Meet our 2021 Ambassador of the Year Finalists
Take a look at some of the impressive ways our Ambassadors are engaging with their own communities. These individuals have gone above and beyond to support the efforts of 2020 Mom in impacting Maternal Mental Health in ways that mean so much to them, and to us!
Danielle Bonura, MBA – Pittsburg, PA
Over the past year and a half, I developed "Destination Motherhood," a social media platform where moms can share their stories, find resources for maternal mental health, and feel supported in their postpartum and motherhood journey. The concept of Destination Motherhood also turned into a Podcast. As a member of Mom Congress, I was fortunate to lead Team 6 for virtual advocacy days this past September, where we met with representatives to advocate for their support in passing the Moms Matter Act and the TRIUMPH Act. I have worked with the Strong Mom Strong Baby Coalition in Pennsylvania to meet with representatives to advocate for legislation that would offer early intervention services to families affected by Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. I also received the proclamation for May being recognized as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month in Allegheny County. I have also participated in this year's 2020Mom10th Birthday Celebration, Making over Motherhood Week, and Maternal Suicide Awareness Week. Because of my experience thus far, I became inspired to become a Postpartum Doula and completed my certification at the end of October 2020. I can't wait to help make the journey into motherhood (and parenthood) a beautiful experience for other families! With this, I also created a free "Postpartum Planning" workbook for new moms and families to use in hopes of easing the transition into motherhood.
Currently, I hold the title of Mrs. Pennsylvania International 2021, and my platform is maternal mental health awareness. This year at our National competition, I was blessed to place as a top 16 finalists and share my platform with hundreds of people worldwide. I also make guest appearances as Mrs. Pennsylvania International 2021, share my motherhood story and helpful resources, and speak on Maternal Mental Health to local mom groups, women's groups, local organizations, etc.
Emily Bosio – Broomfield, CO
So far this year, I have put together binders with information from 2020 Mom, PSI, and the BlueDotProject to give to birth centers and local hospitals. I have been spreading accurate information on social media and in the news about the difference between Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Psychosis. I am currently doing a Facebook birthday fundraiser for 2020 Mom. I recently spoke to a Postpartum Doula training group about maternal mental health and 2020 Mom and the other groups you work with. I also provided up-to-date information on Postpartum Psychosis to this group. I have encouraged several other birth workers to watch the documentary NOT CAROL. I have talked to several psychologists and psychiatrists, explained the organization, and provided some up-to-date information for them. I plan to connect with a local congress member about our mission and the changes that need to happen. I have shared the certification program with several doulas that 2020 Mom and PSI created. Lastly, this spring, I was involved in a local public health campaign about Mental Health and the stigma. I told my story on camera about my Postpartum Depression and shared with the local health workers involved (therapists and such) information on 2020 Mom and Postpartum Psychosis. I am a volunteer birth doula at Denver Health, and they have asked me to put together information to teach those in labor and delivery about the importance of Postpartum Doulas; and I plan on sharing information on 2020 Mom and PSI with them as well.
Heather Dopp – Bountiful, UT
Funding for Utah's Maternal Mental Health Program was on the list of suggested budget cuts due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Utah Maternal Mental Health Policy Committee I am part of was able to rally our community to contact the Utah Legislature and request that our funding be protected. Our advocacy was so successful that not only did they agree to protect our funding, but the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee voted almost unanimously (one voted against) to grant us ongoing funding that was initially due to sunset in 2022. I represented the 2020 Mom Ambassador program as a panelist for Sage Therapeutics' webinar discussing Postpartum Depression and Maternal Mental Health. I shared some of the work the 2020 Mom Ambassador program has been doing to advocate for pregnant and postpartum mothers locally and nationwide.
I joined MMHLA's "virtual Hill Day" at 2020 Mom's urging, where I met with a staffer from my Representative's office in Washington, DC, to advocate for the expansion of federal grants for Maternal Mental Health programs in more states. I also attended the 2020 Mom Annual FORUM and was asked to host a zoom meet-up with fellow mothers and mental health professionals from western states, including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico, and a meet-up for the Mom Congress Maternal Mental Health Caucus. I led the Climb Out of the Darkness event for PSI-Utah in Salt Lake City. This fall, I served as team lead for Mom Congress's Virtual Advocacy day and met with a total of seven offices of US Senators and Representatives from Utah, New Mexico, and Alabama. We advocated for the Moms Matter and TRIUMPH Acts and encouraged staffers to ask the Senator or Representative to consider cosponsoring these bills. I currently serve as co-chair of the Utah Maternal Mental Health Policy Committee, am a current 2020 Mom State Policy Fellow, consistently participate in Mom Congress as a Maternal Mental Health Caucus Moderator, and participated in this year's virtual Town Halls and Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week campaign.
Mandi Gross, JD – Seminole, FL
I was introduced to a whole world of advocacy, education, and "MOMeraderie." I enrolled in the MoMMA's Voices Patient Family Partner training, thinking I would help others, and unknowingly embarked on a path of self-discovery. I completed the training with the help of my mentor, Bekah. She introduced me to 2020 Mom and recommended that I check out Mom Congress because of my legal background (I am a member of the Florida Bar). I quickly fell in love with the cause, as I suffered from postpartum anxiety and postpartum OCD (which I also discovered during my training). I cried at the self-discovery and let it fuel my passion for spreading awareness to others. I have been actively posting about 2020 Mom, Mom Congress, and Preeclampsia online and spreading information in my community. I have already guided one mom to a path for help with her postpartum depression through the knowledge that I gained through these programs and people knowing that they can ask me for guidance. This year, I had the wonderful honor of lobbying for Mom Congress for the Moms Matter Act and the Triumph for Moms bills. Meeting with both my lawmakers and the lawmakers of my teammates was thrilling and hopefully will lead to change. I virtually attended the MoMMA's Voices Summit and learned about many interesting ways to become involved and participated in the chat and virtual networking. This year's virtual options have let me use my "mom voice" from the Washington DC for Mom Congress Hill Day in the morning to a preeclampsia event in the evening and a couple of days later to the MoMMA's Voices Summit in Texas. I have already learned so much and look forward to implementing those ideas in the coming year, including working with my local organizations and pitching a blood drive with diaper donations. This has been an incredible year, and now that I am a 2020 Mom Ambassador, I look forward to what else is possible-- all the things I will learn, fellow advocates I will meet, and people I can help.