Adams, Underwood Announce Speakers for the Black Maternal Health Caucus 2023 Stakeholder Summit 

By: Office of Congresswoman Alma Adams

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congresswomen Alma Adams (NC-12) and Lauren Underwood (IL-14) announced speakers for the Black Maternal Health Caucus 2023 Stakeholder Summit, taking place on August 1, 2023 at the U.S. Capitol. The Summit will feature U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure; Health Resources and Services Administrator Carole Johnson; Charles Johnson, Founder of 4Kira4Moms; Senator Cory Booker (NJ); Representative Lucy McBath (GA-07); Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-03); and HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm. 

The event will also feature a conversation with Black Maternal Health Caucus co-founder and Co-Chair Adams, moderated by co-founder and Co-Chair Underwood, on Rep. Adams’ vision for founding the Caucus and her inspiration behind this work. 

The Summit will highlight progress in improving maternal health outcomes, spotlight opportunities to advance the Momnibus Act and key maternal health legislative priorities, and help build partnerships and strategies to end the maternal health crisis in the United States. 

To RSVP, interested members of the media should send an email to haley.wint@mail.house.gov.

The full list of speakers participating is below: 

• Secretary Xavier Becerra, Department of Health and Human Services 
• Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm, Department of Health and Human Services  
• Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
• Administrator Carole Johnson, Health Resources and Services Administration  
• Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) [Virtual]
• Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Ranking Member, House Committee on Appropriations [Virtual]
• Representative Lucy McBath (GA-07) [Virtual]
• Special Assistant to the President for Health Care Jessica Schubel, Domestic Policy Council (Executive Office of the President) 
• Alison Cernich, Ph.D., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Deputy Director 
• Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, President and CEO, National WIC Association  
• Aza Nedhari, CPM, LGPC, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Mamatoto Village  
• Charles Johnson, Founder, 4Kira4Moms  
• Kiley Mayfield, MPH, Director of Community Power Building, RH Impact: The Collaborative for Equity & Justice 
• Jesse Matton, Director of Corporate Social Impact Policies, National Partnership for Women & Families  
• Melissa Martin, Managing Director of Patient Care Solutions, GE HealthCare  
• Caitlin Donovan, Global Head, Uber Health  
• Naomi Senkeeto, Managing Director of Health Equity Policy, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association  
• Dr. Dawn Godbolt, Director of Health Equity, Maven Clinic 
• Michelle L. Munroe, DNP, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, Interim CEO, American College of Nurse-Midwives 
• Rebecca Lauer, Manager of Federal Affairs, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists  
• Samuel J. Hewitt, Principal for Federal Affairs, American Nurses Association  
• Terrance E. Moore, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
• Breana N. Lipscomb, MPH, Senior Advisor for Maternal Health and Rights, Center for Reproductive Rights  
• Kavelle Christie, Director of the Gender Equity & Health Justice Program at Community Catalyst
• Christy Turlington Burns, Founder, Every Mother Counts  
• Mackenzie Marshall, Manager of Federal Relations, Families USA  
• Yuliya Labko, Policy and Advocacy Director, March for Moms  
• Stacey Y. Brayboy, Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Government Affairs, March of Dimes  
• Tina Sherman, Senior Campaign Director, MomsRising  
• Venicia Gray, Senior Manager for Maternal and Infant Health, National Partnership for Women and Families  
• Adrienne Ramcharan, MPH, Assistant Director for State Policy, Physicians for Reproductive Health  
• Sharne Haywood, Senior Policy Specialist at Planned Parenthood Federation of America  
• Alise Powell, Senior Policy Analyst, RH Impact: The Collaborative for Equity and Justice  
• Vina Smith-Ramakrishnan, Senior Policy Associate, The Century Foundation  
• Denys Symonette Mitchell, Founder and Principal, Symonette Strategies and Solutions 
• Laurie Mignone, Professional Staff, House Committee on Appropriations  
• Rachel Gandell Tetlow, Director of Federal Affairs, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 
• Amanda Innes, Chief of Staff/Senior Advisor, Maternal and Child Health Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration  
• James Willie, Deputy Division Director of Independent Review, Office of Federal Assistance Management at the Health Resources and Services Administration 

Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. is serving her fifth full term in Congress. She represents the 12th District of North Carolina, which includes parts of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. In 2018, she introduced the first Black Maternal Health Week resolution with then-Senator Kamala Harris. In 2019, she co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus with Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14). In March 2020, Adams, along with Harris and Underwood, introduced the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act for the first time, and in 2021 and 2023 reintroduced an expanded version of the package with Senator Cory Booker. Adams is a mother of two and a grandmother of four.