Angie joined Centering Healthcare Institute (CHI) as chief executive officer in 2015, bringing leadership from both nonprofit and government relations/advocacy worlds to the organization. In a short time, Angie has restructured CHI to position Centering as a scalable healthcare delivery model for mothers, babies and families throughout the nation. She has secured more than $9 million in new philanthropic support and spearheaded CHI’s focus on quality assurance for Centering sites and practitioners. Under her leadership, Centering has become the standard of prenatal care for the U.S. Army, invested greatly in building out the CenteringParenting 0-2 pediatric model, and expanded access to Centering in nearly 600 clinical settings. Angie was named one of TIME Magazine’s 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare for 2018.

Prior to CHI, Angie’s career path was addressing healthcare disparities and turning grassroots efforts into successful movements for change. She spent 15 years in Washington, DC working in the national healthcare policy arena. She spearheaded the federal lobbying efforts for the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization and the American Diabetes Association through historic legislative events such as the creation of the Medicare Part D drug benefit and passage of the Affordable Care Act. Previously she worked for United States Representative Rúben Hinojosa (TX-15) as Press Secretary and Legislative Assistant for health policy. While on Capitol Hill, she crafted legislation and worked to address the health care issues facing one of the lowest income, yet fastest growing, minority populations in the nation – she focused primarily on diabetes and access to affordable and adequate health care.

As Chief Administrative Officer, Tamara oversees the Information Technology, Administration and Human Resource teams and drives the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion imperative at CHI. With over 30 years experience in group health insurance, Tamara managed cross functional teams to collaborate on innovative enterprise wide projects and held several leadership roles in systems and operational improvement, large group Underwriting and program design and implementation. With a passion for improving systems by reducing barriers to access, Tamara served on Boards of local organizations and was an elected official in the Town of Randolph, MA.

A CHI team member since 2014, John oversees financial operations and supports the Executive Team in setting long term financial goals and strategies. He has held several positions within the organization including CHI's first Regional Director, Sr. Director of Strategy & Partnerships, and Chief Strategy Officer. John’s vision launched CHI’s expansion strategy leading a team of Regional Directors and State Program Managers to expand CHI's national footprint through direct outreach to providers, payers, influential stakeholders and community partners. Prior to CHI, John served for 12 years as COO/CFO of Vida Health Communications, Inc. directing numerous NIH and CDC-funded research grants focused on developing and scaling award winning behavioral interventions for maternal and child health. He has also been a successful entrepreneur having started and run his own lease financing business for 10 years.

Since joining the team in 2015, Marena has been focused on increasing awareness and access to Centering group care. She has been a passionate driver of the prenatal through pediatrics (P - 2) continuity model and led product development efforts that re-imagined the CenteringPregnancy and CenteringParenting offerings. She introduced the CenteringHealthcare framework to support clinicians in applying the model across the life course. Marena provides leadership and oversight to the Engagement and Innovation department; working towards an equity lens and CHI’s core values infused into all communications, products and services. Additionally, she is working with philanthropic partners to ensure CHI’s mission and fundraising objectives are met. Prior to joining CHI, Marena enjoyed the challenge and spirit of two progressive healthcare start-ups.

Shannon was first introduced to Centering during her Americorps year of service in NYC. Inspired, she went on to earn her Masters of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health and joined CHI in 2015 as a Practice Services Manager. She supported Centering sites with technical assistance and quality assurance for their Centering care, and specifically oversaw the successful implementation of Centering within two of the largest health systems - Kaiser Permanente and the U.S. Army. Internally, she worked to expand staffing and capacity for the department to best support organizational growth. As Managing Director of the Practice Transformation department, Shannon is responsible for overseeing the delivery of CHI’s implementation, training and support services to CHI’s partner practices across the U.S. She leads the CHI Implementation Advisors in the field and the Practice Transformation team in Boston.

A member of the Human Resources team, Gisely provides support and assists with recruitment, maintaining employee records and on-boarding new staff. In her role, she is also responsible for managing print and material vendor relationships and supports inventory monitoring activities. With an education in HR management, Gisely comes to CHI with experience in administration. 

Responsible for supporting Centering practices in the Northeast and Great Plains regions, Nia engages in regular outreach and provides strategic input to sites on implementing Centering care from startup through launch and sustainability cycles. With a strong background in public health, she comes to CHI with nine years of experience working in the maternal health field. Previous experiences have honed her skills in program implementation, program evaluation and data analytics. 

Kennedy provides day-to-day executive support and serves as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the office of the CEO. Initially a member of the Practice Transformation team, she moved into a more operational and administrative role in early 2020. Kennedy comes to CHI with sales and customer service experience. 

Vandana is responsible for managing marketing communications including strategy, public relations, social and website content management for the organization. With over ten years of experience, she has a strong foundation in public relations with a history of helping brands, small businesses and cause-based organizations connect with their audiences through content marketing programs that drive awareness and engagement.

Rob drives the delivery of projects and initiatives that span multiple business units at the organization. In this role, he is responsible for managing resources, schedules and project costs including management of issues, risks and project change requests to ensure successful on-time project delivery. Rob also contributes to process improvement initiatives as it relates to improving project delivery. He brings over 15 years of experience as a project leader and client manager leading teams within the government and commercial insurance space. Rob has also attained his Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification. 

In her role, Gianna provides support to the Chief Engagement Officer and the E&I team through administrative, organizational and communication contributions. She has worked in both non-profit and healthcare practice settings with experience in data entry, multi-department collaborations, schedule management and customer assistance. Her fluency in Spanish has helped her become an advocate for those with language barriers. 

Mia is responsible for the development of CHI’s online courses, virtual training resources and offerings to support Centering sites. For the past seven years, she has focused on her passion for keeping learners engaged in the online environment through the use of adult learning principles and developing interactive learning tools. Prior to CHI, Mia worked as a consultant supporting several universities and organizations in transferring their traditional face-to-face training into synchronous and asynchronous online courses. Mia is known for developing an online learning experience that cherishes the intent of the in-person experience. 

As part of the Business Development team, Mary is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of Centering across states in the Great Plains and Northeast regions through collaborations with healthcare providers and systems, funders and government agencies. She is the lead on a number of key Centering initiatives in the Northeast. Her journey with Centering started as a provider facilitator and coordinator of CenteringPregnancy and she moved to become the Centering in-house trainer at a large outpatient clinic in North Carolina. A Certified Nurse-Midwife, Mary comes to CHI with over 22 years of healthcare experience and is passionate about providing care for the whole person and improving health outcomes particularly in underserved communities.

Responsible for leading organizational strategies and learning engagements, Selina works closely with CHI staff and leadership to implement diversity and inclusion initiatives across the organization. With over 25 years of experience in the field as a consultant, educator and author, Selina has been a business professor teaching and creating diversity management curriculum, certificate courses and training programs. Prior to CHI, Selina has held numerous university roles including College of Business & Innovation Director of Diversity & Inclusion and University Inclusion Officer at the University of Toledo, OH. She has authored three textbooks: Managing Workplace Diversity, Workplace Diversity: A Training Guide for Individuals & Organizations and Managing Diversity in the Workplace: A Practical Approach. Selina has also held board membership positions at local nonprofits and worked with underrepresented populations to address barriers to the workplace and higher education.

As Senior Director of Information Technology, Jon is responsible for CHI's IT infrastructure and staff and has been with the organization since 2015. He brings over 15 years of experience in the Information Technology field, focusing largely on enterprise CRM and ERP application management. Outside of the office, Jon enjoys time with his wife Kim and their daughter Lily.

Weyu comes to CHI with over a decade of experience working to improve racial and health disparities for communities across borders. She is a native New Yorker with a passion for working with communities of color on the ground by building local capacity, creating monitoring and evaluation tools, as well as through social justice advocacy. Her work across Africa, Latin America, and the United States involved engaging medical providers and local governments to improve access to medical care and address social inequities. Weyu’s life work reflects her passion for transforming healthcare systems by using innovative approaches to address racial equities and empower black and brown communities.

As Midwest Regional Director, Horace is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of Centering across seven states through collaborations with healthcare providers, payers and government agencies. Having worked closely with payers, Horace comes to CHI with over ten years of experience in health insurance, managed care services and has a strong background and understanding of Medicare and Medicaid offerings. An advocate for the underserved, Horace serves on the Board of a non-profit organization that builds housing for poor, elderly and handicapped.

John is the Salesforce / IT administrator at CHI. He has over ten years experience in IT systems and infrastructure management with a specific focus on Salesforce CRM implementation, integration and administration.

As Implementation Advisor, Victoria provides consultation services and facilitation training to staff at healthcare practices to support the successful implementation of the Centering model. She comes to CHI with a background in public health and a strong passion to improve maternal mortality and prenatal care. Her prior experience includes developing programs to educate youth in local communities on living healthier lives covering topics such as nutrition, exercise and sex education among others.

In his role as Accounting Manager, Deus assists the Director of Finance with daily operations of the accounting department. He has a strong background in accounting and financial management with over 15 years of experience working as a public accountant.

As the Communications Manager, Dillon focuses on building CHI’s social media and email marketing capability as well as supporting the communication needs across the organization. He comes with over 10 years of experience in digital communications, developing and implementing social media campaigns and managing audience engagement across online platforms.

Cherelle comes to CHI with over 7 years of experience in varying aspects of human resource management. As the Human Resource Manager for CHI, Cherelle plans and coordinates all administrative functions of our organization. Serving as the link between staff and managers, she enhances human resources by planning, implementing and evaluating employee relations and human resources policies, programs and practices. 

Miguel is responsible for the organization's business development strategy and execution of the national expansion of Centering sites. Along with his team of Regional Directors and State program managers, they focus on outreach to providers, payers, influential stakeholders, community organizations and legislative partners. Miguel's brings over 20 years of experience in functional areas like sales, operations and customer service leadership in medical transcription, clinical documentation improvement, revenue cycle management, EHR, robotic process automation and organizational consulting to Physicians, Clinics and Health Systems. Miguel is an Adjunct Professor for Houston Community College and has also led the startup of several businesses ventures as an entrepreneur.  

Daphne joined the CHI team in 2017, and currently manages the team that provides support and technical assistance to Centering practices nationwide. She is the primary point of contact for practices affiliated with Unified Women's Healthcare as well as those located in New England. Daphne's career is driven by a commitment to health equity and social justice. She has consulted on public health communications and advocacy projects, supported community-based public health research studies, worked in non-profit development and communications for nearly a decade, and serves on the boards of both local and national non-profit organizations.

Nicole brings over 12 years of first-hand experience as a Centering facilitator at an FQHC in Chicago, where she went on to becoming a project manager and leading the organization in the implementation of four Centering programs. She began her community healthcare career as a Doula and has over 15 years experience as a Doula, Certified Lactation Consultant and Childbirth Educator. Nicole’s lifework has been around serving the underserved and combating disparities in healthcare. In 2017, she launched The Birth Professionals of Color Collective, to address the health disparities within her community in Chicago.

Katherine is responsible for ensuring effective delivery of CHI's facilitation services and co-manages the Implementation Advisor team. She has spent the last years working at the intersections of public health, social work and social change. She has worked on a variety of issues on the program and policy sides, including reproductive and sexual health, immunizations, domestic and sexual violence prevention, and abortion access. Having grown up in South and Central America, Katherine moved to the United States as an adolescent and currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

As Director of Special Initiatives, Tanya provides leadership to the Implementation Awards Initiative. With over 10 years of experience at CHI, Tanya has been instrumental in providing direction for developing quality and improvement processes at the organization. She has led the charge on data and outcomes management including developing processes for data collection and evaluation, site readiness assessing, Site Accreditation and consortium-building. Prior to CHI, Tanya was the Manager of Chapter Grants at the March of Dimes National Office. She also established the Office of Global Health Education & Training at Columbia University Medical Center in 2003 and was the administrative director for a post-graduate program at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.

In her role, Anna provides support and technical assistance to Centering practices in the Midwest and Southeast regions. She was introduced to the Centering model as pregnancy care manager in the health department and Federally Qualified Health Center settings, while working primarily with immigrant populations. Anna is proud of her two decades’ commitment to maternal and child health, during which she has contributed to state and national non-profits, led grassroots organizations and sat on multiple boards. Anna is bilingual, a trained birth and full spectrum doula and a returned WorldTeach volunteer, having served two years in Costa Rica. 

Surendra Pokharel joined CHI in 2016 bringing his versatile experience in accounting and finance, encompassing banking, distribution, auditing, financial management, book-keeping, accounting, and compliance services. His positive attitude not only brings warmth to our office but has also resulted in his successful team building, innovative solutions, and the organizational capacity to maintain quality service, even during periods of internal consolidation and rapid business growth. When not in the office, Surendra enjoys meditation, sports and spending time with his family and friends.

Lynn joined CHI as a Centering Consultant in 2007 and recently took on a new position as Director of Innovation. In this new role, she blends the job of a Consultant and CHI Staff. She is responsible for the development of products, services and training tools that support the Centering models. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Lamaze Childbirth Educator and worked as a Behavioral Health Clinical Manager at Clinica Family Health Services in Denver, CO. Lynn has four grandchildren and loves to make beaded jewelry.

A member of the Practice Transformation team, Shelbie is primarily responsible for customer service inquiries regarding workshop registration, product and online store. She also provides administrative and technical support to the Implementation Advisor team. Shelbie comes to CHI with a background in social service program management specifically in workforce development training of individuals with disabilities and refugee/asylees implementing workplace readiness training, personal branding efforts and networking with employers across the Greater Boston area. With over six years of experience in administrative services, she has a passion for helping others, improving program quality and delivery and supporting diversity initiatives in corporate spaces. 

As the Southeast Regional Director, Lisa is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of Centering across seven states through collaborations with healthcare providers, payers and government agencies. Lisa comes to CHI with over 33 years of experience in healthcare working with primarily independent physician practices, hospitals and health insurance payers. She has a strong background and understanding of revenue cycle management, merit-based incentive payments systems' reporting and outcome measures, with an emphasis on technology and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. 

Liz is a public health professional with extensive experience in program management, training, and working with clinic leadership on systems change and population health initiatives. She has an MPH in health behavior and health education and has focused much of her career on intimate partner violence. Liz loves leading workshops and group facilitation. She finds it fun, engaging and exhilarating. She joined CHI in 2017 as a consultant because she is passionate about increasing Centering into our healthcare system.

As CHI's Manager of Implementation Services, Deanna is an expert in the clinical implementation of the Centering model and manages a team of consultants. Her education in business administration and previous experience in international business has provided Deanna with the keen eye to evaluate implementation processes at a macro level to showcase the impact the Centering model can make. Her responsibilities also include managing initiatives and collaborations with healthcare providers, public health advocates and organizations to improve maternal health. With a strong background in maternal and child health and a passion to promote birth equity, Deanna brings over a decade of experience as a Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, Childbirth Educator and reproductive activist to CHI. She has been teaching mindfulness and yoga for more than 20 years.

Emma joined CHI as a Practice Service Representative and was indispensable in developing optimal customer service processes for Centering sites and ensuring the Practice Transformation team could do its work most effectively. She is now a Technical Assistance Manager providing support for Centering practices in the West and South Central regions. Emma comes to CHI with a background in event coordination and customer service.

Heidi comes to CHI with over 20 years’ experience in nursing and maternal-child health and is a certified lactation counselor and childbirth educator. A veteran of the US Navy and Gulf war, Heidi started her journey with Centering as the Centering Coordinator for Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune (NMCCL) where she provided CenteringPregnancy care to over 2800 military families and was recognized as NMCCL’s Civilian of the Year in 2016, for excellence and dedication in providing Tricare beneficiaries prenatal care. As a Certified Centering Facilitator Trainer for the Navy, Heidi has trained over 1000 healthcare staff and assisted with the implementation of Centering programs for the Department of Defense all over the world. In 2018, she joined CHI as Certification Coordinator responsible for the development of CHI’s Certification Program. Heidi is also a member of the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. 

As part of the Business Development team, Stephanie is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of Centering across six states in the South Central region through collaborations with healthcare providers, payers and government agencies. She is also the lead development director on key initiatives, including the partnership with Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) and CHI's national Kaiser account. Stephanie comes to the organization with a 25 year career in healthcare business development, managing large territories to help create better health outcomes for the people we serve. She is passionate about health equity and access for all people.

Dr. Strickland is an Associate Professor at Wake Forest Department of Family and Community Medicine where she practices the full scope of family medicine including both inpatient and maternity care. She earned a Master’s of Public Health degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and is an active member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. She has been a long time advocate of Centering, joining the CHI Board of Directors in 2008. She has experience as a Centering provider and has implemented group visit programs in several residency programs. Locally, Dr. Strickland leads the North Carolina CenteringPregnancy Consortium in partnership with Northwest Community Care Network of Community Care of North Carolina.

Sharon Rising is the founder of the Centering model of group healthcare and since 1993 has provided leadership for the development and growth of the organization. She has received recognition for her achievements from several notable organizations including 2006 Yale University School of Nursing distinguished Alumna Award, Civic Ventures Purpose Prize in 2008, the American Academy of Nursing 2010 "Edge Runner" Award, and the 2010 American College of Nurse-Midwives' highest honor, the Hattie Hemschemeyer Award. In addition to creating the innovative Centering model, Sharon's impressive career ranged from clinical practice to healthcare education. She established the nurse-midwifery program and the Childbearing Childrearing Center at the University of Minnesota.

Amy Fine is a Senior Fellow at the Center of the Study of Social Policy. In this role, she helps shape CSSP's approach to integrating health, education, human services and other family supports at the community level, focusing on more preventive, developmentally-oriented service systems for children and families. With more than 25 years of experience working on issues related to maternal and child health, Amy has served as a consultant to federal and state health agencies, private philanthropies and national initiatives focused on improving results for children.

Dr. Darby-Stewart is an experienced clinician-leader with skills in transformational healthcare redesign, primary care/specialty integration, and medical education. She is currently Associate Program Director at HonorHealth Family Medicine Residency in Scottsdale, Arizona, and recently served as Clinical Department Chair of Family Medicine and Medical Director for Chronic Care TTRIaD at Banner Health. Dr. Darby-Stewart brings a skill for connecting population health management with personalized healthcare to the Centering Healthcare Board. She has a true passion for excellence in patient care and medical education.

Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew, is a Senior Vice President and the Chief Clinical Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Allegheny Health Network. An internationally respected expert in cultural competency within the health care field, she has spent her career engaging marginalized communities and building programs that focus on promoting outcomes equity for vulnerable patients and mitigating socio-political barriers to care. She has a special interest in educating and empowering women, especially those pursuing careers in medicine. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew’s clinical practice focuses on providing care to women living in low- to middle-resource communities, with a clinical focus in the care of women living with HIV. She also served as Chair & Director of the Center for Clinical Excellence and Diversity at University Hospitals as well as Dean of Students for Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew is the founder of W.O.N.D.O.O.R. (one door), Women and Newborns, Diversity, Outreach, Opportunity and Research, a program that aims to educate global medical providers through local and international health care collaborations. She lectures frequently, regionally and internationally, on health issues relating to the wellness of women. She is also the author of “The Colors of My Heart: Embracing My Blackness with History, Family, Fear and Faith,” a recently published autobiography. 

Eva is the Chief Financial Officer for GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders) a non-profit legal organization and is responsible for operations and finance. She has over 25 years of combined experience in public accounting and non-profit management in wide-ranging capacities including: CFO, controller, treasurer, consultant, auditor, trainer, manager and coach. Eva is a Rockwood Leadership alumnus and participated in the inaugural cohort of the 21st Century Pipeline project; a year-long leadership training program designed to retain & support leaders of color in the LGBT movement. She has also served as a volunteer board member of the Provincetown Film Society, The Theatre Offensive, Elizabeth Stone House, Victory Programs, and Casa Myrna Vasquez.

Ram Jagannath is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Healthcare for Blackstone Growth and a member of the Blackstone Growth Investment Committee. Since joining Blackstone in 2019, Ram has led Blackstone’s acquisition of HealthEdge Software and was actively involved in its investment in Alnylam and the inclisiran royalty. Prior to his current position, Ram has held positions as a founding Partner of Navab Capital Partners (NCP) and Head of Healthcare. He was a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, focused on healthcare investments. Ram has worked broadly across the healthcare sector, including general healthcare services (payors and providers), pharma and pharma services, healthcare information technology, tech-enabled healthcare services, medical products, and diagnostics. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of HealthEdge Software and also serves on the Board of Visitors of the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering. Ram was previously a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

As the eldest child of retired physicians, it is no accident that Arianne Graham has spent her entire career in healthcare. She is currently Director of Innovation for Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield. In this role, she and her team aim to solve the most pressing problems in the sector while expanding and transforming CareFirst's core health insurance business. Prior to Healthworx, Arianne held numerous strategy and commercial leadership roles spanning the non-profit and for-profit sector, including positions at March of Dimes, Peer Health Exchange, Quartet Health, Kyruus, and patientslikeme. She has co-founded nonprofits Not One More Life and Samara Collective, a worker-owned consultancy that specializes in empowering organizations and movements such as labor unions and progressive community coalitions through digital organizing, web development, press and training.