Executive Leadership
Dr. Nastassia K. Harris, RN, DNP, IBCLC
Dr. Nastassia K. Harris, RN, DNP, IBCLC
Dr. Harris is a registered nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consult with over 19 years of experience in perinatal nursing She has dedicated the last 5 years of her life to making an impact on Black infant and maternal health in New Jersey. She is an advocate and nurse researcher passionate about changing the narrative.
Brittany Wright
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
Additional Staff
Romie Beaujuin
Romie Beaujuin
Hi my name is Romie Beaujuin. I am the Perinatal Community Health worker and one of your Breastfeeding Specialists here at PHEI. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Psychology. I am a former IVF Embryologist who is now devoting my time to serving you all in this space as well as in birthing spaces as a doula to ensure that every mama has the education and resources they need to feel empowered throughout each of their journeys. I’m also a mama of a vivacious 2 year old little boy who tends to run the show.
Email: Romie@perinatalequity.org
Juleen Johnson, MSN, RN, IBCLC
Juleen Johnson, MSN, RN, IBCLC
Juleen is a Maternal-Child Health Registered Nurse (RN) and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Her love for maternal-child health began 15 years ago when she took the strange leap and transferred from the Psychiatric Emergency Room to the Labor & Delivery Unit. After years as an L&D RN, Educator, and L&D Nurse Manager, Juleen became passionate about breastfeeding and its role in public health. She believes human babies deserve human milk, and that human milk has the power to prevent disease, repair families, and improve the health of our entire society. She became a board-certified lactation consultant and currently works as a Hospital Lactation Consultant, assisting families in the immediate postpartum period. Juleen also owns and operates her private practice, Suckle
Success LLC, where she offers private and group prenatal breastfeeding education and postpartum lactation consultations.
Juleen is active in community and professional organizations. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority,
Incorporated and currently serves as the Chair of the Bronx Chapter’s Stork’s Nest Committee. She is an
active member of the New York Lactation Consultant Association and its advocacy efforts, an active
committee member within the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, and is a member
of AWHONN (the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses)’ National Public
Policy Committee. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership
and Administration, and is completing her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree, with a major in Health
Policy.
Email: juleen@perinatalequity.org
Melanie Hutton
Melanie Hutton
Melanie Hutton is a mother of two daughters ages 20 years old, 15 years old, and a son who is 10 years old. Melanie, known to her family and friends as Lanie spends her spare time as a Boy Scouts of America Den Mother, podcast contributor, animal shelter volunteer, and freelance writer for Everything Jersey City. Melanie an AA graduate of Central Christian College of Kansas, Certified Lactation Counselor, and American Public Health Association member and 2022 presenter. Melanie has been advocating and supporting birth-givers in her community since 2009 and aims to sit for the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant examination in 2023.
Through personal struggles of her own Melanie birthed a love and passion for lactation education and support that blossomed into a career path. Melanie built a stable foundation as a WIC peer counselor within her own community and subsequently went on to a leadership role as the Breastfeeding Program Coordinator with another organization. Melanie aims to meet parents where they are and support their lactation choices and goals whatever they may be. “I do my best because I am counting on you counting on me.”- Maya Angelou
Email: melanie@perinatalequity.org
Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith
Hello! My name is Alexis Smith, Executive Assistant for PHEI and I’m happy to be of service. I am currently studying psychology at Kean University, and plan to graduate in a few years with my masters. My ultimate goal is to help eliminate the negative stigma around mental health and my personal goal is to one day run my own nonprofit with the purpose of bringing affordable, safe, and relatable therapy to black communities.
Email: Alexis@perinatalequity.org
Our Board
Dr. Kristin L.H. McGue
Dr. Kristin L.H. McGue
Dr. Kristin L.H. McGue, or as her patients call her, “Dr. Kristin”, is a licensed psychologist who provides adolescents, young adults, and families with values-based cognitive behavioral therapeutic interventions (e.g., ACT, DBT). She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from Howard University. Dr. Kristin completed her internship and two years of postdoctoral fellowship with the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She has since been practicing in New Jersey, where she continues to work collaboratively with teens and young adults to use their individual and family strengths to make desired change, build resilience, and live a more fulfilling life. Dr. Kristin is a strong advocate for mental wellness outside of the therapy room as well. She also provides talks and trainings in support of values-consistent living across the lifespan.
Judith Jeanty, MPH
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
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.
Michelle Gabriel-Caldwell
Michelle Gabriel-Caldwell
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.
- NY Times: Why Black Women Are Rejecting Hospitals in Search of Better Births (June 2021)
- Netflix Documentary: Sex Explained (January 2020)
- Jezebel: What to expect when you’re expecting during a pandemic (April 2020)
- Every Mother Counts: Choices in Childbirth, Support Chapter (January 2022)
- PATCH: 5 Stigmas Pregnant Black Women Face (February 2020)
Mother of two, married for 25 years, Michelle is also a full time Chemical Engineer and Technical Editor.
