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Meet Our Team
The California Coalition for Black Birth Justice was co-founded and is led in partnership with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative. The Coalition is fiscally sponsored by the Public Health Institute.
Dana Sherrod, MPH (she/her)
Co-Founder & Executive Director
dsherrod@phi.org
Asaiah Harville, IBCLC (she/her)
Associate Director, Clinical Strategies & Engagement
aharville@phi.org
Natalie Champion (she/her)
Operations & Strategic Partnerships Manager
natalie@cablackbirthjustice.com
Alimat (Ali) Adebiyi, DrPH, MPH (she/her)
Quality Improvement Manager
aadebiyi@phi.org
Alexis Cobbins, MSW (she/her)
Coalition Co-Founder
San Francisco Human Services Agency
Esther Priscilla Ebuehi, MS (she/her)
Coalition Co-Founder & Ph.D student
Candice Charles, MPH (she/her)
Research & Evaluation Manager
ccharles@phi.org
Solaire Spellen, MPH (she/her)
Coalition Co-Founder & Interim Executive Director, UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative
solaire.spellen@ucsf.edu
2024 - 2025 Coalition Strategic Advisors
Brandi Desjolais, Ed.D
Co-Director
Black Maternal Health Center of Excellence
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Janell Moore, MPH, LM, CPM
California Medical Board Licensed Midwife and a Certified Professional Midwife
Jasiri Midwifery
Brittany Chambers Butcher, Ph.D., MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Human Ecology
University of California, Davis
Jyesha Wren, CNM, RN, MS, BA
Program Director and Midwife
BElovedBIRTH Black Centering
Alameda Health System
Jadah Parks Chatterjee, RN, IBCLC
Registered Nurse, Lactation Consultant
Mashariki Kudumu, MPH
Public Health & Birth Justice Professional
Onyemma Obiekea, MPH, JD
Policy Director
Black Women for Wellness
Sayida Peprah-Wilson, PsyD
Founder/ Executive Director
Diversity Uplifts
Pooja Mittal, DO
Chief Health Equity Officer
Health Net
Zaire Bailey
Director of Strategic Partnerships and Special Projects
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Raena Granberry
Director, Maternal and Reproductive Health
California Black Women's Health Project
2022- 2023 Coalition Strategic Advisors/Founding Mothers
Brandi Desjolais, Ed.D
Black Maternal Health Center of Excellence
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Brittany Chambers Butcher, Ph.D., MPH
University of California, Davis
Mashariki Kudumu, MPH
Public Health & Birth Justice Professional
Monica R. McLemore, Ph.D., MPH, RN, FAAN
University of Washington
Nourbese Flint, MA
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Pooja Mittal, DO
Health Net
Shantay Davies-Balch, MBA
BLACK Wellness and Prosperity Center
Zea Malawa, MD, MPH
Expecting Justice
San Francisco Department of Public Health
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