Meet Our Team
Steering Committee
Lucia ‘Soraya’ DosSantos
I am a mother, a Keeper of Sacred Passages, a Birthkeeper, and a student of holistic midwifery. My calling is rooted in creating a paradigm shift in how we hold birth, and life as sacred initiation, a sanctuary, and a whole-being journey where mothers and families can truly thrive. In my day-to-day life, I show up as an available and accessible wisdom keeper and medicine keeper in my community. Through the Maternal Nurturing Collective, I journey alongside women with whole-woman care across the childbearing continuum, supporting preconception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum with reverence, cultural memory, and trust.
I am also the Founder and Village Keeper of Sacred Birthing Village (SBV), a maternal restorative village sanctuary and liberatory movement that witnesses, honors, and elevates BIPOC women and families through the sacred initiation of birth. At SBV, we revitalize the ancestral truth that “it takes a village,” restoring covenant, community care, and joy so families can reclaim their innate birthright to thrive across generations. Here, I carry, honor, and tend to the collective power of pregnant and birthing sisters, families, and community from a place of liberation, initiation, and rebirth through childbirth.
At the state level, I lend my voice and labor to shaping the maternal health landscape in Massachusetts. Through the Greater Boston Birth Equity Coalition (GBBEC), Birth Equity Justice Massachusetts (BEJMA), and the Department of Public Health Maternal Mortality Morbidity Review Committee, I help to mobilize collective power, uplift community-rooted solutions, and call forth family and community as central to maternal health justice.
I believe with my whole being that when mothers and families are well, our communities, our societies, and our world will also thrive. I live in New Bedford with my family, though my spirit always calls Cabo Verde home.
Soraya DosSantos, Co-Chair
Dr. Jallicia Jolly
Dr. Jallicia Jolly is a writer and reproductive justice organizer who is an Assistant Professor in American Studies and Black Studies at Amherst College. A 2025 National Academy of Sciences U.S. Kavli Fellow, she merges community-based research on Black women's health, grassroots activism, and transnational political leadership with reproductive justice organizing and practice in the United States and the Caribbean. Dr. Jolly is the founder and director of the Black Feminist Reproductive Justice, Equity, and HIV/AIDS Activism (BREHA) Collective—an interdisciplinary, medical humanities lab that bridges research, advocacy, student collaborations, and high-impact learning experiences on the health and movement-building of Afro-diasporic girls, women, and gender diverse people. A 2022-2023 Ford Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Jolly’s first book manuscript, Ill Erotics: Black Caribbean Women and Self-Making in the Time of HIV/AIDS (University of California Press, forthcoming), is an ethnography of the reproductive justice organizing of young Black Jamaican women living and loving with HIV that chronicles their everyday confrontations with illness, reproductive violence, and inequality in neocolonial Jamaica.
Dr. Jolly leads with justice and joy as her core intention while centering new legacies of equity, community-building, and holistic wellness. A public scholar invested in research-informed political action, Dr. Jolly is Co-Chair of Birth Equity and Justice Massachusetts (BEJMA) - a multisectoral reproductive justice group that brings together clinicians, researchers, community organizations, advocates, legislators, and stakeholders to advocate for policy and evidence-based interventions to improve outcomes for Black birthing people and advance equity in maternal health policy. She has written for and her work has been featured in various media outlets such as Forbes, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, and Huffington Post. Her work has also been awarded recognition and supported by grants/fellowships such as The Fulbright Scholar Program, The Mellon Mays Foundation, National Women's Studies Association, Yale University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) and LGBT Studies, and Brown University’s Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women. Dr. Jolly earned her B. A. at Williams College in 2014, and her Master’s and Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Michigan in 2016 and 2020.
Dr. Jallicia Jolly, Co-Chair
Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha is the Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is the Founder and Director of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ), and of the Maternal Outcomes of Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab. In addition, she is the founder of the largest conference on Black maternal health in the United States, held annually in April. In its 8th year, the conference has recently attracted participants from over 46 states and 10 countries. An active scholar, Dr. Amutah-Onukagha’s research investigates maternal health disparities, infant mortality, reproductive health and social justice, and HIV/AIDS as experienced by Black women. She also serves as the inaugural Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the university’s Public Health and Professional Degree Programs.
A well-published author, Dr. Amutah-Onukagha’s research has been presented in over 85 manuscripts, 8 book chapters, a best-selling book on Amazon, and a textbook on culturally responsive evaluation. Her research has also been featured across a series of platforms, including The Lancet, TEDx, USA Today, MSNBC, and, most recently, in the New York Times. She also serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Women’s Health Issues. Currently, Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is the Principal Investigator of two multi -year studies on maternal mortality and morbidity. She is an active co-investigator on several other research studies with collaborators across the country.
In 2023, she received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the March of Dimes and the Academic Excellence in Maternal Health award from the IRTH app. In 2022, she received the John MacQueen lecture award from the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs. Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah Onukagha was an honoree of the 2020 Top 40 under 40 Minority Leaders in Healthcare, as presented by the National Minority Quality Forum.
She also holds federal and international appointments and was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to the Advisory Council on Infant and Maternal Mortality for a 4-year term. In 2024, she was appointed to serve as the Inaugural Health Equity Think Tank Director for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., an international organization with over 125,000 members.
A community-engaged leader, she is a founding member of Birth Equity Justice MA, a board member for the Neighborhood Birth Center in Boston, and a board member for Dr. Shalons’ Maternal Action Project. Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is also the President and Founder of Amaka Consulting and Evaluation Services, LLC, a minority and women-owned public health research and evaluation firm.
Dr. Amutah-Onukagha received her Master of Public Health from The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services before completing her Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of Maryland. She also completed the Kellogg Health Scholars postdoctoral fellowship with an emphasis on community-based participatory research and health disparities.
Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha
Dr. Renée Boynton-Jarrett
Renée Boynton-Jarrett is a practicing primary care pediatrician at Boston Medical Center, a social epidemiologist and the founding director of the Vital Village Community Engagement Network. Through the Vital Village Network, she is supporting the development of community-based strategies to promote child well-being in three Boston neighborhoods. She joined the faculty at Boston University School of Medicine in 2007 and is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics. She received her AB from Princeton University, her MD from Yale School of Medicine, ScD in Social Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health, and completed residency in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her work focuses on the role of early-life adversities as life course social determinants of health. She has a specific interest in the intersection of community violence, intimate partner violence, and child abuse and neglect and neighborhood characteristics that influence these patterns.
Dr. Renée Boynton-Jarrett
Shenell Ford, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and Childbirth Educator Apprentice is founder of community- based lactation practice, Heart2Heartbeat Lactation & Wellness in Springfield, MA, with a vision to create an environment that equitably serves prenatal and lactating families, encouraging autonomy in infant feeding and providing comprehensive and community-centered perinatal advocacy, education and support. Her greatest joy are her sons, Jeyceir and Jezari. Shenell humbly serves as Mayoral Aide in Springfield, Ma, Parent Educator at Baystate Health and as Co-Chair of the Springfield DHHS Maternal Child Health Commission. She is a former WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor and Certified Lactation Counselor, and became an IBCLC in January 2019, a Certified Perinatal Educator in 2022, and is on the path to Childbirth Educator certification. She also currently serves on the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition Board of Directors and the Boston Black Breastfeeding Week Committee, and as a US Breastfeeding Committee CRASH and Awards Committee member. Shenell continues to lead birth and breastfeeding advocacy efforts in Springfield including annual Black Maternal Health Week, National Breastfeeding Month, and Black Breastfeeding Week celebrations, in collaboration with many commUNITY partners. She was recognized by Masslive in June 2023 as one of Massachusetts Emerging Black Leaders and recipient of the 2024 SDHHS Commissioners Award. Shenell is an inspired and fiercely passionate advocate who is committed to increasing the diversity of and equitable access to childbirth & lactation support in her community and beyond.
Shenell Ford, IBCLC
Rev. Barbara Ann Groover
Rev. Barbara Ann Groover is a native of Sparta, GA. When Barbara was seven years old, Barbara moved to Brooklyn, New York. Growing up in Brooklyn, Barbara attended New York City public schools, graduating from Bushwick High School. She continued her education by attending Fashion Institute of Technology where she concentrated in Textile Design. In addition, she matriculated at Bernard Baruch College in New York majoring in Marketing, where she earned her B.S. in Business Administration. Barbara received her Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School.
Her professional career involved working in several women’s apparel companies in New York Fashion Industry. During her time as a showroom account executive, she participated in styling merchandising and direct sales. This career afforded her the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the country and abroad. Barbara is currently the Head Manager for one of the stores for GAP, Inc. a multinational clothing store.
Rev. Barbara was mentored and influenced by her now grandmother Rosa Lawrence, who taught her to love Methodism. The foundation of her Christian experience occurred at People’s Institutional A.M.E. Church in Brooklyn, where she served as Y.P.D. President, Sunday school teacher, choir member, usher, Pastor’s Aid President, Senior Steward and Church Clerk. While she fulfilled her many responsibilities as the first lady of Bright Temple A.M.E. Church in the Bronx, Barbara served as chairperson for the New York Conference WMS Affiliated Groups and Ecumenical Relations, and president of the A.M.E. Ministers Wives and Widows of New York and Vicinity. In 1993, she represented the Connectional WMS at the First National Consultation of Young Women, sponsored by the Church Women United.
During her membership at Bright Temple, she received her call into the ministry. She began her ministerial studies in the New York Annual Conference and was ordained an Itinerant Deacon at the New England Annual Conference by Bishop Philip R. Cousin, Sr.. Among her many sermons was a Mother’s Day sermon in 1994 A Flight Without a Fight which was written about in Jonathan Kozol’s bestseller Amazing Grace.
At present she serves as Minister to Women and Families at the Historic Charles Street A.M.E. Church, in Boston. In addition, she has served as a board member for Boston Aging Concerns, The Hyams Foundation Black Church Capacity Building Program and board chairperson of the Mothers Mentor Project.
Rev. Barbara is married to the Rev. Dr. Gregory G. Groover, Sr., pastor of the Historic Charles Street A.M.E. Church. She and her husband share two adult children who are professional musicians, daughter Gerami-Greer and son Gregory, Jr. (G-Man).
Rev. Barbara Ann Groover
Dr. Favorite Iradukunda
Dr. Iradukunda is a Licensed Registered Nurse and Assistant Professor at UMASS-Amherst in the College of Nursing. Her research focuses on fostering health during pregnancy and motherhood for Black immigrant women who experience the intersection of home and host cultures, while reinforcing protective cultural practices and supporting the development of community-based, culturally appropriate interventions for health maintenance. Through her advocacy work addressing inequities in our healthcare system, Dr. Iradukunda hopes that educating a new generation of nurses will allow her to address several troubling trends in healthcare: a lack of representation and cultural understanding in treatment. She is invested in practicing cultural humility in care and in developing programs that are diverse and that educate nurses of color to represent the population that we have. Dr. Iradukunda received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Cape Town and a BSN from the University of Rwanda.
Dr. Favorite Iradukunda
Maia Raynor
At a time on our world’s stage when conflict is our sole method of engaging across difference, Maia’s critical lens, at the core of which lie care, equity, and liberation, are essential to rethinking how to work amongst teams, organizations, and communities to carry out change - big or small.
From her experience organizing successful legislative campaigns in Massachusetts, providing direct care to clients as a doula and lactation counselor, and evaluating health interventions and programming as a consultant and researcher, Maia unlocked core insights about leveraging the mechanisms of power to deliver for communities of color. She is happiest when pursuing justice for those most directly impacted by systemic barriers. She is a policy wonk, project manager, doula, and organizer fueled by the desire to address and dismantle systems of oppression within institutions. Maia is a lover of Beyonce and bell hooks who lives in Boston, MA with her dog.
Maia Raynor
Yaminah Romulus
Yaminah Romulus has almost a decade of experience working in the health policy and advocacy space. She believes healthcare is a human right and is passionate about advancing policies that improve the well-being of all people, particularly marginalized and oppressed groups. She currently serves as Manager of Government Affairs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In this role, she supports the Institute's local, state, and federal policy and advocacy efforts focused on improving the lives of those impacted by cancer.
Prior to joining Dana-Farber, she served as Policy Manager at Health Care For All (HCFA), where she was responsible for providing strategic support and operational direction for HCFA’s children’s healthcare advocacy work and helping lay the foundation for the organization’s maternal healthcare advocacy work. While at HCFA, Yaminah led an advocacy campaign that resulted in the signing of a new law that helps address maternal racial health inequities and promotes uninterrupted care and support for pregnant and birthing people.
Yaminah served as Co-Chair of Birth Equity & Justice Massachusetts (BEJMA) from 2021 to 2025—an interdisciplinary and multisector coalition that aims to elevate the voices and experiences of birthing people, advance maternal health policy, and build community power through a lens of justice and equity.
Yaminah earned her master’s degree in Public Health with a focus in Health Policy at Emory University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Yaminah Romulus
Jo-Anna Rorie, CNM, MSN, MPH, FACM, PHD
Dr. Jo-Anna Rorie is the nurse coordinator for the Bridges to Moms program, one of three programs offered by Health Care Without Walls, a nonprofit volunteer program of physicians and nurse practitioners and community health workers who offer free medical care to homeless women across the lifespan. The Bridges to Moms is a program specifically designed to support pregnant and postpartum women homeless and their families around 4 key social determinants of health, housing, food security, transportation and personal safety. She has an extensive background in nurse midwifery, public health, diversity workforce development, social justice advocacy and has held many well-known leadership roles in midwifery at the local, regional and national levels. Dr. Rorie began her career in the late 1980’s at a time when Massachusetts was faced with an infant mortality crisis, especially in the Boston neighborhoods of North Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury. An extensive needs assessment led to a city-wide maternal and child health (MCH) agenda. Jo-Anna’s fingerprints were all over that agenda; and the subsequent recommendations calling for community-based perinatal initiatives that would utilize nurse-midwifery services as a critical element of care for underserved communities. Her zest to be part of the next generation of solutions to public health challenges has not wavered in the 35 years of on the front line work even during the Covid 19 Pandemic. She continues to do clinical practice as the post-partum rounder for the Nurse Midwifery practice at Boston Medical Center.
Dr. Jo-Anna Rorie
Tiffany Vassell, RN
Tiffany Vassell is a registered nurse who has worked as a labor and delivery nurse for several years. She has also served as a substance use nurse assisting patients with their recovery. She is a Black maternal health advocate who supports midwifery care, equity, justice, autonomy, and access to home births and birth centers.
She is a board member of the Bay State Birth Coalition and advocates for An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options and establishing the Neighborhood Birth Center in Boston. She is the founder of Nurses for Black Maternal Health and Equity Organization, which seeks to diversify the perinatal workforce. She also recently served as Chair at the 5th and 6th Annual Black Maternal Health Conference at Tufts University, the country's largest Black maternal health conference.
She is the co-author of the book 'Preparation for a Hospital Birth.' In the book, she seeks to demystify birthing in the hospital in ways only a nurse can explain. She aims to educate birthing people about the many available options during labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum periods to create a safer and more autonomous experience.
She serves as a member of the steering committee for Mind the Gap, which advocates for the Massachusetts Moms Matter Act that would diversify the state's perinatal mental health workforce and invest in community-based organizations supporting perinatal people. She is a Harvard Catalyst Community Coalition for Equity in Research member, which gives high-quality input on research proposals and protocols.
She has sat on several panels to discuss her work and advocacy in the maternal health space and has written several articles. She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society for leadership. She is the awardee of the 2022 Image of the Professional Nurse awarded by the Massachusetts Nursing Association. She is also one of the 2022 Ten Outstanding Young Leaders awarded by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Tiffany Vassell, RN
With deep gratitude for the contributions and vision of previous Steering Committee members: Dr. Allison Bryant (2020), Marianne Bullock (2020-2022), Liz Friedman (2020-2021), Nneka Hall (2020), Dr. Pooja Mehta (2020-2022), Wilberthe Pilate (2023-2024), Katie Shea Barrett (2020-2022), Dr. Kate White (2020), Christian White (2020), and Emily Anesta (2020 - 2025).