Our Mission
The Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance that centers Black mamas and birthing people to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice.
Our Vision
We envision a world where Black mamas have the rights, respect, and resources to thrive before, during, and after pregnancy.
Our Goals
- Change Policy: Introduce and advance policy grounded in the human rights framework that addresses Black maternal health inequity and improves Black maternal health outcomes
- Cultivate Research: Leverage the talent and knowledge that exists in Black communities and cultivate innovative research methods to inform the policy agenda to improve Black maternal health
- Advance Care for Black Mamas: Explore, introduce, and enhance holistic and comprehensive approaches to Black mamas’ care
- Shift Culture: Redirect and reframe the conversation on Black maternal health and amplify the voices of Black mamas
BMMA Staff
Angela Doyinsola Aina, MPH
Angela Doyinsola Aina, DrPHc, MPH (she/her) is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of BMMA, Inc., a network of Black women-led organizations advancing Black maternal health, rights, and justice through policy, research, culture shift, and leadership development. A catalytic architect of the Black Maternal Health Movement, Angela is an award-recognized public health practitioner with over 19 years of experience in maternal health program development, evaluation, strategic planning, and advocacy. Since BMMA’s inception in 2016, Angela has led the organization in raising more than $2 million annually, creating jobs and fellowships, and expanding a national workforce rooted in birth and reproductive justice.
She, in collaboration with several partners, oversees efforts that convene community-rooted organizations, clinicians, midwives, birth workers, advocates, and researchers to shift maternal health systems through Black feminist praxis, Pan-African and respectful maternity care, and human rights frameworks. Angela is a strategic partner with Baby Dove’s Black Birth Equity Fund, helping to shape corporate social impact investments in maternal health equity initiatives. She is the visionary behind the Black Maternal Health Conference & Training Institute, the Black Maternal Health Incubator Hub, and co-founded the nationally recognized Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) campaign, which is now celebrated annually across the country and internationally.
Her public health career spans the academic, nonprofit, and government sectors, including over five years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she served as a Public Health Analyst, Health Communications Specialist, and Public Health Prevention Service Fellow. While at the CDC, she contributed to key federal responses, including the Zika and pregnancy initiative, scientific program management, and the 2014 Ebola outbreak staffing and deployment. Angela’s research includes a mixed-methods analysis on the reproductive health attitudes of Nigerian-born immigrant women in the U.S., completed during her Master of Public Health studies in International and Women’s Health at Morehouse School of Medicine. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and African-American Studies from Georgia State University and is currently completing her Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree.
She has contributed to a growing number of maternal health-related peer-reviewed publications. She has been interviewed and featured in numerous media outlets, including PopSugar, Nonprofit Quarterly, The Atlantic, The Root, HuffPost, TIME Magazine, and HLN/CNN. In 2020, she was honored as a WebMD Health Hero for her advocacy work. Angela has provided expert testimony and statements before national and international bodies—including the UN High Commissioner Regional Meeting—advocating for the recognition of Black maternal health as a global movement, a professional practice, and a necessary solution to end maternal mortality and morbidity.
She is deeply committed to the self-determination and leadership of women of African descent, the elimination of gender-based violence, and the creation of womanist, community-centered solutions to public health and economic injustice. Outside of work, Angela enjoys exploring Black diasporic cultural expressions through dance, music, art, fashion, and film.
Ayanna Robinson, PhD, MPH
Dr. Ayanna Robinson serves as the Director, Research & Evaluation for BMMA. She has over 15 years of research and evaluation experience, primarily supporting initiatives at the federal level. She received her Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Behavior from the University of Georgia and a Certificate in Interdisciplinary Qualitative Research Studies, and a Master of Public Health degree from Morehouse School of Medicine’s Master of Public Health Program. As a public health researcher and evaluator experienced in qualitative and quantitative methods, she is committed to conducting research and translating that research into initiatives and products that dismantle systems of oppression, amplify the voices of Black women and birthing individuals, and create spaces for healing. Ayanna is also the founder of Black Girls’ Breastfeeding Club and the bEarth Work App.
Milan A. Spencer, MPH, MCHES, CLEC
Milan Spencer serves as the Associate Director, Workforce Development & Partnerships. In her role, she oversees BMMA’s workforce development initiatives, supports partnership management, and provides technical assistance to maternal health equity stakeholders. Additionally, she works to map out resources and helps inform BMMA’s overarching strategic goals in stakeholder engagement and Black Maternal Health movement-building. Milan has a BA in History with a concentration in African-American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master in Public Health with a concentration in Community Health Education from California State University, Long Beach. Milan’s passion work is in Maternal Child & Adolescent health, specifically addressing disparities in perinatal care and birth outcomes among Black birthing persons, Black children, and Black families. She is a certified childbirth doula and a certified lactation education counselor. She is a mom of three beautiful children and in her free time enjoys reading, jigsaw puzzles, and watching true crime TV.
Fatuma Dahir
Fatuma Dahir serves as the Director of Operations for BMMA and oversees all financial, accounting, human resources, operational policies, and professional services to ensure the daily function of the organization. She has over a decade of project/program management and human resource experience, primarily in higher education administration. She received her degree in political science and sociology from Georgia State University. As a project and people manager, she is committed to increasing the productivity, development and success of BMMA.
Wanja Ngugi, MPA, PMP
Wanja Ngugi, MPA, PMP serves as BMMA’s Director of Strategy. With over 17 years of experience in nonprofit development and leadership, she leads the development and initiatives units, working to bring funding to BMMA, and providing project management tools for programming activities. Additionally, Wanja provides organization-wide strategic insight and planning.
Wanja is passionate about women’s rights and creating a more equitable world. Her expertise lies in building high-performing teams, securing funding from diverse sources, and fostering strong relationships with donors and partners. A skilled communicator and project manager, she has a proven track record of success in creating and implementing systems that streamline processes and workflow, ultimately maximizing efficiency and impact.
Wanja holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbus State University and a B.A. in International Studies and Women’s Studies from Denison University. A certified Project Management Professional, she leverages her skills and experience to support BMMA’s vision.
Outside of work, Wanja enjoys staying active through outdoor activities and yoga. She also loves spending time with family and friends and is thrilled to contribute to BMMA’s movement-building efforts.
Christina Gordon, MBA-MHA
Christina Gordon (she/her) serves as the Partnerships Manager at Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA). In this role, she supports the management of BMMA’s portfolio of partners and stakeholders, helping to track engagement, coordinate agreements, and organize capacity-building efforts that advance the organization’s mission across key initiatives. Christina holds a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration from South University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Columbia University.
Her public health background includes experience in wellness program development, curriculum design, and workforce development, with past roles in both academic and healthcare settings. Prior to joining BMMA, Christina served as a Wellness Professor at Spelman College, a Wellness Recruiter at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and a certified Perinatal Coach and Content Curator.
Outside of her work with BMMA, Christina is a proud mother of four. In her free time, she enjoys exercising, thrift shopping, listening to soul music, and watching Black television and cinema.
Sang Hee Won, MPH
Sang Hee Won serves as the MMRC (Maternal Mortality Review Committee) Project Director at BMMA, where she supports efforts to build the capacity of MMRCs and advance equitable practices within maternal health reviews. With over 15 years of experience in maternal and reproductive health, Sang Hee also works as a consultant on projects focused on respectful maternity care for birthing people of color, the impact of religious restrictions on reproductive and maternal health services, and the training and deployment of community health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, she conducted research on disrespect and abuse in childbirth through the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program, led New York City’s first severe maternal morbidity surveillance initiative, and contributed to strengthening emergency obstetric care systems in low-income countries. Sang Hee is a mom of two and holds a Master of Public Health from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College.
Danielle Swanson Rivers, MPH
Danielle Rivers serves as the Research Associate with Black Mamas Matter Alliance. In her role, she works to support the research and evaluation department primarily through project coordination and data analysis. She has four years of experience working in public health research with a history of working with federal projects as well as state government. Danielle is an alumna of Purdue University, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Biology and her Master of Public Health from Georgia State University’s School of Public Health. Her professional interests include maternal and child health, child maltreatment, implementation research, and social determinants of health.
Stephanie Aristide, MPH
Stephanie Aristide serves as the Policy & Advocacy Associate with BMMA. In her role,, she supports BMMA’s current policy and advocacy portfolio with a focus on the state of Georgia and other southern regional stakeholders, including partner engagement; works
across organizational initiatives involving advocacy activities, and supports the development of policy-related educational information.
Stephanie received her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from Florida International University. She has experience in public health research, and program planning. Stephanie’s professional goals are to implement sustainable changes within health policy, women’s reproductive health education, and quality care improvement. Her hobbies include traveling, visiting museums, photography, and producing podcasts.
Oumie Mbye, MPH
Oumie Mbye, MPH, serves as the Health Communications Manager at Black Mamas Matter Alliance. In this capacity, she plays a pivotal role in showcasing the organization’s impact, its movement-building efforts, and crafting health-focused content and communications for both organizational initiatives and programmatic endeavors.
Following her undergraduate studies, Oumie dedicated her time to projects and programs aimed at advancing the rights and safety of women and girls in The Gambia. She later earned her Master of Public Health from Oxford Brookes University, bringing a wealth of expertise in public health communications, research, programming, planning, and implementation to her role.
Oumie’s passion lies in women’s sexual and reproductive health and child development. Outside of work, she enjoys spending quality time with her family, dancing, and exploring culinary delights.
Shauna H. Frazier
Shauna H. Frazier serves as the Donor Relations Manager at Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA). An Atlanta native, Shauna brings over four years of experience in the public health nonprofit sector, previously serving as a Regional Operations Manager and Development Manager for the American Diabetes Association, where she supported initiatives across five states. Shauna’s passion for holistic health spans more than 17 years and informs her approach to wellness-centered development work. She holds certifications in Natural Medicine, Thai Yoga, Reiki, and Neuromuscular Therapy, and is currently pursuing a certification as an Ayurveda Practitioner. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management and continues integrating her wellness background into her professional and personal life. In her free time, Shauna enjoys traveling, managing her wellness practices, and spending time with her husband and children.
Gianna Wilson, MPA
Gianna Wilson serves as the Manager of Strategic Initiatives. In her role, Gianna works collaboratively across the organization to oversee the logistical and operational implementation of BMMA’s major programming and initiatives. Gianna began working with local charitable organizations as an undergraduate student, leading to many years of service in the non-profit sector. Gianna previously worked in the environmental regulatory sector before returning to her non-profit roots by joining BMMA. Gianna has a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban and Public Policy and a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Health. She takes television very seriously and is a lover of art in all mediums.
Phoebe Wescott, MPH
Phoebe Wescott serves as the Senior Manager, Training & Technical Assistance for BMMA. In this role, she manages targeted technical assistance and comprehensive trainings, focusing on practice-based learning and a holistic maternity care framework to strengthen the Black maternal perinatal and reproductive health workforce.
Prior to joining BMMA, Phoebe served as the Director of Training & Business Development for Reproductive Health Impact (RHI). There, she supported maternal health equity initiatives by co-facilitating anti-racism training, conducting organizational assessments for health departments and hospital systems, and managing business development and outreach programming.
Phoebe earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) in Maternal and Child Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her recent work focuses on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity and mortality, emphasizing quality improvement and respectful care. Additionally, her passion lies in early childhood health and education.
Outside of work, Phoebe is a dedicated wife and mother to two beautiful daughters. She enjoys staying active through workouts and exploring new places through travel.
Ayanna Woolfork, MPH
Ayanna Woolfork serves as the Program Analyst, Workforce Development, where she manages continuing education credit procurement, program coordination, and stakeholder engagement for BMMA. Ayanna is graduate of Dillard University (BS Public Health) and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (Master of Public Health) and an alumna of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Associate Program where she worked with tribal communities and learned the importance of black and indigenous traditional perinatal care and the positive effect on birth outcomes that doula care can have for birthing people. Ayanna is a trained doula and is passionate about advocating for the right to holistic and respectful maternity care for black birthing people.
Ajia Caldwell, MPH
Ajia Caldwell (she/her) serves as the Digital Media & Development Associate at BMMA. In this role, she supports BMMA’s digital communications and development efforts, including content creation, website updates, social media engagement, and donor data management. Ajia holds a Master of Public Health from Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Her background includes experience in sexual and reproductive health education, community-based organizing, and full-spectrum doula care. Through her work as a certified doula and founder of a wellness platform focused on Black women and gender-expansive people, Ajia brings a community-centered perspective that supports BMMA’s mission to advance Black maternal health, rights, and justice.
Dkéama Alexis
Dkéama Alexis (they/them) serves as the Initiatives Associate for BMMA. In this role, they assist with operationalizing and implementing BMMA’s programs and initiatives. They hold a BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder. Dkéama has extensive facilitation, communications, and project/program coordination experience, most recently with Equitas Health and Sierra Club. Personally, professionally, and politically, their work has prioritized those belonging to marginalized communities, particularly Black folks, LGBTQIA+ communities, youth, and people living with HIV.
In 2017, they co-founded Black Queer & Intersectional Collective (BQIC), the Ohio-based grassroots abolitionist organization working towards the liberation of Black LGBTQIA+ people through community organizing, direct action, education, and creating spaces where our voices can be heard.
In their spare time, you can find Dkéama writing creative non-fiction and poetry, reading tarot, and dreaming towards a world without police, prisons, or borders.
Jaina Reed Thompson
Jaina Reed Thompson serves as BMMA’s Operations Associate. In her role, she supports the development and management of systems, processes, and procedures, and helps to optimize all organizational functions. She has over a decade of experience in program development, change management, capacity building, process improvement, and implementation.
Jaina has a passion for youth development and closing gaps of inequity. She holds a BA in Public Relations from Hampton University and a Master of Business Administration. In her spare time, Jaina enjoys traveling, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.
Diana Mendoza
Diana Mendoza (she/they) serves as an Operations Associate at BMMA, providing comprehensive support to the organization’s daily processes, stakeholder engagement, financial and data accuracy, inventory, and development activities. Diana is a certified lactation educator & counselor and a full-spectrum doula with over 13 years of professional and personal experience in reproductive justice praxis. They hold a degree in Global Studies with an emphasis on the well-being of Indigenous migrant women of the diaspora and their kin. Diana has extensive experience as a bilingual organizer, educator, facilitator, and program manager. She has worked with education and health systems across southern and northern California. Diana and her family are new to Atlanta. They enjoy nature walks, drinking coffee, dancing cumbias, movie nights, holding babies, and bird watching.
Courtney Drayton, MPH, RN
Courtney Drayton serves as BMMA’s Clinical Services Analyst, providing strategic direction for the expansion of community-based perinatal and reproductive health service delivery. She supports workforce development programming, curates training resources, and partners with organizations on capacity-building initiatives. Courtney’s public health portfolio includes: Black maternal health research; evaluation of clinical mentorship programs for nursing and midwifery practice in maternal, infant, and pediatric HIV care across East and Southern Africa; management of a statewide breastfeeding initiative; identifying support for pregnancies complicated by chronic illnesses; and studying the impact of natural disasters on reproductive health. As a registered nurse, Courtney has experience in neonatal intensive care and in labor and delivery units. She earned her BS in Microbiology from Louisiana State University, MPH from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and an ASN from Louisiana Delta Community College. Courtney enjoys the outdoors, traveling, documentaries, and spending time with her loved ones.
Tiffany Brown, MHA
Tiffany serves as the Grants Administrator. In this role, she manages grant and contract activities, including grant proposals, submissions, and fund expenditures. Tiffany has a BA in Spanish and Sociology from Emory University and a Masters of Healthcare Administration from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in the City of New York. Tiffany has over 10 years of experience in healthcare administration and operations in various settings–government, academic medical centers, and non-profit sectors. Tiffany also believes that birthing is one of the greatest rites of passage of all time and has made it her mission to advocate for and fight for reproductive justice for birthing people of underrepresented communities, especially people of color and LGBTQIA families. Tiffany is a full-spectrum doula, wife, mommy, podcaster, and perinatal yoga instructor, and enjoys all things travel, content creation, peaches, and summer.
Board of Directors
Breana Lipscomb, MPH
Breana Lipscomb is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee and currently resides in Georgia. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she received her Master of Public Health and Bachelor of Science in Biology and Spanish. She has over 15 years of public health research, advocacy, and program implementation & evaluation experience and has worked in Tennessee, Guatemala, and the State Departments of Health in both Iowa and South Carolina. Breana is an alumna of the Maternal and Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She has a special interest in addressing maternal health disparities and inequities through effective policy advocacy. She now serves as the Senior Manager of the U.S. Maternal Health & Rights Initiative for the Center for Reproductive Rights. In this role, Breana develops advocacy strategies to promote Black maternal health, particularly in the South, mobilizing a broad base of stakeholders—policymakers, reproductive justice community, public health professionals, the medical community, and advocates—to advance state and federal level policies that further reproductive rights as human rights. Breana actively serves on the Board of Directors for Black Mamas Matter Alliance, and she was recognized as the inaugural Kira Johnson Advocate of the Year by March for Moms in 2020.
Jessica Roach, MPH
Jessica M Roach, MPH is the CEO and Partner of Restoring Our Own Through Transformation, a Black Family Led Community Based Organization. Ms. Roach has over 20 years of clinical, research, nursing, home-birth midwife/assistant, full spectrum Doula, and public health experience. Ms. Roach’s focus on inter-generational and historical trauma has forged a uniquely powerful perspective as applied to public health policy and practice. Her advocacy work includes community-based initiatives addressing reproductive justice and infant mortality with a particular focus on African- American and similarly oppressed communities. She is the proud mother of three women, one of whom was a pre-term infant.
Kwajelyn Jackson, MS
Kwajelyn Jackson currently serves as Executive Director at Feminist Women’s Health Center (FWHC) in Atlanta, GA. She has the optimistic vision and pragmatism needed to lead an independent, non-profit, Feminist, multi-generational, multi-racial reproductive health, rights, and justice organization, providing compassionate abortion care in the South. Since 2013 she has led the expansion of FWHC’s statewide and national impact and deepened its community partnerships, leading the organization’s civic engagement, advocacy, education, and outreach teams, before becoming the organization’s first Black woman Executive Director.
A third generation graduate of Spelman College, Kwajelyn continues a family legacy of racial justice, anti-oppression and reproductive justice activism. She has a BA in economics and a MS in urban policy studies from the Andrew Young School of Public Policy at Georgia State University. Prior to joining FWHC, she spent three years as the Program Manager for WonderRoot Community Arts Center and eight years as a Credit Risk Manager with Wachovia Bank’s Community Development Finance Group. A respected voice on reproductive justice movement building, Kwajelyn is often sought after on the national level. She sits on the board of directors for All-Options, Abortion Care Network, and the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. Kwajelyn is interested in opportunities to use a reproductive justice lens to spark dialogue, transform perspectives, develop leaders, and cultivate change.
Monica Raye Simpson
Monica Raye Simpson is the Executive Director of SisterSong, Inc. and co-founder of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. She is a queer, black, NC native, has organized extensively against human rights abuse, the prison industry, racism, and systemic violence against Southern black women and LBGTQ people. A proud graduate of the historically black Johnson C. Smith University, she earned a bachelor’s in Communications and organized for LGBTQ rights on and off campus. She then became the Operations Director and the first person of color at the Charlotte Lesbian & Gay Community Center. Next, she trained black youth in activism, philanthropy, and fundraising as the Ujamaa Coordinator for Grassroots Leadership. In 2010, she moved to GA to be our Development Coordinator; she was promoted to Deputy Coordinator in 2011, Interim Executive Director in 2012, and Executive Director in 2013.
Monica is a nationally sought-after facilitator, speaker, and organizer, constantly called upon to travel the country for appearances. She is the only woman among the 4 founders of Charlotte, NC’s Black Gay Pride Celebration, the first in the Bible Belt, which received awards from the National Black Justice Coalition and the Human Rights Coalition for its incredible launch with 7,000 participants. She has been featured in many publications for her activism, and has written many articles on LGBTQ issues, RJ, over-policing of black/brown communities, philanthropy, and Southern activism. In 2014 she was named a New Civil Rights Leader by Essence Magazine, and in 2015 was chosen as a panelist for the Women of the World Summit. Also a full circle doula certified through the International Center for Traditional Childbirth, she serves on the boards of the Fund for Southern Communities and the legendary Highlander Center.
A singer and spoken word artist who infuses art into her activism, Monica has appeared in theatrical productions such as For the Love of Harlem, Words the Isms, Walk Like a Man, The Vagina Monologues, and For Colored Girls. She released her first solo album, Revolutionary Love, in 2015, and she has performed at events across the country, including singing the National Anthem and the National Black Anthem for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. march and rally in Atlanta, GA. Monica created Artists United for Reproductive Justice as a project of SisterSong in order to create a platform for artists to collaborate on replicable artwork that furthers the Reproductive Justice movement.
Kay Matthews, LCHW
Kay Matthews lives in Houston Texas and is the Founder of The Shades of Blue Project. Graduating with a 2 year Degree in Early Childhood Development from North Harris College located in Houston Texas, and furthered her education in the Mental Health field by becoming a Licensed Community Health Worker. She has also received numerous awards from both her community and her peers, and sits on the Board and is Partners with several National organizations.
Along with writing her first Best Seller a Self-Help Journal: 365 Days To Recovery “Finding Your Way Out Of The Darkness” and Recovery State of Mind Daily Journal. Kay is actively teaching and speaking to women of all ages to help them to better understand how important it is to advocate for themselves before during and after childbirth. Helping them to realize that they have the ability to have a successful birth outcome and assuring that they know of the resources available in which it pertains to maternal mental health. To Kay this is the most important aspect of the work she does within the community and it is the motivation that she uses to continue to educate communities worldwide.