Team
Joy Burkhard, MBA – Executive Director
Joy is the founder and executive director of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health (the Policy Center). Joy was inspired to found 2020 Mom after several of her worlds collided, including losing her little brother to suicide, learning the complexities of the U.S. health and mental health system while working for a health insurer, becoming directly involved in health care policy change and experiencing the realities of birth and the postpartum period with her firstborn. She recognized she was in a unique position to learn why mothers (and others) were not being treated for mental health disorders in the same way they were for medical conditions.
She has a passion for quality and innovation and believes that the government's role should be to keep its people safe and to that end, establish baseline requirements for businesses so the U.S. can count on our health delivery system. She also believes it's business's role to surpass baseline requirements and delight people with the best possible care.
Joy is known as a collaborator as well as a fierce advocate representing the interests of our largest health care consumers – mothers.
Her most gratifying projects at the Policy Center have included hosting the organization's annual FORUMs, which brings together hundreds of change agents pushing the envelope in the fields of maternal and mental health as well as the National Coalition for Maternal Mental Health, which convenes non-profits with shared interests in addressing gaps in maternal mental health.
Joy worked for the insurer Cigna where she spent nearly 25 years. She served 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 Jr. High school-age children in Los Angeles, California.
Rebecca Britt, MA – Director of Research and Impact
Rebecca joined the Policy Center in 2022 with a passion for aligning strategic direction with streamlined processes that integrate evaluative measures to ensure program optimization, impact and sustainability. Rebecca has led innovative evaluation efforts to assess patient perspective and improve quality in prenatal and postpartum care. Rebecca is a visionary and global thinker. She holds a Master's degree in Program Evaluation and a professional certification in Results Based Accountability. As the Director of Research and Impact, Rebecca provides the evaluative framework necessary to ensure the Policy Center’s strategic focus prioritizes key activities that most effectively close gaps in maternal mental health.
Toi Everhart, MBA - Operations & Events Consultant
Toi is a seasoned business thinker with a passion for project management, problem solving, organizational transformation, and building strong relationships within the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Toi supports the operations and event functions of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health and Mom Congress. Her true passion and excitement for what she does comes from helping mission-driven organizations and nonprofits grow and thrive. Causes to uplift women, children, mothers, and families are very close to her heart. Toi has her MBA in Entrepreneurial & Small Business Operations from California Lutheran University.
Cindy Herrick MA, CPSS, MHFA – Special Projects Manager
Cindy is a mom, teacher, musician, researcher, entrepreneur, maternal mental health advocate. She serves as the Policy Center’s Special Projects Manager. Her own experience with severe maternal mental health disorders in 2012 sparked her desire to bring change to the maternal mental healthcare system, as well as work towards mainstreaming the discussion about maternal mental health.
Cindy is a certified peer support specialist and is a subject matter expert for the Arizona Department of Health Services’ (ADHS) Maternal Mortality Board. She is also on ADHS’s Arizona Maternal Mental Health Task Force, where she chairs the awareness workgroup. Cindy is also a Patient Merit Reviewer for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Prior to joining the Policy Center, Cindy was a graduate instructor and researcher at Arizona State University, specializing in autism spectrum disorders. She also founded her own piano music studio in 2007, created to meet the individual needs of both neurotypical students and students on the autism spectrum. She currently resides in Phoenix, AZ with her husband, son, and 3 cats.
Sarah Johanek, MPH – Policy Project Manager
Sarah joined the Policy Center in 2022 with a passion for women’s health issues, accessible mental health services, and data-driven policy. As a former intern at Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, Sarah advocated for policies aimed to increase access to peer support services. Her public health background cultivated her interest in program evaluation, data analytics, and community-based research. Sarah was also a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, focused on women's empowerment within schools. She is dedicated to expanding her knowledge and skills and utilizing innovative solutions to decrease inequity.
Laura Killgore – Social Media Communications Associate
Laura joined the Policy Center in 2018 and leads our social media. She has a background in Early Childhood Education and a passion for child development and parent education. 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. After experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety, her family has decided to explore adoption through the foster care system to grow their family.
Brooke Lerman – Board of Directors Project Manager
Brooke joined the Policy Center in 2019 and currently supports the Executive Director and the the Policy Center Board of Directors. She has a background in Early Childhood Education with a strong emphasis in Special Education, specifically Autism. Brooke lives in Bend, Oregon with her loving husband Dan, whom she married in 2012. She became a new mother in 2019 to a baby girl, Aspen Jade and welcomed a baby boy, Reed Thomas in the Fall of 2021. In her free time, Brooke enjoys hiking, hunting, mountain biking and creating memories with family and friends.
Crystal McAuley – State Policy Manager
Crystal joined the Policy Center in 2017 as an Ambassador with a passion for creating community connections and policy change. Formally joining the team in 2018, she supports advocacy and events. She is a mother to two boys and wife to a loving Kiwi husband. She is proud to serve her community locally as a peer supporter for Napa MomSquad.
Regan Moss – Intern: Research and Impact Team
Regan Moss graduated from Auburn University as a University Honors Research Scholar with a BS in Neuroscience. While at Auburn, Regan began the Student Caregivers Initiative. She is presently a Population and Family Health MPH student at Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Her interests in perinatal health and maternal (mental) health extend into her roles as a graduate research assistant in the Perinatal Pathways Lab at Columbia, studying adolescent fertility within the Population and Family Health Department, and as a research consultant for the HOPE Lab at Yale's Child Study Center. She continues to work with Alabama communities through her roles with March of Dimes' Alabama Doula Advisory Board, Birthwell Partners, and the Governor's opioid council.
Kelly Nielson, MPH – Director of Operations & Finance
Kelly has nearly 20 years of experience in the research, clinical, and nonprofit settings, and is passionate about improving the 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 the Policy Center. 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, MSW – Training Program Manager
Stacey manages the Policy Center’s Training programs, including our Certificate Trainings, Fellows Program, and webinars. Stacey also serves as the project manager for our annual FORUM. Stacey has several years of experience in collaborative work focused on supporting mothers and families during the perinatal period, including the work of her own nonprofit, which supports families through birth trauma and perinatal/infant loss. Stacey received her Master of Social Work degree from Rutgers University. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She lives in the north suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, with her two children.
Diana Rae – Web and Graphics Project Manager
Diana is a graphic designer that has extensive experience in the advertising, publishing, and print industries. She has been producing graphics for the Policy Center, 2020 Mom, TheBlueDotProject, Mom Congress, 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.
April Saliba - Executive Assistant
April joined the Policy Center in 2022 and currently supports the Executive Director. As a former high school athletic director and educator, she developed a passion for systems and processes. April specializes in operations and business support and keeping things organized. Her shiny and positive spirit and service-minded personality have given her the ability to propel businesses forward in a positive motion. A graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University, she and her husband, Jimmy, live in Indiana with their three daughters - Lily, Kinsey, and Emmy.
Ebony Wrenn, M.Ed. – Mom Congress Program Director
Ebony serves as the Program Director for Mom Congress. Ebony joined the Mom Congress team after serving for over ten years in the field of urban education, most recently as an Early Childhood Principal. She is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at National Louis University and will graduate in 2022. Ebony is passionate about ending generational poverty through empowering, encouraging, and elevating mothers. While reflecting on her personal and professional experiences, Ebony believes in an intergenerational approach to advocating for mothers; if we support mothers, their children will be supported as well. In her free time, Ebony enjoys reading a good book, traveling with her children, exploring pescatarian cuisine, and creating memories with family and friends.
Contract Team Members
Alice Lu, MBA
Alice supports the Policy Center’s California legislative advocacy work. Alice has over a decade of experience in biotech and pharmaceutical product management and new product 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 an MBA in Biotechnology and Health Industry Management and Marketing from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Mary Miller – Advisor, Strategic Partnerships
Mary has more than 15 years of experience in strategic partnerships and development and is passionate about supporting and empowering moms. In her role, Mary is responsible for building partnerships that can expand the impact of the Policy Center, Mom Congress, and its collaborators. Prior to her work with the Policy Center and Mom Congress, Mary spent more than a decade focused on coalition building, external relations, fundraising and grassroots outreach for several nationally focused think tanks, non-profits, and public policy organizations. She received a BA from McGill University in Montreal and resides in Virginia where she is a proud #GirlMom.
Caitlin Murphy, MPA-PNP, DrPH(c) – Epidemiologist Consultant
Caitlin is a Research Scientist within the Health Policy and Management Department at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. She brings over a decade of mixed-method public health research, health policy research, and health systems research in the fields of maternal and child health, women's health, reproductive health, and health among low-income communities. She brings content expertise regarding mental health, trauma, and social determinants of health, as well as pathways for addressing SDH in healthcare settings. Previously, she supported women’s and children’s health research initiatives at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Population Services International’s Women’s Health Project, the Research Center for Leadership in Action at NYU, the World Bank Group, Population Action International, and the Ms. Foundation for Women. Ms. Murphy has a Masters’ in Public Policy Analysis from NYU Wagner with a concentration in health and gender, and is a current doctoral student in the Health Policy and Management Department at GWU.