Executive Leadership
Dr. Nastassia K. Harris, RN, DNP, IBCLC
Viktoria-Isabella King
Lactation
Brittany Wright
Brittany has worked in the health care setting since 2015 and served as the assistant director and breastfeeding facilitator at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in Brooklyn, New York. While there, she spearheaded their efforts in becoming a Baby-Friendly Designated facility. Under her leadership, Woodhull became the first hospital in Brooklyn to receive the Baby-Friendly Designation in 2017.
Her work in maternal health spans that of supporting and promoting breastfeeding across maternity care facilities in the NYC, as well as enhancing the quality of maternity care provided to pregnant people throughout New York City. Brittany serves as an adjunct professor in Maternal Child Nutrition for New York University Steinhardt School of Culture Education and Human Development.
She is a mother of two boys, 10 and 5 years old. She holds a master’s in public health from Thomas Jefferson University School of Population Health and a BS in Health Behavior Management from the University of Delaware.
Email: brittany@perinatalequity.org
Amen Ayanru, IBCLC
Amen Ayanru, IBCLC, is a dedicated Program Manager and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with over seven years in community nutrition and lactation support. Known for her commitment to creating accessible, culturally competent health programs, Amen has been instrumental in expanding the reach of the NYC Breastfeeding Warmline. She also pioneered two of the first Baby Cafés in Queens, NY, offering free, in-person lactation support, and developed a virtual Prenatal Infant Feeding Workshop to bridge gaps in prenatal education. Amen is currently mentor to four future lactation professionals and is passionate about fostering sustainable, community-focused solutions to improve maternal and infant health.
Email: amen@perinatalequity.org
Program Staff
Melanie Hutton
Melanie Hutton is a dedicated advocate for maternal and infant health, committed to addressing disparities in Black birth outcomes. A Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) and 2025 IBCLC candidate, she has been supporting birth-givers since 2009.
She began her career as a WIC Peer Counselor and later became the first and only Breastfeeding Program Coordinator under New Jersey’s Nurture NJ grant, spearheaded by NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy. In this role, she worked on state-level initiatives to improve breastfeeding support and reduce health disparities. During this time, she met and was mentored by Dr. Nastassia K. Harris, which deepened her commitment to equitable care.
Realizing she had found her purpose and community, Melanie joined PHEI in 2022, where she continues to thrive in supporting families with culturally specific lactation education and advocacy.
A graduate of Central Christian College of Kansas (AA) and a 2022 APHA presenter, Melanie contributes to public health conversations on a national scale. Beyond her professional work, she serves as a Boy Scouts Den Mother, podcast speaker, animal shelter volunteer, and freelance writer for Everything Jersey City.
She remains committed to meeting parents where they are and empowering them to reach their lactation goals.
“I do my best because I am counting on you counting on me.” – Maya Angelou
Email: melanie@perinatalequity.org
Schivane Bonhomme
Schivane Bonhomme is a passionate advocate for Black Maternal Health and a current BSW Student, with over 10 years of experience in Maternal Healthcare. As a wife and mother of three, she possesses a profound understanding of the joys and challenges of motherhood.
Her own traumatic birth experiences ignited her commitment to supporting others, leading her to become a doula. In this role, she empowers expectant mothers with empathy and expertise throughout pregnancy and childbirth. Additionally, navigating the complex world of infertility has tested her resilience and deepened her dedication to championing those facing similar struggles.
Driven by her personal experiences, Schivane is devoted to ensuring that all women, mothers receive compassionate, culturally sensitive care, free from bias. She actively advocates for equitable healthcare, addressing disparities that affect Black women and women of color, so that no one else has to endure the challenges she faced on her journey to motherhood.
Email: schivane@perinatalequity.org
Our Board
Michelle Gabriel-Caldwell, Board Chair
Michelle is owner of Baby, Please Birth Services Agency LLC serving NJ, NY, PA, MD, FL & GA with ten doulas on her team. She is a Birth Doula thrice certified with: Bradley, NBDA, and DONA in addition to a certified Fertility Doula and Postpartum Doula with NBDA. Likewise, she is a certified Childbirth Educator teaching the Bradley Method®, Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class and her own Holistic Childbirth Course expressly for The Birth Center of NJ of which she is the Doula Coordinator. Michelle is a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor soon to be a Certified Lactation Educator.
Michelle serves on the National Black Doula Association
(NBDA) Advisory Board as well as NBDA® Certified Doula Instructor and Doula Mentor. Poppy Seed Health Advocate and Board Chairperson of The Perinatal Health Equity Initiative.
Michelle’s birth passion began in 2005; assisting 440+ families as a doula, training 250+ birth professionals as an Evidence Based Birth® Instructor, empowering 1250+ families as a childbirth educator.
Judith Jeanty, MPH
Judith Jeanty, MPH, is from New Jersey where she received her Bachelor of Science from Montclair State University and her Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Community Health and Prevention from Drexel University. She was previously a program management officer at the New Jersey Department of Health where she managed the three statewide doula funded programs and served as the statewide programmatic coordinator for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity grant. Her research interests include Maternal and Child Health, health disparities and reproductive justice specifically amongst Black women and low-income communities. She is passionate about increasing access to doula services and achieving health equity. She is currently the project manager for the Be a Mom R01 study and served as the 5th annual Black Maternal Health conference event coordinator working directly under Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha.
Danielle Blake
Danielle Blake is an Academic Advisor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University. She earned her undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management and a Masters in Higher Education Administration from the City University of New York (CUNY). With over 10 years experience in higher education, she loves being an advisor because it allows her to guide and help students meet or exceed the goals they have set out for themselves. She plays an important role in molding our future professionals. Being a mother to two girls she has a strong passion in advocating for our mothers and sees this as her best job yet.