Maternal Health and Key Success Factors in Reducing Health Inequities
Ashlei Spivey, Executive Director at IBeBlackGirl, and Stacey Penny, Senior Project Director at the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, join us to discuss the key challenges black mothers face while pregnant and birthing. They share the work they are each doing to help improve health outcomes for black birthing people and women of color as well as some of the programs and initiatives that have been implemented to bring more awareness to and address the maternal health crisis in America. While great strides have been taken to begin improving the birth outcomes for women of color, there is still much work left to do.
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About Our Guests
Ashlei Spivey
Ashlei Spivey is a bold leader that actively works to create just communities. In her work as an ecosystem builder, philanthropist, and social entrepreneur, she champions racial and gender justice to create catalytic and sustainable system change. Ashlei founded I Be Black Girl five years ago when she saw the deep community need to create spaces specific for Black women, femmes, and girls, and has built the organization in service of expanding meaningful access to resources for Black women, femmes, and girls in Nebraska.
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Stacey Cunningham Penny
Stacey Cunningham Penny is a Senior Project Director at the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality where she leads the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives and the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, Quality Improvement Community of Learning. Prior to this position, Stacey was the Vice President of Individual and Corporate Foundation Relations at March of Dimes where she was responsible for cultivating partnerships with philanthropic entities to invest in the health of all moms and babies. Stacey also served as the Executive Director for the National Healthy Start Association, the membership organization for the federal Healthy Start program. Earlier in her career, Stacey was the Associate Director of Women, Children and Infants at the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs and a Vice President at the National Black Child Development Institute. Stacey has also served as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Southern California, Suzanne Dwork-Peck School of Social Work. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Public Health in Public Health Leadership at the University of Illinois-Chicago with a research focus on organizational and systems level drivers, including racism and bias, and their impact on severe maternal morbidity and mortality occurrences among Black women.
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