CMQCC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Medical Director OB, Medical Director Quality and Safety
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Unit Chief and Director of the African American Infant
Adjoa Jones is a Birth Equity Unit Chief and Director of the African American Infant and Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) Prevention Initiative at the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Programs with the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Adjoa is also a Doula and Certified Lactation Education Specialist and has served in her L.A. County community and beyond as a Reproductive Justice/Maternal/Infant Health Advocate and Public Health Leader for over 25 years. In her current role and through her advocacy, she has traveled to many states to serve often as a speaker, panelist and moderator to address Black pregnancy and birth inequities, fighting for equity in services and resources to end preventable mortality/morbidity for Black moms and babies. Finally, Adjoa is a California native, a former teen mother, proud Mom and grandmother.
Job Titles:
- Medical Director OB, Medical Director Quality and Safety
- Medical Director OB, Medical Director Quality and Safety, UC Irvine School of Medicine
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- Creative, Liberation Strategist, Full Spectrum Birthworker / Executive Director, Roots of Labor Birth Collective
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Vice Chair, Dept of OB / GYN
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology - Maternal Fetal Medicine
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Obstetric Simulation Specialist
Job Titles:
- Program Assistant
- Clinical Innovation Advisor
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Patient Safety Leader
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Senior Quality Improvement Consultant
Anita McClintick, BA, joined CMQCC as the Perinatal Program Assistant in August of 2021. Anita holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from San Jose State University. Her duties include processing and monitoring financial transactions, consultant contracts, honoraria, researching and resolving discrepancies and responding to CMQCC general phone and email inquiries. In addition, she onboards new staff, orders and maintains equipment, and troubleshoots computer issues. Ms. McClintick also plans and schedules meetings and arranges travel. She not only provide administrative support to the CMQCC team, but also supports the CMQCC Executive Committee and the Neonatology Administrative team. Ms. McClintick has always had an interest in maternal and infant health, and is excited to support new mothers, birthing parents and their newborns at the very beginning of life!
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Associate Director, California Maternal Health Innovation Program
- Member of Committee
Anna Sutton is the Associate Director for CMQCC and is program lead for the California Maternal Health Innovation Program, a QI initiative. Anna joined CMQCC in May 2024 after spending 23+ years in local and state public agencies working with maternal, child and adolescent populations. Most recently, Anna served as Director of Public Health Nursing at Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency - Public Health Division (2020-2024), where she oversaw Children & Family Health, Infectious Disease and EMS/Emergency Preparedness branches and served as part of the Administration for Public Health, leading clinical excellence. During this time, she was also activated as part of COVID-19 Pandemic Response and oversaw operations for the county's Department Operations Center.
Prior to COVID-19, Anna served as a public health nurse in varying roles in local health departments and schools. These roles included home visitor, program manager, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Director and Director of Public Health Nursing. She has worked for the State's Genetic Disease Screening Program as a coordinator, helping to launch Integrated Prenatal Screening in the Sacramento-Central Valley region, and served on ACOG's Expert Work Group on Maternal Mental Health. Anna's focus throughout her career has been integrating systems of care to improve maternal, paternal, child and adolescent health. Anna holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from UC Davis, and a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in Community Health from San Francisco State University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- Program Coordinator, California Tribal Epidemiology Center
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Pathology
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Director of the Black Maternal Health Center of Excellence at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- MFM ) University of Callifornia Riverside
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Programs
- Data Analyst, Maternal Data Center
Britney Pheng joined CMQCC in March 2023. In her role as Data Analyst, she supports the CMQCC Maternal Data Center team with any data and hospital related processes. Before joining the team, Britney worked as an HIV communicable disease investigator at her local public health department. Currently, she attends CUNY Graduate School of Public Health to obtain an Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Britney has a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology with a minor in Asian American Studies from UCLA. She is invigorated by work and engagement that result in more equitable, compassionate communities.
Job Titles:
- Director of Perinatal Programs
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Anesthesia )
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- OB Anesthesia / Critical Care )
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Implementation Science
- Member of Committee
Christa Sakowski MSN, RN, C-ONQS, C-EFM, CLE, joined CMQCC in 2017. She brings with her experience as a perinatal nurse, nursing faculty, certified nurse-midwife, and nurse education specialist. In her role as Clinical Lead, she works directly with hospital teams, mentor nurses, mentor physicians, research partners, and the entire CMQCC staff to assess and improve care delivery in the state of California. She has served as a task force co-lead and co-author of CMQCC Toolkits. Christa also engages with the rest of the country by working with state Perinatal Quality Collaboratives nationally and as the California nurse representative for the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM). She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at The College of New Jersey in Ewing and her Master of Science in Nursing at University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Program Assistant
- Medical Director and Executive Committee Chair
- Member of Committee
- Research Sociologist / Program Manager
Christine H. Morton PhD, joined CMQCC in 2008, where she conducts research on maternal mortality and morbidity and has co-led expert task forces on translating the findings into California's maternal quality toolkits. She manages the California Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review(link is external) (CA-PAMR) with colleagues from California Department of Public Health and Public Health Institute, Inc. She is co-investigator with PI Jochen Profit, MD, MPH, on NIH-funded research projects focused on measuring and identifying drivers for racial/ethnic disparities among very low birth weight babies cared for in California neonatal intensive care units. Dr. Morton is co-chair of the National Partnership Maternal Safety workgroup on Patient, Family and Staff Support after a Severe Maternal Event (link is external)(link is external). She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. Dr. Morton received her PhD in Sociology from UCLA.
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- Member of Committee
- OB - Gyn )
- OBGYN and Director, Ambulatory Women 's Health Services Salud Para La Gente
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- California Conference of Local Health Officers ( CCLHO ) Co - Chair, Maternal Child & Adolescent Health Committee
Job Titles:
- Executive Director Women 's Services, St. Joseph HOAG Health
- Member of Committee
- Providence St. Joseph Health
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Co - Chair and Co - Principal Investigator ( CMQCC / CPQCC )
- Founding Board Member of the Pan - American Society for Placenta Accreta Spectrum
Deirdre J. Lyell is a co-chair and co-principal investigator of the California Maternal and Perinatal Quality Care Collaboratives (CMQCC/CPQCC), and the Dunlevie Endowed Professor of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Stanford Medicine. She brings more than 25 years of clinical experience in maternal-fetal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology. She has conducted impactful, practice-changing research in clinical obstetrics, and on racial and ethnic inequities in obstetrics, anemia, severe maternal morbidity, placenta accreta spectrum and prematurity prevention. Dr. Lyell has led quality improvement (QI) initiatives locally and at scale, working with community members, people with lived experience and providers to ensure that everyone receives the same quality of care.
At Stanford Medicine, Dr. Lyell serves as director of perinatal epidemiology and population health in the Dunlevie Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center; associate director of the division of maternal-fetal medicine and obstetrics; medical director of labor and delivery; director of the Program in Placental Disorders; and project lead for the National Institutes of Health-funded Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence, PReventing Inequities in Hemorrhage-related Severe Maternal morbidity (PRIHSM).
Nationally, Dr. Lyell is a founding board member of the Pan-American Society for Placenta Accreta Spectrum; a board member of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Foundation; an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology's Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialty board; and has also served as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health. She holds a BAS in biology and history from Stanford University and an MD from George Washington University. She completed a medical residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School, and a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Stanford Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- California Surgeon General
- California Surgeon General, Office of the California Surgeon General
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Project Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Chief Quality Officer
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Deputy Director of Nursing, Maternal Child Health Services, for San Joaquin General Hospital
Dr. Adrienne McIntyre is a Deputy Director of Nursing, Maternal Child Health Services, for San Joaquin General Hospital and specializes in quality, safety, emergency management, and hospital operations for the care of women and children. Adrienne is a recent graduate of the University of California, San Francisco Doctor of Nursing Practice program and has held numerous roles in healthcare including an advanced practice nursing role of Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist for community hospitals and large, academic medical centers. Currently, Adrienne resides in the Central Valley with her husband and three children. Adrienne is passionate about birth and health equity and the impact of maternity care deserts on birthing people.
Dr. Christine Perez is a national NICU Clinical Improvement Thought Leader for Philips, where she oversees family-centered developmental care education and clinical transformation change programs. Christine has worked in over 18 NICUs across various states as a NICU nurse and has a neonatal and public health research background. Originally from Ontario, Canada, she has lived in the United States for thirty-six years and resides in San Diego. Based on her lived experience as a preemie and her professional expertise, Christine is dedicated to enhancing perinatal and neonatal care to support families and improve outcomes.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Associate Clinical Professor of OBGYN at the University of California
Dr. Elena Rhoads is an associate clinical professor of OBGYN at the University of California, Irvine. Her research started in health education and behavior and has focused on health disparities, especially among birthing patients. In addition to patient care and research, she is also involved with patient safety and quality improvement. A transplant from Chicago, she has been living with her family in southern California for twelve years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Senior Health Equity Scientist
Dr. Rashon Lane (she/her) is a Senior Health Equity Scientist at Sutter Health and a Research Fellow at Harvard School of Medicine. She is motivated by developing research and program evaluation that centers marginalized communities in the research process, aiming for equitable research that focuses on justice and healing. Dr. Lane, is from and resides in Richmond, California. She has a Ph.D. in medical sociology from UC San Francisco, received post-doctoral training in sleep medicine at Harvard, a master's from Claremont Graduate University, and a BA from Tuskegee University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Committee
- Task Force Co - Chair, Medical Director, CMQCC, Clinical Professor Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Stanford Medicine
Job Titles:
- Program Manager, Maternal Data Center
Job Titles:
- Director, Women 's Health Programs and Innovation
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford Medicine
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Medical Director and Executive Committee / Chair
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Professor and Chief, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California Davis Health
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Co - Lead for Toolkit to Support Vaginal Birth
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- VP Chapter Program Support
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- National Clinical Director of OB Hospitalists
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Senior Advisor
- Member of Committee
- Senior Advisor, CMQCC / CPQCC
Dr. Jeffrey Gould holds leadership roles for both CMQCC and the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC). He serves as Senior Advisor of CPQCC and CMQCC. He is also the Robert L. Hess Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University.
Dr. Gould provides strategic direction and ensures that both CMQCC and CPQCC activities remain consistent with their missions, values, and commitments to improving care for California's most vulnerable birthing people and infants.
Dr Gould is a neonatologist and perinatal epidemiologist whose research addresses both the identification of factors that put an individual or sub-population at risk for poor perinatal outcome, and the identification of the extent to which health practice and health system factors are effective in reducing risk, improving the quality of care, and optimizing outcome. Throughout Dr Gould's career, he has been concerned with disparities in health and inequality in health care delivery. In 1997 under a joint appointment in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford he co-founded the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC), the nation's first state wide quality improvement consortium that also serves as a platform for faculty, trainee and inter-university collaborative research in perinatal epidemiology, quality of care analysis, and risk reduction/quality improvement program development. CPQCC includes 134 California NICUs and under Dr Gould's leadership has developed quality improvement toolkits, conducted successful multi-institutional quality improvement initiatives and has been nationally and internationally recognized as a model for regionalized perinatal quality improvement. To address the broader needs of all women and pregnant people, he co-founded CMQCC in 2006 as a sibling organization to assess and improve the quality, outcomes and disparities in obstetric care in California.
In addition to his innovative accomplishments in the area of statewide collaboration to improve the quality of perinatal care and health outcomes, Dr Gould has a strong commitment to research that has resulted in over 160 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of perinatal epidemiology and quality improvement. He has received the National Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Award for Outstanding Leadership, The AAP Neonatal Education Award, and the SPR's Douglas K Richardson Award for Perinatal and Pediatric Health Care Research, and in 2022 the Legend in Neonatology Award.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- CEO and Founder of VBAC Facts
Jen Kamel is the CEO and Founder of VBAC Facts®. Since 2007, her focus has been to provide objective, accurate information about the data available on vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and repeat cesarean to parents, professionals, policymakers, and the court so all decisions can be informed, ethical, and just. Jen is originally from Oregon and loves to be outdoors, whether for camping, hiking or backpacking. She currently lives in Southern California and envisions a time when every pregnant person seeking VBAC has the opportunity to make an informed choice.
Job Titles:
- MemorialCare™ Miller Children's and Women 's Hospital Long Beach
Jessica Washington Jessica joined the CMQCC and CPQCC in 2023 as a Program Assistant. In her role she supports both organizations with processing and monitoring financial transactions, consultant contracts, honorariums, researching and resolving discrepancies, coordinating meetings, events, and travel.
Prior to joining CMQCC and CPQCC, Jessica worked in the Department of Neurology at Stanford Medicine School of Medicine, administratively supporting a research lab focusing on muscle stem cell biology and aging, tissue engineering, muscle dystrophies, and regenerative rehabilitation, starting in 2016.
As a mother herself, Jessica is excited to help improve the quality of care of new mothers, birthing people and newborns.
Joanne C. Tillman, MPH, MCHES, joined CMQCC and CPQCC as the Family Engagement Coordinator in December 2023. In this role, Joanne supports the missions of both programs by working with families, communities, and healthcare stakeholders to improve the quality and equity of healthcare delivery for California's infants, mothers and birthing people. This role combines Joanne's passion for improving maternal and infant outcomes and decreasing racial disparities in health care. Joanne received her Master in Public Health, emphasizing Health Education, from California State University, Northridge, in 2012. She also obtained her Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) certificate in 2013, and then earned the master's-level certification, MCHES, in 2022. She has had a very robust career in health education which consists of applying her public health training to support hospitals, non-profits, communities, faith-based organizations, health centers, schools, and aged-varied populations. Joanne has dedicated many years of her experience and research in reproductive health, women's health, and maternal mortality prevention. She has a passion for empowering communities that have historically been marginalized and excluded, tackling the social determinants of health, and contributing to the improvements of their overall health. Mrs. Tillman also loves to travel for personal pleasure and purpose, including mission trips to various places such as her hometown in Nigeria. She plans to continue her purpose in this field and eventually start her non-profit organization to help families in low-income communities thrive. Mrs. Tillman lives in Los Angeles, CA, with her loving husband and two children, to whom she dedicates lots of her time and attention. She also dedicates her service in this work to her angel baby, hoping that with improvements made, fewer babies will be lost.
Job Titles:
- Director, Evaluation and Impact
- Member of Committee
- OB Clinical Nurse Specialist
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Assistant Area Medical Director for Women's & Children 's Health
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Branch Chief, Maternal & Infant Health MCAH Division, CA Dept of Public Health
- Chief, Maternal & Infant Health Branch, California Department of Public Health
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Quality and Patient Safety Program Manager for the Quality Management Department at Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield
Karisa Pruett is the Quality and Patient Safety Program Manager for the Quality Management Department at Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield. With over 12 years of nursing experience, she has a background in Maternal Child Health, Sepsis, Patient Safety, and Regulatory Readiness, bringing a wealth of expertise and dedication to improving healthcare outcomes. Born and raised in Bakersfield, California, Karisa spends most of her time outside of nursing with her family and three sons, further rooting her commitment to her community and hometown.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Medical Director Women 's Services, Co - Chair Sutter OB / GYN Quality Committee, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman / Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Cedars - Sinai
- Chairman of Committee
- Professor, Cedars - Sinai, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Job Titles:
- Owner
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Community Leader
- Member of the Council
Kimberly Robinson is a community leader, change maker, and speaker focusing on local policy and advocacy to elevate health equity. She served for years working in the primary care setting and overseeing the medical operations and behavioral health services for low-income communities and individuals experiencing houselessness. Kimberly is an activist for women's health who works closely with colleagues, communities, and allies to build constituencies that demand reproductive justice for all. She is a Dr. Beatriz María Solís Policy Institute (SPI) fellowship recipient for activists and advocates. She recently completed the Women of Color Leadstrong program of Leaderspring Center that support leaders working for social justice and racial equity in the social sector.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Director of Maternal, Child and Family Health for CMQCC, CPQCC and PRC
- Executive Director of Maternal, Child and Family Health, CMQCC / CPQCC and PRC
- Member of Committee
Leslie Kowalewski serves as the Executive Director of Maternal, Child and Family Health at CMQCC and CPQCC, and the Prematurity Research Center, all housed at Stanford Medicine. In this role, Leslie is responsible for strengthening collaboration across three organizations and working with both Stanford Neonatology and Obstetrics faculty and other experts to ensure a multidisciplinary approach to advancing research in epidemiology, health disparities, and quality improvement across the birthing person-baby care continuum.
Prior to her promotion, Leslie served as the CMQCC Administrative Director from 2020 - December 2022, leading the development and implementation of strategic and tactical plans for growth in quality improvement, educational and research activities. In addition, she led and developed staff leaders who oversee and implement initiatives and priorities to end preventable morbidity, mortality, and racial disparities in maternity care.
Leslie's commitment to improving maternal and infant health spans two decades. Prior to joining CMQCC, she led the buildout of statewide programs and coordinated state and local partnerships in her role as Chief of the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division for the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Prior to joining CDPH, Leslie spent 20 years at the March of Dimes Foundation where she established the March of Dimes Big 5 Perinatal Collaborative and co-led the development of the Elimination of Non-medically indicated (Elective) Deliveries Before 39 Weeks Gestational Age toolkit in partnership with CMQCC. Leslie holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and Education from Oregon State University.
Dr. Lindsay du Plessis joined the CMQCC team in March 2022 as the California Perinatal Community Engagement Lead. She has an extensive public health background addressing health disparities, collaborating with community partners, and implementing intervention and prevention strategies that empower and improve outcomes among vulnerable populations. In her current role, she organizes and implements outreach activities in partnership with local, regional, state of California and national agencies to reduce maternal, fetal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality among at-risk populations.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Committee
- Task Force Co - Chair, Clinical Nurse Educator High Risk Maternity and Labor and Delivery, Sutter Health
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Senior VP Risk Management Services
Job Titles:
- Program Assistant, MCCPOP
Marci Treadwell joined Stanford Medicine in 2016 and became a part of CMQCC in 2020 when the Mid-Coastal California Perinatal Outreach Program (MCCPOP) merged with CMQCC. Marci works as the MCCPOP Program Assistant, where she works closely with physicians and nurses to offer a clinical service line of obstetric and neonatal services. She hosts classes that educate medical providers on how to manage the care of complex patients including regional courses, in hospital educational courses, data reviews, electric fetal monitoring strip reviews and perinatal morbidity and mortality reviews. Marci also provides facility invoicing, consultant contracts, contact hour certification as well as travel reimbursement and purchasing orders. Marci attended the University of San Francisco and received her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies with an emphasis on sustainability.
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Professor & Director, MFM Division
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Stanford
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Professor, California State University Stanislaus
Job Titles:
- Program Manager
- Research Coordinator
Melinda Hing joined CMQCC and CPQCC as Research Coordinator in September 2023. In her role she manages research collaboration and data requests for CMQCC and CPQCC. She reviews requests from inside and outside Stanford, documents issues and questions, and routes for approval to leadership groups.
Prior to joining CMQCC and CPQCC, Melinda worked in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford Medicine School of Medicine as a research administrator, supporting faculty, postdocs, and research labs. Melinda began her career at Stanford in 1986 and has worked at Stanford Medicine and Lucille Packard Foundation for Children's Health as an administrator and executive assistant.
Outside of work, Melinda enjoys boxing, running, hiking, and reading.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of CMQCC 's Maternal Data Center
- Associate Director, Maternal Data Center
Melinda Kent is the Associate Director of CMQCC's Maternal Data Center (MDC). She joined the team in May 2023 as a clinical lead and the Clinical Lead for the Low-Dose Aspirin (LDA) to Prevent Preeclampsia and Preterm Birth Initiative. She was promoted to the MDC role in November 2023.
A passionate perinatal leader, her interest in health promotion, advocacy, program planning, and implementation began early in her career. She earned her Bachelor of Science in health education in 1995. After working several years as a labor doula, she became a labor and delivery registered nurse, where her love for perinatal quality and process improvement was discovered. Being a lifelong learner, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis on Nursing Education years later.
Prior to joining CMQCC, Melinda was involved in numerous CMQCC QI Academies and has presented as guest faculty on "Sustaining Quality Improvement." She brings a unique skill set and over two decades of healthcare experience to the organization, from bedside nursing to leadership roles. She has held positions in clinical IT for a large non-profit hospital supporting perinatal units across five states and as the Nursing Outcomes Coordinator for a hospital just miles from Skid Row in Los Angeles. Melinda holds NCC certifications in electronic fetal monitoring, in-patient obstetrics, and obstetric and neonatal quality and safety.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor Anesthesiology / Obstetric Anesthesiology, University of Michigan
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Implementation Science
- Member of Committee
Melissa Rosenstein is the Associate Director of Implementation Science at CMQCC. She joined the organization in 2017 as a mentor in the Supporting Vaginal Birth Collaborative. She uses her Implementation Science training to support individual hospitals and CMQCC in the development and evaluation of various quality improvement projects spanning topics from supporting vaginal birth, reduction of hemorrhage and associated morbidity, and reduction of sepsis and infectious morbidity. Dr. Rosenstein is the Medical Director of the CMQCC Maternal Quality Improvement (QI) Academy and she now serves as the Physician Lead for the Community Birth Partnership Initiative and as one of the leaders of the Learning Initiative for Supporting Vaginal Birth through an Equity Lens.
Dr. Rosenstein is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and an Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF, and serves as the Medical Director for Quality and Patient Safety in Obstetrics. She received her Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Clinical Research with a specialization in Implementation Science from UCSF.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Nurse Consultant III Specialist
Job Titles:
- International Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Medical Director Pulmonary and Critical Care, Sutter Medical Center
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Owner
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Stanford Medicine
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Medical Director and Executive Committee Chair
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Medical Director and Executive Committee Chair
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Deputy Director, Health Promotion Bureau Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
- Member of Committee
- OB - Gyn ) Chief Physician for the Health Promotion Bureau, LA County Health Department
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the California Maternal Health Task Force Steering Committee
Rafeal Newport is a traditional Midwife and consultant in the Bay Area. She has been a birth worker (Doula and Midwife) since 2007 with over a decade of experience working in non-profit. She is from the Bay Area, hailing from San Jose, CA with pit stops in San Francisco and Sacramento; but called Oakland home for 15 years. She is currently working to develop a Licensed Midwifery program for California.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director of Addiction and Community Medicine at LA General Medical Center. Regional Coordinator and Founding Member of the California Bridge Program
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Professor in Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Committee
- Task Force Co - Chair, Clinical Professor, Knowles Distinguished Scholar, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Stanford Medicine
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine - Infectious Diseases, Stanford Medicine
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Professor and Chair, Dept of OB / GYN, Associate Dean of Women 's Health Research & Policy
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chief Nurse - Midwife
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Department of Health Care Services
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Health Care
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Medical Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director of Special Projects
Job Titles:
- Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Associate Clinical Professor
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Project Manager, CMQCC, Stanford Medicine
Valerie Kowalski is a graduate of Western Governors University where she obtained her Masters of Nursing Education. After obtaining her BSN-RN for CSU San Bernardino she immediately began working in labor and delivery at Redlands Community Hospital where she has served on several committees and most recently as the Maternal Child Services Nurse Educator. She has two children (5 and 5 months) that were both complicated and early delivery pregnancies. These experiences have fueled her towards education of nurses, providers, and patients alike to give them the best chance for a healthy and smooth delivery.