Staff

Wanja Ngugi, MPA, PMP is Director of Strategy for Black Mamas Matter Alliance. 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.

Wanja is thrilled to be part of the movement-building at BMMA.

Phoebe Wescott is the Senior Manager for Training and Technical Assistance on the Workforce Development Team. 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 the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (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. However, her true 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.

Tiffany is BMMA’s Research and Grants Administrator. In her role, she manages the research and grant activities, including grant proposals and 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 and perinatal yoga instructor, as well as founder of Birthing the Empress Within. Outside of work, she is a wife and podcast co-host with her husband and mommy to a toddler. Tiffany enjoys all things travel, content creation, peaches, and summer.

Dkéama Alexis (they/them) is BMMA’s Initiatives Associate within the Operations & Administration department. In their 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.

Courtney Drayton serves as a Consultant, 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 is currently working in labor and delivery. 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.

Christina Gordon is the Fellowship Pipeline Manager with Black Mamas Matter Alliance. In her role she leads fellowship operations, programming, and mentors early to mid-career Black maternal health professionals and public health scholars. In addition to her BA in Sociology (Columbia University) and MBA in Healthcare Administration (South University), Christina’s public health career portfolio spans across richly diverse consulting expertise in program development, academia, curriculum design, and workforce development. Prior to her role as Fellowship Pipeline Manager, she was a Wellness Professor (Spelman College), Wellness Recruiter (Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta), and certified Expert Perinatal Coach and Content Curator. Outside of work, she is a proud 4x Mommy. In her free time she enjoys exercise, thrift shopping, listening to soul music and watching Black television and cinema.

Jaina Reed Thompson currently serves as Operations Associate with Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. 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. 

Oumie Mbye, MPH, serves as the Health Communications Manager at Black Mamas Matter Alliance. In this capacity, she plays a pivotal role in driving the strategic direction 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.

Diana Mendoza (she/they), Operations Associate, 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. In this role, she ensures efficient daily operations at BMMA, managing financial processes, data accuracy, inventory, and HR tasks. She coordinates meetings, supports fundraising, assists, and provides training for staff.

Ayanna Woolfork is the Program Analyst for Workforce Development. 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. 

Fatuma Dahir is the Director of Operations for Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. 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.

Seynabou-Denise Niang serves as the Black Maternal Health Regional Organizer, focused on operationalizing BMMA’s movement building efforts in HHS Regions 6 & 7 to provide opportunities for, initiate collaborative efforts between, and support systems-change towards health equity through partnerships with BIPOC-led perinatal and maternal health entities. 

Seynabou has a BA in Psychology with a minor in Public Health from the illustrious Spelman College, and Master of Public Health in Global Health with a concentration in Community Health and Development from the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Seynabou is a community alchemist who centers her work around community health and empowerment through various frameworks like, reproductive justice, Black feminism, and critical race theory. As a native of Dakar, Senegal by way of Atlanta, GA, Seynabou deeply believes in the impact of community-based research and has almost a decades’ experience with leading community based participatory action research (CBPAR), qualitative research and monitor and evaluation. In her free time, you can find Seynabou reading, writing and binge watching any medical show dramas. 

Stephanie Aristide is the Policy & Advocacy Associate with Black Mamas Matter Alliance. 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.

Danielle Rivers is a 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 received her Master in 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.

Shauna H. Frazier is the Donor Relations Manager with Black Mamas Matter Alliance. Shauna is an Atlanta native and who’s worked in the Public Health Non-profit sector as a Regional Operations Manager and Development Manager covering five states with the American Diabetes Association for four years.

 Shauna’s passion for holistic care begin over 17 years ago which lead her into the health and wellness industry, where she obtained a certification in Natural Medicine, Thai Yoga, Reiki, Neuromuscular Therapy, and is currently studying to obtain a certification as an Ayurveda Practitioner.

She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. Much of her free time is spent managing her practices, traveling, and spending time with her husband and children.

Sang Hee Won is a Project Manager with Black Mamas Matter Alliance where she oversees efforts to strengthen the capacity of maternal mortality review committees to better integrate strategies toward equitable practices. As a maternal health consultant, she also works on projects that focus on ensuring respectful maternity care for birthing people of color, examining the impact of religious restrictions on reproductive and maternal health services, and evaluating the training and deployment of community health care workers to combat COVID-19. In the past, Sang Hee has conducted research on disrespect and abuse during pregnancy and childbirth with the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program; overseen New York City’s first severe maternal morbidity surveillance; and worked to strengthen health systems to provide emergency obstetric care services in low-income countries. Sang Hee has an MPH from Columbia University and a BA from Grinnell College.

Milan Spencer is the Associate Director of Workforce Development and Partnerships. In her role she oversees BMMA’s workforce development initiatives, supports with partnership management, and provides technical assistance to maternal health equity stakeholders. Additionally, in her role, she works to map out resources and helps inform BMMA’s overarching strategic goals. Milan has a BA in History with a concentration in African-American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Masters 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.

Dr. Ayanna Robinson is the Research and Evaluation Director for Black Mamas Matter Alliance. She has over a decade 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 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, amplifies the voices of Black women and birthing individuals, and creates spaces for healing. Ayanna is also the founder of Black Girls’ Breastfeeding Club and the bEarth Work App. 

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 a years long career in non-profits. Gianna previously worked in the environmental regulatory sector before returning to her non-profit roots by joining Black Mamas Matter Alliance.

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.

Angela Doyinsola Aina, MPH is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, where she works to convene Black Maternal Health professionals and community-based organizations to develop trainings, programs, quality improvement initiatives, research projects, and black feminist advocacy strategies to advance holistic maternity service provision, policy, and systems change in global public health. She has over 16 years of public health experience, working in different capacities on projects focused on: incorporating health equity strategies into reproductive and maternal health initiatives; strengthening strategic planning and community-based workforce development; and data collection. Ms. Aina has served as a Public Health Analyst, Health Communications Specialist, and a Public Health Prevention Service Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for over 5 years, working on Zika and Pregnancy, scientific program management, and 2014 Ebola response staffing. She holds a Master of Public Health degree in International and Women’s Health from Morehouse School of Medicine where she conducted a sequential mixed-method analysis of the reproductive health attitudes and behaviors of Nigerian-born immigrant women in the U.S., and a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia State University in Psychology and African-American Studies. Angela’s expertise and perspectives on Black Maternal Health has been featured in media outlets, such as the Huffington Post, The Atlantic, the Root, and HLN/CNN. In March of 2020, she was recognized as a 2020 WebMD Health Hero and highlighted as an advocate for Black Maternal Health in Time Magazine. She is passionate about and committed to work that seek to achieve: the self-determination of women of African descent; the elimination of violence against women; the promotion of Black and African women’s rights and  leadership; and womanist solutions to social and economic injustices. Angela enjoys all things diasporic Black cultural expressions in dance, music, art, fashion, theatre and film.