Clare Coleman

Clare Coleman (she/her) is the President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), a position she has held since 2009. Clare believes NFPRHA’s mission, and the collective power of its almost 1,000 organizational members, is the driving force of her career. She says, “I started in the reproductive health field in the early 1990s and quickly fell in love with the work and the resilient people supporting it. Our members and their heart-led service of others give me purpose. They are the reason NFPRHA exists.”

Under her leadership, NFPRHA has grown its membership by 500%, tripled the organization’s staff and budget, and expanded its portfolio, with a focus on federal policy and regulatory reform, service delivery improvement, and health equity. Between the years of 2018-2019 when the network was under significant threat, Clare led the association though its decisions to repeatedly sue the US government to prevent the Trump administration from doing irreparable harm to Title X, the nation’s family planning program.

Clare was previously president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley in New York state, a Title X sub-recipient agency, from 2006 to 2009. Prior to her time in New York, her home state, Clare was Chief of Staff for former US House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey. She also worked for then-Rep. Chuck Schumer and two other members of the House of Representatives.

In addition to her decade-plus on the Hill, Clare was a lead lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Federation in the late 1990s and researched the impact of catastrophes on public health while working at the New York University School of Medicine.

Clare is a proud graduate of Smith College. In 2021, she was awarded the Smith College Medal, given to alumnae who, in the judgment of the trustees, exemplify in their lives and work the true purpose of a liberal arts education. She is a solo mom to a middle schooler.

Elizabeth Janiak

Elizabeth Janiak is an interdisciplinary public health researcher and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Her research explores how government and institutional policies create inequities in access to and quality of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, including contraceptive, abortion, and obstetric services. Current projects include several studies of mifepristone use for abortion and early pregnancy loss, social factors shaping postpartum contraceptive use, and the impacts of abortion-related travel following the Dobbs decision. Dr. Janiak's work has been covered in dozens of media outlets including The Boston Globe, Salon, and National Public Radio. A full list of Dr. Janiak's publications can be found via Harvard Catalyst.

WeCount

Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas

Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas has been a pelvic floor physical therapist since 2016 and has
experience working with people of all genders and ages with pelvic health diagnoses. She isn’t
one to shy away from taboo topics. From bladder problems to bowel movements to sex, Alicia
is always game to talk through the dirty details to help patients figure out what’s going on
“down there.”

To this end, she has created and directed multiple social media platforms where she spreads
evidence based pelvic health information in humorous and relatable ways. Her page,
@ThePelvicDanceFloor, has over 1 million combined followers between Instagram and TikTok.
She and her content have been featured in podcasts, magazines, blogs, and on television. Her
book Power to the Pelvis is a ‘choose-your-own-adventure” style book full of practical tips,
strategies, and exercises to give the reader the ability to start navigating their own pelvic floor
health journey.

Alicia is originally from Florida and received both her doctorate degree in Physical Therapy as
well as her bachelors in Health Science from the University of Florida (Go Gators!). She
obtained her Pelvic Rehab Practitioner Certification (PRPC) through Herman & Wallace.
When she’s not seeing patients or making content, Alicia can mostly likely be found hunting for
treasures in local thrift stores or reading her never ending stack of novels. Although born and
raised in Florida, she now lives in Boston with her husband and their dog.

Amir Dixon

Amir Dixon is the founder of ANI, a strategy, design, and production firm focused on community
nonprofits. Amir’s work sits at the intersection of art, storytelling, and social justice, with a
particular focus on Black Queer and Trans narratives. Their film black explores the history of
early Black gay clubs and AIDS-era organizations, centering the voices and survival strategies
of communities that built care systems when none were offered. Amir brings this lens to every
engagement: the belief that storytelling is not supplemental to justice work—it is the work.

Stefanie Belnavis

Stefanie D. Belnavis, MA, BC-DMT, LMHC (she/her) is a differently abled Black and Indo-Jamaican-American interdisciplinary artist, perinatal movement psychotherapist, photographer, educator, and spatial justice practitioner based in Greater Boston. She is the Founder and Executive Director of A Bucket For The Well, LLC, and the visionary behind The Diahann Project and Birthlooms.

Stefanie’s work lives at the intersection of healing, memory, storytelling, and cultural reclamation. As a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, she offers trauma-informed, culturally affirming care rooted in somatic healing, expressive arts, and liberation-centered practice, with a particular focus on BIPOC individuals, families, perinatal mental health, and intergenerational healing.

Through A Bucket For The Well, LLC, Stefanie supports communities in tending to the emotional, relational, and embodied dimensions of healing. Through The Diahann Project, founded in 2017, she uses portraiture, oral history, and visual storytelling to create living archives that honor the lives, lineages, and lived experiences of Black and Brown communities across the diaspora. In 2018, she expanded this work through Birthlooms, a healing-centered storytelling and photography initiative documenting the diverse journeys of Black and Brown birthing families, birth workers, and perinatal practitioners.
Her reproductive justice work includes Midwifery + The Black Birthing Family, a visual and oral history archive that uplifts Black birthing stories, Black midwives, and the communal labor of care. Across her work, Stefanie explores how storytelling functions not only as documentation, but also as healing practice, memory preservation, resistance, and reclamation.

Stefanie also serves as an educator at Lesley University, Antioch University, and Framingham State University, where her teaching is grounded in anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, and embodied approaches to mental health and expressive arts education. A proud Caribbean immigrant, Stefanie’s work is a creative and clinical practice of remembering, resisting, and reclaiming, honoring the stories that shape who we are, how we heal, and what futures we make possible.

Ebere Oparaeke, MPH, CLC

Ebere Oparaeke (she/her) is a birth worker and birth justice advocate. She became a birth doula 12 years ago while pursuing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan in Women's Studies and now provides a spectrum of support throughout the perinatal period. With a background in childcare and youth development, she has always felt connected to efforts that support children and parents. She received her MPH in Maternal and Child Health from Boston University in 2020. She has since engaged in community-based strategies and advocacy efforts for health equity, including interning for and promoting the opening of the Neighborhood Birth Center, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. Ebere regards birth as a sacred and transformative experience in a person’s life, and to support and bear witness to it is a gift that continues to humble and inspire her. She is passionate about reproductive and social justice efforts toward the liberation of oppressed peoples and believes that all people should be informed, supported, and validated in their birth and reproductive journeys. When she is not with her clients, she enjoys spending time in nature, curating musical playlists, dancing, cooking and creating things with her hands.

Mardia Pierre

Mardia Pierre is a Black Haitian American woman, creative, daughter, sister, friend, aunt, and mother — who moves through the world with intention and heart. She is a Birthlooms Storyteller. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Mardia works alongside parents, queer folks, Black creatives, and neurodivergent individuals, centering her practice around helping people tap into their own wisdom. She is deeply committed to building non-oppressive, safer spaces where people can show up as their full selves. When she's not holding space for others, Mardia can be found in nature, crafting with loved ones, or lost in collaging. She is also a proud mother to a spirited 7-year-old who loves playing, gymnastics, singing, and choreographing dances — yes, with Mardia as the designated performer.

Stephanie Campbell

Stephanie Campbell is a Program Director at Health Leads, where she brings together hospitals, community organizations, and public health partners to advance access to maternal health care, food justice, and racial equity. Her work is rooted in a clear belief: the people most impacted by health systems must be centered in shaping them. She carries both professional expertise and lived experience into this work. As a birth justice advocate and mother, she is deeply committed, shaped by her own birthing experiences, and grounded in the belief that everyone deserves care that sees, hears, and honors them fully.
Before Health Leads, Stephanie served as Director of the Office of Sexual Health and Youth Development at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She also served as a graduate instructor at the Boston University School of Public Health, where she designed and taught a course on Adolescent and Young Adult Health through a racial justice lens. Stephanie is known for her ability to build relationships and cultivate trust, translating vision into collective action. She leads with curiosity, clarity, and a steady commitment to building systems alongside communities, not above them. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Howard University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Outside of her professional work, she is a proud mother to her children, Jason and Arya, a loving partner, and someone who finds joy in nurturing her ever-growing collection of plants, tending to each with the same care and intention she brings into every space she enters.

Jessica Chicco, MIRA Coalition

Director of Training, Jessica Chicco (she/her) joined MIRA as Staff Attorney in January 2020 after more than a decade working with immigrants and immigrant communities. She oversees our training and resources work as well as our helpline program. Most recently, she was the Senior Immigration Attorney at DOVE (Domestic Violence Ended, Inc.) in Quincy, a MIRA member organization, where she represented immigrant survivors of domestic violence. Before joining DOVE, she was the Human Rights Fellow at Boston College’s Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, where she focused on advocacy and representation of deported individuals as well as various interdisciplinary collaborations with community-based immigrant organizations in the greater Boston area. She started her legal career as an associate attorney at Human Rights First’s Refugee Protection Program in New York, where she provided legal rights presentations to detained immigrants and co-authored a report on the detention of asylum seekers. Outside of work, Jessica serves on the Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations commission of her town, with a focus on immigrant advancement. Jessica spent her childhood in Italy, and has lived and studied in Corsica, Senegal and Spain. She holds a JD from NYU Law School and a BSFS from Georgetown University.

StartStrong Boston

Padma Kandadai, MD, MPH, FACOG, MSCP

Dr. Kandadai (she/her) is the Division Director for Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at Boston Medical Center, and is a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner. Her clinical practice consists of non-surgical and surgical management of female urinary incontinence (loss of urine), difficulties with urination, pelvic organ prolapse (dropped uterus/bladder/rectum), recurrent urinary tract infection, bladder pain, and other pelvic floor disorders. She provides menopause care for urogynecology patients.

Dr. Kandadai received her undergraduate degree from Boston University and her medical degree from the State University of New York Upstate Medical School and went on to complete her residency at Thomas Jefferson Medical Center in Philadelphia. She returned to the Boston area in 2008 as a general OBGYN at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School for three years before starting fellowship in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. She also completed her MPH through UMass Amherst during that time.
Since 2014, she has been on faculty at the Boston University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor. She was previously the Clerkship Director for Obstetrics and Gynecology and served a variety of roles at the medical school in education, student promotions, and residency application advising.