Relocate the J. Marion Sims Monument to the site of the Mothers of Gynecology Clinical Museum at change.org
THE MORE UP CAMPUS
Anarcha, Lucy, Betsey
Second Annual
Day of Reckoning Conference
February 26 - March 1, 2023
Montgomery, AL
The Conference
This conference will provide
an opportunity for obstetricians, gynecologists, doulas, midwives, and medical practitioners
to learn how to change the narrative in
race in healthcare disparities. The conference will include a discussion of the history of gynecology, a tour of Anarcha’s life in Montgomery, new perspectives on destroying medical bondage in healthcare today and a
celebration of The Mothers of Gynecology
at The More Up Campus.
FEBRUARY 28
Keynote Speaker
nikole
hannah-jones
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and creator of the landmark 1619 Project.
S P E A K E R S
Conference Venue
KRESS ON DEXTER | 39 DEXTER AVENUE
Plenary Speakers
Itinerary
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH
Shuttle Services
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Embassy and Staybridge Hotels
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Early Registration/ Pick Up Badges & Swag Bags
Welcoming Ceremony and Dinner
Kress Building
​
Shuttle Services
9:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Embassy and Staybridge Hotels
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH
Shuttle Services
7:30 am - 8:45 am
Embassy Suites and Staybridge Hotels
​
8:00am - 8:45am
Registration / Pick Up Badges & Swag Bags
​
8:00 am - 8:30 am
Early Morning Meditation with Dr. Tiffany Taft The Riverfront
9:00 am - 9:30 am
39 Dexter Kress Building
Welcome and Morning Grounding
Lee Sentinel and Rosemary Judkins
Alabama Department of Tourism
Councilwoman, Audrey Graham
Councilwoman, Marche Johnson
County Commissoner Ronda Walker
Angela
9:30 am - 9:50 am
Creating Pathways Using Art, History, and
Courageous Conversations with
Michelle Browder, Creator of The Mothers of Gynecology Monument
and Conference Host
10:00 am - 10:30 am
Dr. Aletha Maybank, American Medical Association
Creating Pathways To Health and Equity
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Linda Villarosa, Author Under The Skin
New York Times Journalist
Creating Pathways To Understanding the
Environmental Racism and Healthcare
11:05 am - 11:25 am
Q & A Discussion Begins with
Linda Villarosa
Dr. Aletha Maybank
11:30 am - 12:00 pm
Book Signing with Linda Villarosa
Visit Exhibitors and Vendors
Wellness Pods Available Break
​
12:30 pm -1:30 pm
Lunch and Learn Discussions and Networking
1:40 pm - 2:00 pm
Nikia Lawson, DONA International
Creating Pathways To Healthy Births
and Healthy Families
2:05 pm - 2:35 pm
A Conversation with
Moma Hakima Payne, Uzazi Village Founder
Chauntel Norris, National Prison Doulas
2:40 pm - 3:00 pm
Dr. Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN
Creating Pathways To Practical Resources
for Birth Workers and Families
3:05 pm - 3:25 pm
Callie Greer, MMVAS
Creating Pathways to Self Care for
Medical Providers Healers
3:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Boarding Buses Front of Kress Building
See Truth Tour Michelle Browder
Southern Poverty Law Center Tour
The City of Saint Jude Hospital
​
Shuttle Services
5:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Embassy and Staybridge Hotels
Dinner on your own
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH
Shuttle Services
8:00 am - 8:50 am
Embassy and Staybridge Hotels
​
ANARCHA LUCY BETSEY DAY
9:15 am - 9:20 am Grounding
9:25 am - 10:00 am
Creating Pathways To Reckoning with
History in Medicine:
Dr. Veronica Maria Pimentel, OBGYN
Deidre Cooper Owens, Author Medicial Bondage
Professor Deleso Alford
​
10:10 am - 11:45 am
Keynote Nikole Hannah-Jones
Creating Pathways to Truth,
Freedom and Education
1619 Project
Q&A Michelle Browder and
Nikole Hannah-Jones
11:50 am - 12:25 pm
Creating Pathways to
Birthing Sanctuaries
Dr. Stephanie Mitchell CPM
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch and Exhibitor Wellness Pod
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Book Signing with Nikole Hannah-Jones
Location: 33 South Perry Street)
The Mothers of Gynecology Wellness Clinic
GROUP PHOTO Y’ALL AIN’T READY SHIRTS
Site Negro Women’s Clinic 33 South Perry Street 1/2 Block from
Kress Building
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Creating Pathways to
Reproductive Freedom
with ACLU Dobbs V Jackson
& Jenice Fountain, Yellowhammer Fund
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm with Q&A
(location 33 South Perry)
Creating Pathways To
Say Anarcha with author
J.C. Hallman
Conference Day Break
3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Shuttle to The Mothers of Gynecology
Load Buses
5:00 pm - 6:15 pm
Hotels
Staybridge
Embassy Suites
Double Tree
SpringHill Suites
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Dinner and Concert
The Mothers of Gynecology Monument Park
39 Mildred Street
Shuttle Services
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm
​
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1ST
Shuttle Services
8:30 am - 8:50 am
9:00 am - 9:15 am
Morning Grounding
9:15 am - 9:45 am
Creating Pathways to Policy Change
in Maternal Health
Charles Johnson 4 Kira4Moms
10:00 am - 10:20 am
50 Years Later Relf v Weinberger
Margret Huang, Executive Director
Southern Poverty Law Center
10:30 am - 10:50 am
Creating Pathways to Writing The Wrongs
Dolen Perkins - Valdez,
Author Take My Hand
11:00 am -11:25 am
Presentations Women In History Month
Honorees
Minnie and Mary Relf Sisters
Proclamation
Grab a snack to go!
Shuttles to the airport
3 Participating Hotels:
Embassy Suites - SOLD OUT
300 Tallapoosa Street
Montgomery, AL, 36104
Exhibitor Information
We are excited to offer opportunities for exhibitors to share information about their latest products and services, showcase their latest innovations, and connect with research collaborations, customers, and peers. We are inviting professionals that work in all types of job functions in history, doulas, midwives, medical practitioners, gynecologists, nurses, social workers and individuals representing therapeutic areas. The Anarcha Lucy Betsey Day of Reckoning Conference will bring together professionals for 3 days of education, training and networking.
Exhibit Dates: Monday, February 27, 2023 – March 1, 2023
Exhibit Hours:
Feb. 27th: 8:30 am to 6:00 pm
Feb. 28th: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Mar. 1st: 8:30 am to 2:00 pm
Exhibit Fee: $2,000*
*Includes one fee waived registration, lead retrieval, and access to all conference sessions. Two additional staff may register at $199/each.
Set up: Sunday, February 26, 2023 9:00 am to 2:00 pm (move-in with assistance)
Break down: March 1st at 1:00 pm
Deadline: Registration must be confirmed by January 15, 2023 in order to be listed in the program materials.
Exhibit Service Contractor Information:
Exhibit Service Contractor information and the exhibitor services manual is coming soon!
Additional Exhibit Details:
* ALBDR23 will supply one 6’ x 30” white draped table, two side chairs, one wastebasket, line identification sign.
* Exhibitors may also bring a display system that may utilize (up to) a 10’x10’ footprint.
* Exhibitors should be available during the morning and afternoon breaks on Monday-Wednesday.
* Electrical & communications will also be coordinated with our company contact.
* Email Tonya Allen at conference@anarchalucybetsey.org
FAQ
What are the conference dates?
+ February 26 - March 1, 2023
What dates are the virtual tickets for?
+ February 27 - March 1, 2023
Which airport should I fly into?
+ Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) (Montgomery, AL)
+ Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) (Atlanta, GA)
How far is each airport from the Kress Building site?
+ Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) 12 minutes
+ Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) 2 hours 20 minutes
How do I get from the airport to the hotel?
Uber or taxi.
Are meals included in the conference?
Lunch is included during the conference.
What is the address of the Mothers of Gynecology Monument?
+ 17 Mildred Street, Montgomery, AL
What is the address of the Conference Venue at the Kress Building?
+ 39 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, AL
I have more questions, who can I email?
Please reach out to us here: contact@anarchalucybetsey.org
Speaker Bios
Nikole Hannah-Jones
Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter who covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. Nikole got hooked on journalism when she joined her high school newspaper and began writing about students like her, who were bused across town as part of a voluntary school desegregation program.
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Her heroes are the race beat reporters, such as Ida B. Wells, Ethel Payne, Simeon Booker and Claude Sitton, whose fearless coverage helped move this nation closer to its promise.
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Prior to joining The New York Times, Nikole worked as an investigative reporter at ProPublica in New York City, where she spent three years chronicling the way official policy created and maintains segregation in housing and schools. Before that, she reported for the largest daily newspaper in the Pacific Northwest, The Oregonian in Portland, Ore., where she covered numerous beats, including demographics, the census and county government.
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Nikole started her journalism career covering the majority-black Durham Public Schools for The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. During her three years there, she wrote extensively on issues of race, class, school resegregation and equity.
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Nikole is a native Iowan, a child produced by the hopes of both the Great Migration and those who migrated from foreign shores. She has also lived in Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Oregon. Now she is Bed-Stuy fly in Brooklyn.
Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH
Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH currently serves as the Chief Health Equity Officer and Senior Vice President for the American Medical Association (AMA) where she focuses on embedding health equity across all the work of the AMA and leading the Center for Health Equity. She joined the AMA in April 2019, to launch AMA’s Center for Health Equity as their inaugural Chief Health Equity Officer. Prior to joining the AMA, Dr. Maybank served as the Founding Deputy Commissioner for the Center for Health Equity at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (2014). Aimed at strengthening equity efforts and transforming organizational culture, the Center became a model of success recognized by NYC leadership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. She was instrumental in infusing equity at the neighborhood level and advancing the Department’s place-based approach to addressing health inequities. She also set precedence with groundbreaking work at the Office of Minority Health in the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (2006) while serving as the Founding Director.
Dr. Maybank has taught medical and public health students on topics related to health inequities, public health leadership and management, physician advocacy, and community organizing in health. In 2012, along with a group of Black woman physician leaders, Dr. Maybank co-founded "We Are Doc McStuffins", a movement inspired by the Disney Junior character Doc McStuffins serving to shine a light on the critical importance of diversity in medicine.
She is a highly sought-after health expert in media appearing on national and influential media outlets such as NPR, MSNBC, NewsOne, Roland Martin, the Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association to name a few. More recently, due to her leadership in the COVID response efforts, she has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and authored the New York Times Op-ed, “The Pandemic’s Missing Data” to bring more awareness to the structural inequities in the United States. She moderates the AMA monthly web series, "Prioritizing Equity” that elevates the voices and stories of physicians centering equity in COVID-19 response efforts.
Dr. Maybank holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University, a MD from Temple University School of Medicine, and a MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She is a pediatrician and preventive medicine/public health physician.
Dr. Stephanie Mitchell, DNP, CNM, CPM
Stephanie Mitchell is a Certified Professional Midwife who has practiced full scope midwifery in private collaborative practice, hospital, and tertiary care teaching settings since 2016. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Nursing, a Masters of Science in Nursing with a specialty in community-based midwifery, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice.
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Dr. Mitchell began her path working as a pediatric nurse, as a labor and delivery nurse, and then as a midwife in a collaborative midwifery group in one of the largest and highest volume hospital systems in Boston. In her time there she logged over 12,000 hours of patient care, attended thousands of births, and delivered over 600 babies.
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During this time she saw firsthand the life-changing—and life saving—potential of full-scope midwifery care. In her time with the hospital, she bore witness to many experiences of pain, trauma, and unexpected and unnecessary negative outcomes. She also saw many transcendent birth experiences, beautiful, supported, and ending with joy.
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While so many things on our healthcare journeys are beyond our control, one thing Dr. Stephanie realized during this time was that the thing that often made the difference between negative and positive birthing experiences was simple: knowledge.
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When people giving birth are empowered with the time and knowledge to process choices and options, understand risks and benefits, and make the most informed decisions on their birthing journeys, outcomes are vastly improved.
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In 2020, Dr. Stephanie moved to Gainesville, AL, with her partner of 20 years, Jamie—back to his hometown to follow his dream of owning his own restaurant. At that time, as she was looking for a Birth Center to join so she could continue her work as a midwife, she was surprised to find zero freestanding Birth Centers serving her region. So, she decided to build her own and Birth Sanctuary Gainesville was born.
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She is mother to four children, Jasmyn, Jaymie, Jayar and Jesse. She has two Miniature Schnauzers named Issa and Nucky. In her spare time, you can find her vlogging, blogging, reading, or enjoying the outdoors. Her most glorious times are when she finds ways to combine all of these facets and fabric of love together! She is beyond thrilled to be bringing the first freestanding birth center to the state of Alabama.
Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens
Deirdre Cooper Owens, an award-winning historian and popular public speaker, is the Charles and Linda Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine and Director of the Humanities in Medicine Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In this position, Dr. Cooper Owens is one of two Black women in the U.S. running a medical humanities program. Dr. Cooper Owens is also the Director of the Program in African American History at the Library Company of Philadelphia, the country's oldest cultural institution
.
As a teacher and public speaker, Cooper Owens knows that staying immersed in the worlds that cultivated her growing interest in history is what keeps her grounded and committed to teaching community-based history. From sitting on the front porch with her granddaddy in SC while he regaled her with ghost stories about the enslaved in his Gullah/Geechee inflected lilt to listening to working-class black men and women lovingly play the dozens with each other in her childhood hometown of Anacostia, SE in Washington, DC, Dr. Cooper Owens learned that stories are what draw people into wanting to know about the past.
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Cooper Owens is a proud graduate of two historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), the all-women's Bennett College and Clark Atlanta University. She earned her Ph.D. in history at UCLA and has had a number of prestigious fellowships at the University of Virginia, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and as a Big Ten Academic Leadership Fellow. As one of the country's most "acclaimed experts in U.S. history," according to Time Magazine, Cooper Owens is steadily working towards making history more accessible and inspiring for all.
Nikia Lawson, MA, BSW, CD/BDT
Nikia Lawson, MA, BSW, CD/BDT(DONA), is a Certified Birth Doula & Birth Doula Trainer with DONA International, where she also serves as President of the Board of Directors. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work & holds a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology.
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In addition to assisting and educating birthing families for over 25 years, Nikia also offers skills training to aspiring doulas and professionals in the perinatal care field. She is a childbirth and lactation educator, placenta encapsulator, maternal health advocate, and birth business coach. She’s assisted in the delivery of several hundred babies and supported thousands of expecting families to prepare for their birth.
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Nikia serves her local community through her non-profit organization, The Natural Way Birthing Project. The project offers education and social services programs to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Tarrant County and the surrounding Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. She is the proud mother of 2 children and one granddaughter. In her spare time, she enjoys dining with friends and traveling.
Linda Villarosa
I am a journalist, author, editor, novelist and educator.
I am a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, where I cover race, inequality and health. My 2018 cover story, "Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis," was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. My 2017 article, "America's Hidden HIV Epidemic," won a National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' award for Excellence in Journalism. That organization inducted me into its Hall of Fame in 2020. My essay on medical myths was included in the New York Times's 1619 Project in August 2019 and is published in the 1619 Project Book which came out in November 2021. I covered the toll covid-19 has taken on black communities in America and the environmental justice movement in Philadelphia in 2020 and wrote about life expectancy in Chicago in 2021. My article on eugenics, a reported excerpt from my book, was published in June 2022.
For several years, I edited the health pages for the New York Times, working on health coverage for Science Times and for the newspaper at large. I was also the executive editor of Essence Magazine—two different times–where I wrote or edited a number of award-winning articles that I am extremely proud of.​
I have won lots of awards from organizations, including The American Medical Writers’ Association, The Arthur Ashe Institute, Lincoln University, the New York Association of Black Journalists, the National Women’s Political Caucus, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists’ Association and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.
I am the author or co-author of three books, including Body & Soul: The Black Women’s Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being. My first (and only) novel, Passing for Black, was released in 2008 and was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. My book, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation was published in June 2022 by Doubleday.
A graduate of the University of Colorado, I also spent a year at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as a journalism fellow. I went back to school several years ago and graduated with a master’s degree in urban journalism/digital storytelling in 2013 from CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.
Charles Johnson
In 2016, our founder, Charles Johnson, lost his wife Kira, during a routine C-section at Cedar Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, California. He founded 4Kira4Moms in 2017 as a response to his experience, to be a voice for other mothers and families facing unnecessary maternal loss, and putting an end to the maternal mortality health crisis. Black women are disproportionately affected by this epidemic, where they are 3x more likely to die from pregnancy than white women. Implicit bias, access to healthcare, and a number of other factors highlight the need for legislation, support for community-based organizations focused on Black maternal health, and access to care, information, and resources for all underserved and disproportionately affected communities.
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We are on a mission to advocate for improved maternal health policies and regulations, to educate the public about the impact of maternal mortality in communities, provide peer support to victims’ families, and promote the idea that maternal mortality should be viewed, and discussed as a human rights issue.
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Charles Johnson, founder and 4kira4moms worked relentlessly with congress to pass the preventing maternal death act (H.R.1318). This milestone legislation is the first ever to combat the maternal death crisis in the United States. The bill was signed into law December 21, 2018 and dedicated to the memory of Kira Dixon Johnson. Our work has just begun. Our mothers, sisters, daughter, wives need your help. Join the fight!
J.C. Hallman
In 2015, J.C. Hallman—the author of seven books, and a recipient of fellowships from the McKnight and Guggenheim foundations—unearthed the first evidence ever found of Anarcha's existence that did not come from Sims's suspect writings. Since then, he has tracked Anarcha’s life story, from the plantation where she was born to the lonely forest where she is buried. His work on Anarcha has appeared in Harper's, The African American Policy Forum, The Baffler, The Montgomery Advertiser, and Urology. His book, Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women's Health, will appear in June 2023.
Michelle Browder
Michelle is a native of Denver, Colorado. At the age 7, Michelle and her family moved to rural Verbena, Alabama in the late 70’s. Michelle experienced bullying through racial bias at an early age. Outspoken as a child, Michelle began combating her attackers through physical confrontations leading to multiple suspensions. During her last suspension, Michelle’s father gave her an ultimatum, “Prison or Art.” He challenged her to seize the moment to be creative.
At the age of 13, Michelle harnessed her entrepreneurial spirit and started a hand painted T-shirt business. After graduation, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia and attended the Art Institute of Atlanta studying Graphic Design and Visual Communications.
For nearly 35 years, Michelle has used art, history, and “real talk” conversations to mentor marginalized and disfavored students through visual arts and spoken word. She has created and branded art diversion programs used by juvenile detention centers in Atlanta, Georgia and Montgomery, Alabama.
Michelle’s art has been shown in galleries across the country notably the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. She has painted for Tyler Perry, Denzel Washington, and countless other stars. She opened a gallery and restaurant called PJR’S FISH AND BBQ RESTAURANT that employed high school students, returning citizens, and the homeless. Michelle has traveled across the country speaking and motivating our children to be More Than a statistic, generalization, or stereotype. She challenges all children and students to defy the odds of victimization.
Today, Michelle is the founder and director of I AM MORE THAN... Youth Empowerment Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. She owns and operates More Than Tours, a social business providing educational tours for nearly 10,000 underserved students in marginalized communities of color. Michelle’s mission is simple,“Exposing Our Children To The Truth, Will Give Them Access To A Seat At The Table.”
Margaret L. Huang
Margaret L. Huang is an American human rights and racial justice advocate, and president and chief executive officer of Southern Poverty Law Center, an American civil rights nonprofit. She joined the organization in April 2020.
Mary Alice and Minnie Relf - WOMEN IN HISTORY HONOREES
Mary Alice was 14 and Minnie was 12 when they became victims of the abusive practice of sterilizing poor, black women in the South. Their mother, who had very little education and was illiterate, signed an "X" on a piece of paper, expecting her daughters, who were both mentally disabled, would be given birth control shots. Instead, the young women were surgically sterilized and robbed of their right to ever bear children of their own.
Dr. Veronica Maria Pimentel
Dr. Veronica Maria Pimentel is a board-certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist, fellowship-trained in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. She a practicing physician in Hartford, Connecticut and and an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
She combines her passion for medicine, health advocacy and social empowerment in her writing. Her work has been featured in Hartford Courant, Huffington Post, BlackDoctor.org and KevinMD.com.
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Dr. Pimentel is a rising community leader and budding philanthropist. She is the founder of Cape-Verdean – American Medical Alliance (CV-AMA) and Cape Verdeans to Know (CV2Know).
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of WENCH, BALM, and most recently TAKE MY HAND. In 2011, she was a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for fiction. In 2017, HarperCollins released Wench as one of eight "Olive Titles," limited edition modern classics that included books by Edward P. Jones, Louise Erdrich, and Zora Neale Hurston.
Dolen received a DC Commission on the Arts Grant for her second novel BALM which was published by HarperCollins in 2015. In 2013, Dolen wrote the introduction to a special edition of Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave, published by Simon & Schuster, which became a New York Times bestseller. She followed that with an introduction to Elizabeth Keckly's Behind the Scenes published in 2016. Dolen is a 2020 nominee for a United States Artists Fellowship.
Dolen is the current Chair of the Board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. On behalf of the foundation, she has visited nearly every public high school in the District of Columbia to talk about the importance of reading and writing. She is currently Associate Professor in the Literature Department at American University and lives in Washington, DC with her family.
Professor Deleso Alford
Professor Deleso A. Alford is a Shreveport, Louisiana native doing ground-breaking work bridging legal and medical education by telling stories—what she refers to as "HER stories"—the unique and particularized lived experiences of black women intersecting with health care and research. She has moved her scholarship into classrooms, benefiting both law and medical students with her racially inflected lessons.
Deleso is author of A Call for Medical Students to Learn the Full Story about the “Father of Gynecology” Clinical Trials and Human Subjects Research, Hastings Bioethics Forum, Health and Health Care.
Dr. Taft
Dr. Taft is the founder of Sacred Soul Wellness LLC, an Integrative Health & Wellness Center located in Montgomery, AL. She is a Mind-Body therapist, Doula, and Somatic bodyworker, focused on evidence-based education, research, and services that support natural holistic healing. Dr. Taft offers a variety of products and services that support whole-body wellness through education and intentional living. She is licensed and certified in a full spectrum of integrative health therapies with specialized training in Holistic Health Coaching, Yoga Therapy, Tai Chi, Massage Therapy, Meditation, Energy Work, Sound Therapy and more. Her approach is just the right mix of East meets West utilizing customized wellness plans to meet the needs of her clients seeking balance, relief from chronic pain and traumas, and lifestyle changes that support the WHOLE person.
Hakima Tafunzi Payne
Hakima Tafunzi Payne, known to her community as Mama Hakima, is the founder, and
Chief Executive Officer of Uzazi Village, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating health
outcome disparities in perinatal health in African-American communities. She holds
a Bachelors in Nursing and a Masters in Nursing Education and is currently pursuing a PhD in Nursing
Education. Ms. Payne is the creator of the following seven models of Afro-Centric healthcare:
• Village Doula Program (a community-based home visiting program for pregnant individuals)
• Chocolate Milk Café, (a peer-to-peer breastfeeding support group for Black families)
• The Village Circle Approach, an Afro-centric group prenatal care model
• The Lactation Mentorship Program (IBCLC internship for Black candidates)
• Perinatal Doula Training (full spectrum community-based doula training)
• Culturally Congruent Care in a Community Setting (antiracism healthcare curriculum)
• Community Expert Review Board (community-based advocacy for research and policy)
Ms. Payne speaks nationally on the topic of Black perinatal health and community-based responses to
health inequities. Ms. Payne works tirelessly to make birth safer, the village healthier, and to promote
anti-racist care models. She is the subject of an upcoming documentary, “Mama Hakima” Ms. Payne
a lifelong resident of Kansas City, Missouri.
Jennifer Taylor
Jennifer Taylor is a writer, a lawyer, a mother of two, and a California-born Alabama transplant nearing the 13th anniversary of her move to Montgomery. Taylor's work focuses on race and law, history, mass incarceration, civil rights, and the many places their lines intersect. From 2010-2022, she worked at the Equal Justice Initiative -- providing legal assistance to clients in criminal defense and prison conditions cases, while also helping to produce public education materials on racial history and exhibit content for the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. This spring, Taylor took on a new role as director of the Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest at Yale Law School, where she helps lead the center's fellowship programs, research projects, and event programming while co-teaching several law school courses. Taylor holds a B.A. in comparative studies in race and ethnicity from Stanford University, a master’s in journalism from Columbia University, a law degree from Yale Law School, and formal certification as a Nikole Hannah-Jones groupie from way back.
Tish Gotell Faulks
Tish Gotell Faulks is a proud 1999 graduate of “the People’s Electric Law School,” Rutgers University School of Law.
Faulks quickly discovered her love of law as a tool to fight for and protect people as an associate with Lowenstein Sandler in Roseland, New Jersey. There, she joined a team of attorneys who sought to vindicate the civil rights of abused and neglected children in Charlie and Nadine H. v. Whitman, a case that exposed the failures of DYFS, the New Jersey child protective service agency. From there, Tish served as an elbow clerk to the Hon. Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr., then USDJ, before his elevation to the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit. Faulks states that her tutelage under Judge Greenaway remains the most educational of her career.
Jenice Fountain
Jenice is a grassroots organizer and Reproductive Justice Advocate in Birmingham, Alabama dedicated to Reproductive Justice, direct aid and reparations for Black women and children. Jenice -a mom herself - is the founder of Margins: Women Helping Black Women, a local community aid organization that addresses the reproductive, financial and material needs of low-income Black mothers and their children. Jenice prides herself on her work through a harm reduction lens and views her work as direct pushback to the stigmatized services that Black people are often subject to as well as a direct pushback to capitalist systems.
Over the last two years, Jenice has brought this experience to build and strengthen Yellowhammer Fund’s Family Justice program as our Family Justice Organizer. A fierce advocate for abortion justice, Jenice has not only funded abortions and offered transportation to clinics, but she has also taken a firm role in supporting mothers who have been criminalized for their pregnancy related outcomes. You may also recognize Jenice for rallying the masses in Birmingham, AL regarding the Dobbs v JWHO case. Jenice is a proven leader in showing her community as well as surrounding areas what true reproductive justice and agency looks like.
Callie Greer
Callie Greer was born in Montgomery, Al.and spent most of her younger years growing up there. She is married to Alfonza Greer, the love of her life and a strong supporter of her work. She is the proud mother of five children: Venus (deceased), Mercury (deceased), Tiffany, Lawrence and Niaya and grandmother of eight. Callie started her advocacy work after Mercury, her son, was shot and died from those wounds on Father’s Day ‘99, . Callie started at the Jubilee Community Center (JCC) in Montgomery, Alabama as a volunteer, she was later employed as the Director of the After School Program. While employed at JCC, she developed an original Life Skills program that was designed to educate the youth that live in high risk areas, and also received her minister’s license during her employment there. She is still involved with JCC and their efforts in the community. She moved from that position to Lead Organizer/Trainer with The Montgomery Transportation Coalition (MTC) leading their efforts to help bring adequate mass transportation to Alabama. Callie was also the Young Women Organizer for FOCAL through their Southern Rural Black Women Initiative Program (SRBWI) that works on issues that affect black women in rural areas of the black belt. She is also a graduate of the Alabama Organizing Project (AOP). Callie is also an Offender Workforce Dev Specialist (OWDS) graduate through the National Institute of Corrections. She was employed by Greater Birmingham Ministries (GBM) for over 10 years as their Lead Organizer for Constitution Reform in the state of Alabama and Civic Engagement. It was during the latter part of this employment that they lost their daughter Venus (due to the lack of Healthcare Ins.) to breath Cancer. Callie has been featured twice on PBS’s NOW program in their award winning story on poverty and tax fairness in the state of Alabama. She was formerly on the Board of Directors of Alabama ARISE and SRBWI past Board Member of SOS (Saving Ourselves Movement for Justice and Democracy), Alabama Moral Monday, Project Hope and MTC. She is also a national spokesperson for the Poor People’s Campaign and Founder of M.A.A.V.I.S ( Mother’s and Men Against All Violence In Solidarity) She is a Community Organizer for Alabama Appleseed Law and Justice Center and a Kingian Nonviolence Trainer. Callie is using her pain and creating something terribly beautiful out of it through “The Art of Healing,” Don’t Waste Your Pain. And Advocating for herself and others because, “If you're not at the Table, Then You’re on The Menu”.
3 Continuing Education Units provided by The More Up Campus
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