. With a strong background in maternal and child health and a passion to promote birth equity, Deanna brings over a decade of experience as a Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, Childbirth Educator and reproductive activist to CHI. She has been teaching mindfulness and yoga for more than 20 years.

Heidi comes to CHI with over 20 years’ experience in nursing and maternal-child health and is a certified lactation counselor and childbirth educator. A veteran of the US Navy and Gulf war, Heidi started her journey with Centering as the Centering Coordinator for Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune (NMCCL) where she provided CenteringPregnancy care to over 2800 military families and was recognized as NMCCL’s Civilian of the Year in 2016, for excellence and dedication in providing Tricare beneficiaries prenatal care. As a Certified Centering Facilitator Trainer for the Navy, Heidi has trained over 1000 healthcare staff and assisted with the implementation of Centering programs for the Department of Defense all over the world. In 2018, she joined CHI as Certification Coordinator responsible for the development of CHI’s Certification Program. Heidi is also a member of the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

As part of the Practice Transformation team, Rachel is dedicated to supporting Centering site partners as they adopt and implement evidence-based group care. She brings over six years of experience as a Doula and Childbirth Educator in the San Antonio, Texas area and has also worked towards expanding the reach of group prenatal care since 2019. Rachel is passionate about reshaping healthcare experiences for all families in an effort to promote health equity and cultivate communities where individuals have an equitable opportunity to thrive.

Dr. Darby-Stewart is an experienced clinician-leader with skills in transformational healthcare redesign, primary care/specialty integration, and medical education. She is currently Associate Program Director at HonorHealth Family Medicine Residency in Scottsdale, Arizona, and recently served as Clinical Department Chair of Family Medicine and Medical Director for Chronic Care TTRIaD at Banner Health. Dr. Darby-Stewart brings a skill for connecting population health management with personalized healthcare to the Centering Healthcare Board. She has a true passion for excellence in patient care and medical education.

As the eldest child of retired physicians, it is no accident that Arianne Graham has spent her entire career in healthcare. She is currently Director of Innovation for Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield. In this role, she and her team aim to solve the most pressing problems in the sector while expanding and transforming CareFirst's core health insurance business. Prior to Healthworx, Arianne held numerous strategy and commercial leadership roles spanning the non-profit and for-profit sector, including positions at March of Dimes, Peer Health Exchange, Quartet Health, Kyruus, and patientslikeme. She has co-founded nonprofits Not One More Life and Samara Collective, a worker-owned consultancy that specializes in empowering organizations and movements such as labor unions and progressive community coalitions through digital organizing, web development, press and training.

Eva is the Chief Financial Officer for GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders) a non-profit legal organization and is responsible for operations and finance. She has over 25 years of combined experience in public accounting and non-profit management in wide-ranging capacities including: CFO, controller, treasurer, consultant, auditor, trainer, manager and coach. Eva is a Rockwood Leadership alumnus and participated in the inaugural cohort of the 21st Century Pipeline project; a year-long leadership training program designed to retain & support leaders of color in the LGBT movement. She has also served as a volunteer board member of the Provincetown Film Society, The Theatre Offensive, Elizabeth Stone House, Victory Programs, and Casa Myrna Vasquez.

Piia Hanson has over 20 years’ experience working with academic institutions, non-profits, corporations, and local, state, and federal public health programs. Her past roles include Medicaid Chief of Quality for the Louisiana Department of Health, Chief of Perinatal and Infant Health at the Washington DC Department of Health, Senior Program Manager at AMCHP, and Program Analyst for the Metro Nashville/Davidson County Public Health Department. She is currently the principal consultant for Ph Solutions, a boutique public health consulting firm, and adjunct faculty at George Mason University and Lamar University. She has been recognized for her efforts to make a lasting impact in Maternal and Child Health, including the APHA MCH Young Professional of the Year award, the Xavier University 40 Under 40 award and a successful fellowship with the prestigious Maternal Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of North Carolina. Additionally, is a co-author in the newly-published, 4th edition of Kotch's Maternal and Child Health: Problems, Programs, and Policy in Public Health.

Dr. Strickland is an Associate Professor at Wake Forest Department of Family and Community Medicine where she practices the full scope of family medicine including both inpatient and maternity care. She earned a Master’s of Public Health degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and is an active member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. She has been a long time advocate of Centering, joining the CHI Board of Directors in 2008. She has experience as a Centering provider and has implemented group visit programs in several residency programs. Locally, Dr. Strickland leads the North Carolina CenteringPregnancy Consortium in partnership with Northwest Community Care Network of Community Care of North Carolina.

Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew, is a Senior Vice President and the Chief Clinical Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Allegheny Health Network. An internationally respected expert in cultural competency within the health care field, she has spent her career engaging marginalized communities and building programs that focus on promoting outcomes equity for vulnerable patients and mitigating socio-political barriers to care. She has a special interest in educating and empowering women, especially those pursuing careers in medicine. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew’s clinical practice focuses on providing care to women living in low- to middle-resource communities, with a clinical focus in the care of women living with HIV. She also served as Chair & Director of the Center for Clinical Excellence and Diversity at University Hospitals as well as Dean of Students for Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew is the founder of W.O.N.D.O.O.R. (one door), Women and Newborns, Diversity, Outreach, Opportunity and Research, a program that aims to educate global medical providers through local and international health care collaborations. She lectures frequently, regionally and internationally, on health issues relating to the wellness of women. She is also the author of “The Colors of My Heart: Embracing My Blackness with History, Family, Fear and Faith,” a recently published autobiography. 

Michelle Proser is currently Vice President of Research, Quality and Performance at Medicaid Health Plans of America, where she is responsible for developing, overseeing, and implementing MHPA’s research and analytics strategy to inform policy and drive quality. Previously, Michelle worked at the Financial Health Network, where she worked with payers, providers, and financial services partners to improve health by improving financial wellbeing. As part of her role, she provided subject matter expertise in social drivers of health and cross sector collaboration. Michelle also worked at National Association of Community Health Centers where she was Director of Research and the National Project Director for PRAPARE, a multi-organization effort to implement and scale social risk screening for action. She earned both a Doctorate and a Master of Public Policy degree in health policy from The George Washington University.

Crysta Meekins is a Program Manager for the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) at the American Hospital Association (AHA), where she supports hospitals and health systems at the national level on their health equity journey. She earned a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from Tulane University and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Mercer University’s DrPH program, with a concentration in Diverse Populations & Health Equity. Her public health interests include maternal and infant mortality, reproductive health, and health equity. Her future aspirations are to contribute to existing work to dismantle the structural and institutional barriers contributing to the ongoing maternal health crisis.

Geralyn Trujillo is the Senior Director of Public Policy at American Academy of Actuaries. A diligent leader, she is adept at identifying and advocating for key public policy development, integration, and implementation. With market-specific awareness, she uses a disciplined approach to align corporate objectives with a pragmatic and strategic vision for future success. In her role, she facilitates information gathering and dissemination across a matrix environment, bridging business, consumer, corporate, and policy goals to inform and guide enterprise level projects and programs. As the designated point of contact for strategic policy engagement, Geralyn collaboratively manages business relationships with association executives, federal regulators, and other stakeholders in the health insurance and health care ecosystems. As Director, she works to ensure mutual understanding by outlining complex policy positions with concise summarizations to C-Suite, Board members, senior management, and other stakeholders.

Previously, she was the Director of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Aflac within their Federal Affairs Team. Prior to joining Aflac, Geralyn was the Director of the Office of Public Policy and Association Affairs at Independence Blue Cross. She has also worked with AHIP, AARP, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the American Academy of Actuaries. Geralyn has more than fifteen years’ worth of health policy and health insurance experience, handling a portfolio that has included pharmacy, state-federal programs, quality and health equity, long-term care, ACA implementation, and coalition building and engagement.

Geralyn earned her masters of public policy from the American University in Washington, D.C. She earned her undergraduate degree in business administration and management from Virginia Commonwealth University.