Sona Smith, (she/her,) is the Birth Justice Program Officer at the Ms. Foundation. She has been working in non-profit and movement spaces for over 15 years, with experience developing, implementing and managing innovative programs that serve young people in Chicago and beyond. She has been deeply committed to improving the lives of youth, families, and organizations in disinvested communities. Throughout her career she has worked for various organizations, including Chicago Volunteer Doulas as the Executive Director. She has a rich history in youth development, program management, leveraging community support and resources, developing coalitions and building relationships with a shared sense of purpose. Her work in the birth justice movement has included serving as a birth doula and lactation peer counselor for families in Chicago and participating as one of the first members of Health Connect One’s Birth Equity Leadership Academy.

Currently she sits on HMBANA Donor Milk Health Equity Task Force and is recent a graduate of both the Cultivate Women of Color Leadership Cohort, and Rockwood Leadership Institute Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Fellowship. Most recently she has graciously served as Executive Director of Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, a youth centered reproductive justice organization located in Chicago. Sona is a mother of three amazing children Aya Sol, Ameen Naji, and Ajani Najim. Her commitment to birth and reproductive justice was birthed through her lived experiences as a Black woman and mother navigating harmful systems of oppression and injustice as she was becoming a parent.

Elise Belusa is the Executive Director of the Tara Health Foundation. As Executive Director, Elise leads Tara Health’s operations and strategic initiatives, including overseeing the organization’s spend-down efforts, while also serving as a key spokesperson to advance Tara’s mission, vision, and values. Before joining Tara, Elise worked with Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) at the University of California, San Francisco, Ibis Reproductive Health, and the Harvard School of Public Health. She brings a background in domestic and international reproductive health research and service delivery, including working with women in Indonesia, Kenya, Senegal, and throughout the United States. Elise received a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and earned a Masters of Science in Reproductive & Sexual Health Research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Naa Amissah-Hammond (she/her/hers) is a Black, immigrant, queer, femme and the Chief Strategy Officer with Groundswell Fund, a public foundation that strengthens U.S. movements for reproductive and social justice.

At Groundswell, Naa leads strategy development, helping to create alignment and impact across Groundswell’s grantmaking, capacity building, and funder organizing efforts.

In her tenure at Groundswell, Naa has supported hundreds of reproductive justice, birth justice, and social justice grantee partners as both a Program Officer and a Grantmaking Director.

Naa is deeply committed to organizing funders and donors to return resources to frontline movements and communities that are fighting for justice and liberation.

Naa currently serves on the Board of Directors of Funders for Reproductive Equity and the Steering Committee of Funders for Birth Justice and Equity. Prior to joining Groundswell, Naa worked for Funders for LGBTQ Issues to mobilize philanthropic resources to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities.

Over the last 15 years, Naa has worked in philanthropy, development, and grassroots organizing with several U.S. organizations committed to gender, racial and economic justice, including FIERCE, Third Wave Fund, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Queers for Economic Justice, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

Nakeenya Wilson has worked in Black maternal health advocacy since 2018 after experiencing a traumatic birth in 2016. Nakeenya has a Masters of Art in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation and is a DONA trained doula. Nakeenya served as the first full-time Director of Austin-based non-profit Black Mamas ATX, which is a Perinatal Safe-Zone as part of the National Perinatal Health Collaborative. Nakeenya is a founding member of the Maternal Health Equity Collaborative (MHEC), a Texas-based organization focused on maternal health outcomes, centering Black birthing people. In 2020, MHEC was awarded $1M Safer Childbirth Cities grant to provide perinatal childcare to Black birthing people during the prenatal, birth and 12-month postpartum period. Nakeenya serves on many boards and committees including the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee and Subcommittee on Maternal Health Disparities, and the Central Texas Region March of Dimes Board of Directors. Nakeenya enjoys working with members of the community, medical professionals, interns in undergraduate and graduate programs, media, and legislators to address Black maternal health and mental health issues. She has provided presentations, served on panels, and has appeared on shows and podcasts to increase community education and promote awareness campaigns.