Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

Janice Banther has been a pioneer leader among birth professionals in advocating for pregnant women who are incarcerated. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Birth Behind Bars (BBB). BBB began providing childbirth and parenting classes and labor support services to inmates in 2001. Prior to 2001 Janice focused her childbirth work primarily with at risk mothers; homeless, addicted and abused. This body of work has earned Janice the highest certifications. She is a certified CAPPA Childbirth Educator, Labor Doula, Happiest Baby on the Block, Infant Massage Instructor, Trainer and Bereavement Counselor with RTS. BBB expanded its training of birth professionals to work with inmates in 2015 with the release of Birth Behind Bars Certification program; an online and manual based program equipping childbirth educators and birth professionals to work in a jail or prison environment in the United States and Internationally.

Began exploring her interests in Natural Healing Arts and Complementary Medicine as a Midwife after the home birth of her first child in 1993. In the state of Florida, she completed her Diploma of Midwifery and graduated in 1997 from the School of Complementary Medicine in Central FL. Tomasina has many credentials in ethno-medicinal sciences, herbology, botanical chemistry, health & mental wellness counseling, education and spiritual facilitation work. Tomasina apprenticed with meta-physical healers, physicians and several other multi-disciplinary specialists to complete an internship as a Complementary Medicine Practitioner, and later became a Holistic Health Practitioner and Master Herbalist. She remains committed to building within communities of African descent to enhance social justice for all concerned. Her skill set is unparalleled in diverse treatment options for the well being of Families, Mothers and Babies as she has delivered double and well over 1000 babies since 2012. ANS(Autonomic Nerve System) Therapy, Iridology, Kinesiology, MT (Muscle Testing) and NLP(Neuro Linguistic Programming) are just a few other healing arts Midwife Tomasina has acquired expert proficiency in serving Clients for over 20 years. Having briefly served on the NARM (North American Registry Midwives) board, she is familiar with the nuances and intricacies of corporate Midwifery work and is excited to serve as Vice President for MANA (Midwives Alliance of North America).

Award winning doula and birth activist Mars Lord has been a birth keeper for well over a decade. After attending the Paramana Doula course with Michel Odent and Lilliana Lammers, a spark was lit within her and the passion that she discovered for birth and supporting parents has fired her soul ever since. She has had the privilege of working with hundreds of families. A birth activist, with a desire to see the ‘colouring in of the landscape of birth’ and finding out the reasons for the maternal and neonatal morbidity rates amongst the BAME community, Mars created Abuela Doulas a doula preparation course primarily, but not exclusively, for women of colour. Her desire for reproductive justice led to the creation of the ‘Reproductive Justice Retreat’. Mars was recently recognised in the Mayor of London's Hidden Credits campaign and continues to speak out for cultural safety and reproductive justice.

Dr. Monika Mitra is the Nancy Lurie Marks Associate Professor of Disability Policy, and Director of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Her research focuses on the health and wellbeing of people with disabilities and their families. She co-leads the Community Living Policy Center which is aimed at improving policies and practices that advance community living outcomes for people with disabilities and the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities which is focused on addressing knowledge gaps regarding the needs of parents with diverse disabilities and their families. Dr. Mitra is co-editor-in-chief of the Disability and Health Journal. Prior to joining Brandeis, she was Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Heather is a Métis Midwife from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She studied midwifery at Laurentian University, focusing on rural and remote practice. Heather practiced midwifery at the Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto for two years before moving to Hay River, Northwest Territories to establish a Midwife practice and help return birthing services to the community. Heather is now living and working in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and is president of the Midwives Association of the Northwest Territories and is a Core Leader of the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives.

Christine Morton is a medical sociologist at the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) at Stanford University where she conducts research on maternal mortality and morbidity and helps translate the findings into maternal quality toolkits.

As a sociologist, Dr Morton seeks to explore the social meanings of maternal quality among all stakeholders. Her speaking and writing connects her to nursing, obstetric, midwifery, doula, public and social science audiences.

Her book, Birth Ambassadors: Doulas & the Re-emergence of Woman-Supported Childbirth in America, documents the history and experience of the doula role in US maternity care and is on the required reading list for DONA International.

She is a long time Lamaze board member and currently chairs a Lamaze Work Group, which aims to demonstrate the value of childbirth education. She is married to an internet sociologist and they have a son and daughter, ages 22 and 17, who were born safe and healthy thanks to great teamwork.

Fayth M. Parks, PhD is an associate professor and licensed psychologist in the Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development at Georgia Southern University. Fayth is a counseling psychologist whose scholarship and research focuses on ways diverse cultures interpret mental health, healing, and illness recovery to prevent misdiagnosing as psychopathology culturally significant beliefs and practices that can facilitate personal strengths, positive emotions, and behavior change. She has published journal articles, essays, and book chapters on this topic as well as given numerous invited lectures, TEDx Talks, and workshops. In 2009, Fayth was appointed the David B. Larson Fellow in Health and Spirituality at The John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress. You can follow her on Twitter @FaythParks. And visit Fayth’s website for more cultural strength-based strategies for healthy wellbeing at www.faythparks.com

Dr. Monnica T. Williams is a board-certified licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut in the Department of Psychological Sciences and Department of Psychiatry. She is also Clinical Director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinic, where she provides supervision and training to clinicians for empirically-supported treatments. Prior to her recent move to Connecticut, Dr. Williams served as the Director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities at the University of Louisville in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Dr. Williams’ research focuses on African American mental health, culture, and psychopathology, and she has published over 80 scientific articles on these topics. Current projects include the assessment of race-based trauma, unacceptable thoughts in OCD, improving cultural competence in the delivery of mental health care services, and interventions to reduce racism. She also gives diversity trainings nationally for clinical psychology programs, scientific conferences, and community organizations.

Dr. Williams is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), having served as the diversity delegate from Kentucky for the APA State Leadership Conference for two consecutive years. She is also the African American SIG leader for Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and she serves on the editorial board of The Behavior Therapist, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and the Journal of Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation, and also serves as the co-chair of the Diversity Counsel. Her work has been featured in several major media outlets, including NPR and the New York Times.

Saleemah McNeil is a Reproductive Psychotherapist, Certified Lactation Consultant, professionally trained Birth Doula and a traumatic birth survivor. Saleemah has dedicated her work to helping families of color heal from traumatic birth experiences and transition into parenthood. Saleemah has held several positions in the field of Maternal & Child Health and Wellness. Mrs. McNeil furthered her knowledge and experience with vulnerable birthing persons and served as a Philadelphia County Jail Based Case Manager at Riverside Correctional Facility. In this role, she assisted birthing women during their most vulnerable times as a Doula. Working in the Department of Corrections, ignited anger and passion which ultimately guided Saleemah to a masters in clinical psychology and counseling . After watching years of unfair treatment and inhumane conditions, reproductive injustice, systemic racism and trauma, Saleemah founded a nonprofit organization, Oshun Family Center. She launched a citywide initiative to reduce Black maternal mortality through the “Maternal Wellness Village” program and became a key figure and content area expert in the region. Mrs. McNeil's work is rooted in a deep appreciation and understanding that surviving the 4th trimester can mean life or death for some women. As a clinician, advocate, researcher and trainer, Mrs. McNeil’s work is grounded in helping families not only survive but thrive by utilizing an anti-racism and trauma sensitive framework. Her passion has driven her to explore new endeavors such as impacting policy change and ultimately shifting the provider - client dynamic in healthcare by addressing the disparities for Black women.

Miriam Zoila Pérez is a Cuban-American writer and activist whose work has focused on the themes of race, gender and health for over a decade. Pérez has spent much of the last ten years writing about these topics for outlets like Colorlines, Fusion, Rewire and Talking Points Memo. They recently gave a TED talk about how racism impacts maternal health.

Pérez is trained in the healing modalities of doula and massage therapist, and has helped foster the movement of full spectrum doula work. Pérez is the founder of Radical Doula, a website that connects the dots between social justice and birth activism, and the author of the popular Radical Doula Guide: A Political Primer for Full Spectrum Pregnancy and Childbirth Support, which has sold over 2500 copies.