Contract Team

Joy Burkhard, MBA
Joy is the founder and executive director of 2020 Mom a non-profit social change organization aggressively working to close gaps in maternal mental health through education, awareness and advocacy.

2020 Mom’s projects include the brand’s “Mom Congress” and TheBlueDotProject. Mom Congress is a coalition of non-profit organizations and individual members working to improve birth and support of early motherhood, and he TheBlueDotProject a national awareness movement for maternal mental health which hosts the U.S.’s maternal mental health awareness week social media campaign.

In addition to running 2020 Mom, Joy also works part-time for the insurer Cigna where she has spent nearly 25 years. She serves as a regulatory affairs leader and has a passion for quality improvement and innovation.

Joy is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology expert workgroup on Maternal Mental Health and the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, the nation’s first agency working to solve the U.S.’s maternal mortality crisis.

She has been recognized for her leadership and vision with several awards, including receiving The American Public Health Association’s Maternal Child Health Leadership and Advocacy Award, California's American Mother of Achievement Award, the "Emerging Leader" award in women's health from the federal Health and Human Services Agency, Office of Women's Health and Cigna's Volunteer of the Year award.

Joy lives with her husband and two elementary school-age children in Los Angeles, California.


Emily Bernard, MA, IBCLC
Emily is an engagement, policy and project management consultant that works across the nation with non-profits, local health departments and community based organizations. Her passion is in strategic development and partnerships through capacity building, facilitation and community assessment. She has extensive experience with counseling families and facilitation work, clinical lactation and doula assistance and often trains others through curriculum development or implementation. She has developed, implemented and evaluated various projects in previous years nationwide. She has earned a Bachelors in Science and Masters Degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Family Counseling and Health. She also became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant over a decade ago. She has furthered her collective impact education through the Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement as well as becoming a Master Trainer for TeamSTEPPS through Duke University. She loves spending time with her husband outdoors and being an active part of her three children’s lives through their various activities.


Sydney Donadio
Sydney started her career in the non-profit sector in 2014 with the Girl Scouts of Northern California after graduating from Humboldt State with a degree in Recreation Administration. She is currently a contractor with 2020 Mom working on partnerships and outreach. Sydney was born and raised in the high desert of Southern California and moved back to the area in 2018. She also works as a Certified Personal Trainer alongside her husband.


Cindy Herrick
Cindy Herrick is a mom and fierce maternal mental health advocate with an interest in peer support and social media reach. Cindy is an experienced special education graduate instructor and conducted research at Arizona State University. She serves as 2020 Mom’s non profit and medical partner lead and runs The Blue Dot Project’s MMH week and suicide awareness campaigns.


Laura Killgore
Laura joined 2020 Mom and The Blue Dot Project in 2018 as a contractor and is one of our social media leads and campaign managers. She has a background in Early Childhood Education and a passion for child development. She married her loving and supportive husband, Stephen, in August of 2016 and in June of 2018 she became a mother to a baby girl, Adaline.


Samantha Konikoff

Samantha Konikoff

Samantha joined the 2020 Mom team as a project manager in 2020. She has been active in bringing awareness to maternal mental health for over 5 years. She co-leads a new mom support group which has been going on for over 2 years as well as serving as a patient advocate on her county task force on maternal mental health. Samantha also serves on the board at Perinatal Support Washington and has even been on a few podcasts sharing her story. Her goal with all of this is to try her hardest to make sure no one goes through this alone. Samantha lives in Bellingham, WA with her husband and 2 school-aged kids as well as her dog.


Brooke Lerman
Brooke joined 2020 Mom and TheBlueDotProject in 2019 as a contactor and performs social media engagement. She has a background in Early Childhood Education with a strong emphasis in Special Education, specifically Autism. Brooke lives in Central Oregon with her loving husband Dan, whom she married in 2012, and became a new mother in September of 2019 to a baby girl, Aspen Jade.


Alice Lu

Alice Lu, MBA
Alice Lu works on Legislative and Organizational Advocacy to improve Maternal Mental Health Care through policy, practice, and systems change. Alice has over a decade of experience in biotech and pharmaceutical product management and new products planning - launching and growing innovative products and programs for patients with unmet medical needs. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Economics and Business Management from Cornell University, and a MBA in Biotechnology and Health Industry Management and Marketing from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.


Katie-Moss-300.jpg

Katie Moss
Katie Moss is the Story Telling Lead at 2020 Mom. As a survivor of post-partum depression and mom to two beautiful girls, Ellie & Penny, telling her maternal mental health story changed her entire life for the better. Today, she’s dedicated to helping survivors of MMH disorders use their voices to find healing, build community, and support the important work of 2020 Mom. Katie explores all the ways we can share our experiences – podcasting, social media, video, and more – and she loves finding new ways to build community around communication.

Katie is also a certified project management professional (PMP), and works for Income Research + Management as a Business Analyst, with expertise in data-driven storytelling and visualization to support business decisions. She lives with her family in Boston, MA.


Crystal McAuley
Crystal joined 2020 Mom in 2017 as an Ambassador with a passion for creating community connections and policy change. Formally joining the team as a contractor in 2018, she now manages Support Group Trainings, the upcoming Learning Network, and California Advocacy efforts. She is a mother to two boys and wife to a loving Kiwi husband. She works as a winery contractor in the Napa Valley and is the Co-Founder of the Napa Mom Squad Peer Visitation and Support Program.


Kelly Nielson, MPH
Kelly is an independent contractor with nearly 20 years of experience in the research, clinical, and nonprofit settings, and is passionate about improving quality of care and the patient experience. In her role, Kelly oversees operations, manages projects, and develops systems needed to support the visionary work of 2020 Mom.  Kelly is drawn to this cause because she knows that maternal health - both mental and physical - can determine the wellbeing of future generations and help predict public health challenges for families, communities, and our healthcare system. 


Stacey Porter
Stacey manages the MMH Certificate Training, Innovation Awards and Ambassador Programs for 2020 Mom. She lives in the north suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, and spends her time running her own non-profit, the Tangerine Owl Project, aimed at providing support to families whose lives have been significantly impacted by infant loss and/or traumatic birth.


Diana Rae
Diana is a graphic designer that has extensive experience in the advertising, publishing, and print industries. She has been producing graphics for 2020 Mom, the National Collation for Maternal Mental Health (NCMMH), and the California Maternal Mental Health Collaborative (CMMHC) since 2012. Her work can be seen on our posters, brochures, palm cards, and campaign materials, as well as our websites and email newsletters and many other related materials.