Robyn Smith, LCSW is a Licensed Mental Health Clinical Supervisor for the Healthy Families America Program in Solano County with the Maternal Child Adolescent Health Bureau, Public Health Department. Healthy Families America is a home visitation program that offers services to families that are pregnant and parenting with the intent of promoting family empowerment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Her role consists of providing supervisory support to the Family Support Specialists, monitoring caseloads, observing home visits, and providing reflective supervision to ensure we are providing family services that are strength-based, family-centered, and culturally appropriate. Robyn is also a part of the Perinatal Mental Health team where she provides supervision, clinical support, and oversight to their team of Social Workers and Mental Health clinicians. She has a passion for maternal mental health and wellness and is excited with each opportunity that Robyn is granted to obtain further knowledge and insight.

COLORADO – Department of Public Health & Environment

Jessica Bass is the Perinatal Behavioral Health Specialist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In her role, she brings a behavioral health lens to the state's Maternal Mortality Review Committee, oversees the Title V Maternal Child Health activities related to increasing social emotional wellbeing, and is working with Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC) to implement a patient safety bundle related to universal screening for substance use in labor and delivery settings. Prior to working at the state, Jessica oversaw multiple substance use disorder treatment programs with a focus on implementing gender-specific, trauma-informed care.

Kallen Thornton is the Manager of Gender Responsive Services at the Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health. She is the CDHS Staff Authority on gender-responsive behavioral health treatment and on substance abuse treatment for pregnant women and women with dependent children. Within her role, Kallen has primary responsibility for the Gender Responsive Services statewide programs and works collaboratively with other federal and state officials and counterparts to develop policies and best practice guidelines within the gender-responsive continuum of care.

With a background in clinical social work, Kallen has over ten years of clinical experience working with individuals and families impacted by trauma, mental health, and substance use. She specializes in maternal mental health and though a clinician at heart, is committed to advocating for processes and systems that support the flourishing of pregnant and parenting people and their families.

FLORIDA – Department of Health in Volusia County

Helena Girouard works for the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County as a Community Outreach Liaison focusing on maternal and child health and overdose prevention. She graduated from Daytona State College with an Associate’s in Arts and an Associate’s in Science in Human Services with a Specialization in Addiction. She graduated with her Bachelor’s in Science in Public Administration at Flagler College. She has been a Parent Leader Volunteer since 2014, working with community providers, parents, and other stakeholders to inform policy and programming for vulnerable families to build resiliency and support family well-being. She completed a two-year Pritzker Fellowship in June 2020. The fellowship built a network of strong leaders nationwide who lead community-based efforts focused on the first three years of life when rapid periods of brain development are critical for a child’s later success. She is deeply embedded in her community and works with early childhood leaders, and local policymakers and practitioners to create, implement and sustain ambitious communitywide birth to three action plans to support the healthy development of Volusia Counties' youngest children.

LOUISIANA – Bureau of Family Health

Paulette Carter, MPH, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and currently serves as the Perinatal, Infant, and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (PIECMHC) Program Manager for the Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Bureau of Family Health. Paulette manages an array of programs which utilize mental health consultation as a tool in building the capacity of frontline providers to effectively identify and respond to patients who are experiencing mental health issues, one such program being the Louisiana Mental Health Perinatal Partnership (LaMHPP) which focuses on healthcare providers working with pregnant and postnatal women. Paulette has over 20 years of experience working in the mental healthcare field and serves on numerous Boards and workgroups. She is also an adjunct instructor at the Tulane School of Social Work and proud mother of two very active teenage daughters.

Jody West, LCSW-BACS has dedicated the last six years of her professional career working as an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant with Project LAUNCH Louisiana. In her role as a consultant, Jody endeavors to assist Early Intervention providers in best supporting families who have children (0-3) with developmental delays, focusing on social/emotional development and behavioral concerns. The first 15 years of her career were spent working with children and families in various roles in school systems. Jody has profound knowledge of infant and early childhood mental health needs and interventions, including her specialty certification in Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), as well as knowledge and experience supporting caregivers and families.

MONTANA – Department of Public Health and Human Services

Amanda Eby is a Program Specialist for Montana’s Maternal Health Innovation grant, Montana Obstetrics and Maternal Support (MOMS) she oversees program design, implementation and evaluation while managing related contracts and federal reporting. She coordinates the multidisciplinary statewide collaboration of the MOMS Maternal Health Leadership Council, the Montana Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC), the Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PQC) and the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Initiative. Prior to this role, she managed business development and provided communications support for several contracts at Mountain-Pacific Quality Health. As the Health Innovation Program Officer for Montana Medicaid, she managed Medicaid’s value-based payment programs. As Project Administrator for the Montana Insurance Commissioner, she staffed communications, health policy and consumer education; and she administered the statewide Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program.

Sarabeth Upson, BA graduated from Smith College in 2015 with a BA in Psychology. She then went on to receive her Master of Public Health degree from The George Washington University in 2018, with a focus on maternal and child health. Sarabeth worked for three years as a home visitor and family assessment and data specialist in Washington D.C. before moving to Helena, Montana to pursue her passion for creating system change within state government. Sarabeth is currently working on Perinatal Behavioral Health Initiative for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, overseeing the HRSA grant which helps to fund both the PRISM for Moms teleconsultation line and the Meadowlark Initiative.

PENNSYLVANIA – Philadelphia Department of Public Health

Samantha Shuster, LSW is the Community Coalition Manager for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child and Family Health Division. Samantha coordinates the Community Action Network, a collective-impact initiative aimed at reducing infant mortality and improving maternal health outcomes in Philadelphia and supports the coordination of Organizing Voices for Action, the community action arm of Philadelphia's Maternal Mortality Review Committee. Prior to this, Samantha worked as a Program Analyst at Action Wellness. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Temple University and is a licensed social worker.

Simone Snead, MPH, CLC is a public health professional dedicated to decreasing the rates of maternal morbidity and mortality among black women in the United States. Simone's interests have focused on the role of birth and postpartum doulas, maternal and infant mortality and the impact those tragedies have on African American women. Simone is the Maternal Mortality Review Community Action Team Coordinator with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Simone is a Certified Lactation Counselor and a Birth Doula. Some of her greatest accomplishments are supporting families as they experience the beauty of birth. She truly believes that no woman should die while giving life and is making it her mission to decrease the high rates.

WISCONSIN – Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department

Megan Kneiser currently works at the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department as a Maternal and Child Health Nurse. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Edgewood College in 2017 and worked on a postpartum unit at a high-risk birth center until 2019. She made the transition to public health to address maternal health issues on a larger scale by helping to address social determinants of health and create policy changes to support women and their children. Since starting at the public health department it became apparent that one area within maternal and child health that needed more support within her communities was perinatal mental health. Megan has worked with her coworkers to break down barriers for individuals and help support initiatives and programs that advocate for greater access to mental health resources and be an advocate for mothers. Megan is looking forward to getting more insight on how to leverage a multidisciplinary approach to effectuating policy and systems-level change surrounding the topic of maternal mental health.

Rachel Wesenberg currently works with the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department as a Public Health Strategist. She obtained a B.S. in Public Health from Saint Louis University in 2017 and has since dedicated her time to empowering and improving the lives of women and children both domestically and internationally. As a Community Health Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Peru, she implemented a Community Health Worker program in partnership with local government, health post staff, and the mothers living in her rural town to improve maternal and child health. She has brought that global experience to her current role at a county health department and has helped ensure that the COVID-19 response in Washington and Ozaukee Counties be culturally appropriate and accessible for the Latinx population. Rachel is passionate about maternal and child health and will continue to work towards improving health outcomes for at-risk women through evidence-based systems-level approaches.

WYOMING – Teton County Public Health Department

Jenny Barbera is a public health nurse and works as the Maternal Child Health Coordinator at Teton County Health Department in Jackson, Wyoming. She has worked with new mothers and babies throughout her nursing career and was shocked to see the prevalence of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in her small community. After having her own child in 2018, Jenny was inspired to incorporate a focus on maternal mental health in her nursing practice and personal life. She does this through her work as a nurse home visitor and her involvement with Postpartum Support International Wyoming Chapter and local advocacy groups. She feels it is a privilege to support families through the transformative period of pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, running, yoga, and seeing live music.

Hannah Kennedy is a Maternal Child Health Nurse in Jackson, WY. She has been working as a nurse for 2 years and has been in Public Health the entire time. As the child of a counselor, mental health has always been a large part of Hannah's life. Since beginning work in Maternal Child Health, she has become more acutely aware of the high incidence of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and has a great interest in pursuing more education in this field.

In her spare time, Hannah enjoys rock climbing, hiking, camping, and adventuring with her husband in the Tetons.

Return to 2020 Mom Government Agency Maternal Mental Health Fellows Program