In March 2024, Lisa Asare was appointed as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the NJ Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority, the first and only such state authority in the nation, established to address maternal and infant health with a specific focus on addressing disparities.  In this role, she serves as a member of Phil Murphy’s cabinet.

With over 25 years of service within state government, she has served in senior leadership roles within the Departments of Health and Human Services, where she provided oversight of the state Medicaid program, mental health and addiction services and family health services.  She also served as the Department lead on First Lady Murphy’s Nurture NJ maternal health initiative, where she contributed to the NurtureNJ strategic plan, addressed the social determinants of health through multi-sector collaboration, and leveraged additional state, federal, and philanthropic funding to address emerging issues.

She serves as the Immediate Past President of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Board and received the 2023 HRSA Maternal and Child Bureau (MCHB) Director’s award.

Isaiah Coleman is a native of Lawrence, NJ, husband, and father to three, going on four sons. He enjoys time at the gym, doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and practicing his craft of public speaking. He is a thought leader in the educational sector serving as an athletic administrator for almost a decade at several institutions. Isaiah is on a mission to help men reclaim their power through his role as Founder of The Connected, a brand aimed at supporting and empowering Black Men through healing and community. Isaiah believes strongly that when Black Men reflect on the source of their trauma, in community with other supportive men, they will (re)discover themselves and use their talents to build up their families and communities.

Nate Evans Jr. is both a devoted husband and father. He is a nationally recognized keynote speaker, life coach, and mental health advocate who helps organizations confront burnout, restore morale, and build emotionally healthy, high-performing leaders—especially men in high pressure roles.

As Founder & CEO of The Nathan Evans Jr. Group, LLC, Nate partners with schools, corporations, and nonprofits to address the root causes of disengagement, emotional suppression, and internalized stigma that quietly undermine performance, culture, and leadership effectiveness. His work is known for creating measurable shifts in psychological safety, self-worth, and sustainable performance across teams.

Nate’s voice is shaped by both lived experience and professional training. A first-generation high school and college graduate, he holds a Master of Science in Pastoral Care & Counseling and is certified in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Mental Health First Aid. His ability to merge psychological insight, cultural awareness, and personal transparency allows him to reach audiences often overlooked—or underserved—by traditional wellness programming.

He is the founder of the Get to Worthy Summit, a transformative in-person mental wellness experience that blends leadership development, emotional health, and the arts to help individuals overcome self-doubt and impostor syndrome. Nate also serves as Executive Director of Prayer Warriors Global, a global men’s ministry created by Dr. Eric Thomas, where he supports hundreds of men weekly through prayer, discipleship, and emotional wellness tools.

Nate’s work has reached TEDx stages and global platforms, and he is the co-author of the bestselling book I Love You: Letters of Love from Black Men to Black Boys. His leadership and impact have been recognized through collaborations with leaders such as Daymond John, service on the Advisory Board for Stockton University’s School of Business Entrepreneurship Program, and honors, including Atlantic Cape Community College’s 2023 Alumnus of the Year and South New Jersey’s Top 30 Under 35 Leaders.

Today, Nate is on a mission to eradicate stigma around men’s mental health and equip millennial fathers, leaders, and change-makers to lead from a place of emotional clarity and worthiness. Through powerful keynotes, interactive workshops, and transformational conversations, he gives audiences practical tools to silence self-sabotage, regulate their nervous systems, and lead with confidence—so they can strengthen the teams, families, and communities they serve.

Dr. Trina L. Gipson-Jones is an alumna of the University of Tennessee (BSN) and Hampton University (MS in Nursing and PhD in Nursing Administration/Family Research). She is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences, Department of Health Science, at Stockton University. Her nursing career spans 30 years, including 21 years as a nursing and health science educator.

Her master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation, and several peer-reviewed articles and presentations focus on work–family conflict, psychological well-being, and job satisfaction among African American nurses and nursing students. She received intramural funding from Hampton University to support her dissertation research. Dr. Gipson-Jones completed a National Research Service Award (NRSA) T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in the Center for Health Equity Research. She was also selected as a Presidential Fellow at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Nursing.

She holds memberships in several professional nursing organizations, including Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, and the Association of Black Nursing Faculty, where she previously served as State Coordinator Committee Chairman and currently serves as a Public Policy Committee member. She is a proud 32-year member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, and currently serves as First Vice President of the Omega Zeta Omega Chapter (Bucks County, PA).

Dr. Gipson-Jones has received numerous awards and honors, including recognition as the 2025 NAACP Mainland/Pleasantville Freedom Fund Honoree; the Stockton University Research & Professional Development Grant; the Hampton University Nursing Alumni Association Nurse Award; the Hampton University Academic Excellence Award; and designation as an Obesity Health Disparities Research PRIDE Fellow. She is currently serving as one of the 2025–2026 Stockton University William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy Faculty Fellows. In this capacity, she has developed an IRB-approved polling research study that examines attitudes and beliefs surrounding the provision of equitable and culturally responsive birthing care, as well as two Black maternal health panel discussions.

In 2025, Dr. Gipson-Jones traveled to South Africa as a Fulbright-Hays Projects Abroad awardee. During this experience, she immersed herself in Zulu culture and developed a curriculum that highlights Black maternal health opportunities, explores the healing and health beliefs of the Zulu people, and emphasizes the importance of culturally responsive birthing care in both South Africa and the United States.

Dr. Gipson-Jones is also a longtime supporter of the March of Dimes mission, partnering with numerous organizations to host Black maternal health panel discussions in Bucks County, PA, and New Jersey, reaching hundreds of community members, nursing students, and health sciences students. She will receive the 2026 South Jersey March of Dimes Public Service Award on May 7, 2026.

Dr. Waffiyah Saleem Iddriss is a powerhouse in purpose heels, GBV healing & wellness practitioner, a maternal health equity strategist, master facilitator, MH Consultant, and griot of healing. She is the Founder and CEO of SHE MATTERS, a liberatory wellness movement uplifting BIPOC/ALAANA woman, girls, and femmes, and their co-conspirators into spaces of healing, truth-telling, and collective care. She currently serves as Deputy Director for Connecting Our Communities for NJ (COCNJ), where she centers policy, advocacy, and parent power to birth justice across the state.

Nationally, Dr. Waffiyah is a Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellow, Cross-State PN-3 Advisory Board Member, Co-Founder of a National Power-Building Training Initiative, and Co-Lead Grassroots Subcommittee Facilitator for the National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers (NCIT). She specializes in the intersections of gender-based violence, maternal health equity, and culturally responsive healing frameworks.

With over two decades in child protection and higher education, Dr. Waffiyah now serves as a Consultant/Facilitator for Rutgers University’s NJ Child Welfare Training Program(NJCWTP), a Mental Health Consultant/Facilitator for Simon Youth Academy & Recovery High schools, holds leadership positions with Northern NJ Association of Black Social Workers (NNJABSW- 1st Vice-President), Berea Scholars NYC (Trustee), and the Women of Color Task Force at NJCEDV (Co-Chair).

Dr. Waffiyah also serves as a peer reviewer for federal grants through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (OJP Peer Review Support Services), contributing her expertise to support equitable funding decisions and strengthen community-centered justice initiatives.

She is also the co-author of H.E.R.: Healed, Empowered and Resilient, a powerful testament to radical healing, womanhood, and reclaiming voice through story.

A lifelong lover of the arts, she embraces storytelling as both cultural memory and liberation practice. In 2024, Dr. Waffiyah (Saleem) Iddriss made her stage debut in Crowns, produced by Daryl Stewart Productions. She returned to the stage in 2026 in The Color Purple, also produced by the company, continuing to embody storytelling as both art and liberation while weaving theatre, healing, and community narrative into her broader work.

Dr. Waffiyah is currently cultivating an international partnership with Green Life Educational Compound (GLEC) in Ghana.

This cross-continental collaboration centers education, wellness, and cultural exchange, launching in 2026 with a book drive, healing circles, and community infrastructure-building. GLEC is a growing global educational network purpose-aligned that mirrors Dr. Waffiyah’s commitment to radical self-determination and global solidarity.

Having traveled to 14+ countries across Africa, Central America, and Europe, she brings a global lens to her grassroots heart-work. Her work is not only about service, it’s about sovereignty.

"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." — Audre Lorde

Christine Ivery is dedicated to addressing inequities in healthcare and mitigating issues within the Black infant and maternal mortality crisis. Her passion is to help all walks of life through disease and disparity prevention, as well as to make an impact in the communities she serves.
As Founder and CEO of Public Health Jawn LLC, Christine provides consulting and coaching to various organizations within the field. As an extension to work at PHJ, she connects a community of professionals through in-person collaboration and networking as well as, increasing awareness of critical health topics on her podcast, Public Health Gems.
Christine serves as a Program Officer at the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (NJHCQI) where she secures implementation of the program objectives and cultivates networks to effectively address barriers that affect maternal health outcomes. Christine instructs as a Children’s Health Adjunct Professor at Thomas Jefferson University and has previously lectured as a Public Health Adjunct Professor at Lasalle University.
Christine has presented at local and national forums such as the American Heart Association, University of Pennsylvania, Health Connect One, American Public Health Association, March of Dimes, Association of Maternal Child Health Programs (AMCHP), and shared a 2022 TEDx Talk entitled “Igniting Change in the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis".
Christine serves as a Community Health Planning and Policy Development (CHPPD) Governing Counselor for the American Public Health Association (APHA), and Advisory Board member on the Black Caucus of Health Workers. She is a proud New Jersey Birth Equity Funders Alliance Advisory Board Member, Philly Birth Fund Board Member, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated Social Justice platform member, and ForbesBLK member. Christine has been awarded by the APHA CHPPD 2022 Excellence in Collaboration Award, recognized as a 2023 Drexel University 40 Under 40 Honoree and inaugural recipient of the 2025 March of Dimes Philadelphia Salute to Women Health Equity Award.
Christine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science- Kinesiotherapy from Norfolk State University, a Master's degree from Drexel University in Public Health, Health Education Specialist Certification (CHES), and is currently a Doctorate in Public Health student at Morgan State University.

Videsha Joshi holds a Master of Public Health and brings more than fifteen years of experience managing public health programs across community-based and healthcare settings. She is deeply committed to advancing equitable care for all pregnant and parenting people, with a particular focus on underserved communities.

Prior to joining Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, Videsha served as an administrator of a Designated AIDS Center in Brooklyn, led initiatives supporting the transformation of medical practices into patient-centered medical homes, and managed maternal health programs focused on home visitation and birth equity in Mercer County.

Her professional work is complemented by lived experience. After facing unexpected challenges breastfeeding her sons, Videsha developed a deep empathy for parents navigating infant feeding struggles and a strong commitment to improving systems of support.

Today, Videsha serves as the New Jersey Breastfeeding Strategic Plan Associate at the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, where she supports statewide policy and education initiatives across healthcare, community, employment, child care and public health sectors to strengthen lactation support systems and help normalize breastfeeding throughout New Jersey.

As a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist, Videsha is passionate about ensuring all families have access to culturally responsive, evidence-based resources and compassionate support to achieve their individual infant feeding goals.

In 2023, ACNJ welcomed Winifred Smith-Jenkins as the Director of Early Learning Policy and Advocacy. With an impressive professional background spanning over two decades in managing three successful family-owned child care programs in northern New Jersey, Winifred brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role at ACNJ. Her expertise in child care and early learning, along with her extensive management experience, where she was responsible for leading approximately 100 employees, building relationships, managing commercial acquisition, construction, project management, flood mitigation, disaster preparedness, and community service initiatives, will prove invaluable in guiding ACNJ's policy work and overall operations. Prior to her appointment as Director, Winifred was actively engaged in ACNJ's advocacy efforts, offering testimony, presenting on webinars, and meeting with public officials to effect change on a statewide level. Currently, as the leader of the early learning policy team, she works closely with key stakeholders to advance ACNJ's mission of ensuring affordable, quality early learning is accessible to all families in need. Winifred's proven track record of community involvement is extensive, having served on several committees, including the South Orange Maplewood School District Preschool Reopening Committee, the East Orange Preschool Advisory Council, and the former East Orange Mayoral Economic Development and Education Transition Team. She has also volunteered as a Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad member and served as a State of New Jersey Licensed Foster Parent and Certified Emergency Medical Technician. Winifred is a member of several professional and national organizations, including the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the New Jersey Association for Infant Mental Health, Delta Sigma Theta, and Jack and Jill of America. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, a Master of Science in Health Administration, and a Doctorate in Higher Education. Her vast experience, deep commitment to child advocacy, and dedication to community involvement make her an invaluable addition to ACNJ's team of early learning policy experts.

Ambrial Ugoji is a licensed social worker and certified labor doula with over eight years of experience serving at-risk populations in Camden City. She currently serves as the Director of Maternal and Infant Health Priorities at The Cooperative, where she combines her passion for service and birth work to lead initiatives that support pregnant people and families, with a focus on reducing infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rates for people of color. Outside of her work, Ambrial loves spending time with her husband and their energetic two-year-old daughter, who keeps life joyful and full of adventure.

Roy Wade is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in the Division of General Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Wade’s research focuses on decreasing disparities in health caused by exposure to childhood trauma. Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Wade earned a PhD in Microbiology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, using classical genetics approaches to examine the respiratory chain physiology of environmental bacteria. Dr. Wade earned a medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in 2007 and completed pediatric residency at the University of Virginia in 2010. Dr. Wade’s career aspirations were further informed by my experience as a Minority Health Policy Fellow at Harvard Medical School where he also earned an MPH in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2011. Dr. Wade completed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar’s program at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Master’s of Science in Health Policy in 2013. Securing a Stoneleigh Foundation early career development award, Dr. Wade’s initial work has focused on developing more sensitive childhood adversity measures and promoting the adoption of trauma-informed approaches among health and social service organizations. In conducting this work, Dr. Wade has authored several papers including a qualitative study of adverse childhood experiences amongst urban youth published in Pediatrics in which he found that urban economically distressed youth endorsed a broader set of childhood stressors than those included in the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Study and in many cases used contextually specific language to describe these experiences. In a separate study examining data from a survey of adverse childhood experiences and health outcomes amongst Philadelphia adults published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect, Dr. Wade found that many of the broader experiences endorsed by young people in his prior qualitative studies were strongly associated with poor health outcomes and certain populations particularly impoverished adults with significant childhood adversity were at increased risk for poor health outcomes such as substance abuse problems and mental disorders. This work received local and national media coverage including stories on National Public Radio and in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Dr. Wade’s research interests also include examining the mechanisms through which significant childhood adversity translate into poor health throughout the life course and negatively impact offspring. Through his work, Dr. Wade plans to translate research on the science of childhood adversity and toxic stress into effective strategies to improve community level systems of care in economically distressed communities.

Aarin Michele Williams, Esq. is a civil rights attorney, reproductive justice advocate, and senior strategist with a record of leading high-impact equity initiatives across law, policy, and public systems. She currently serves as Chief Advisor to the Director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, where she has helped drive major enforcement actions, including historic redlining matters, the nation’s first law prohibiting housing discrimination based on criminal record, statewide efforts to combat appraisal bias and served on statewide task forces related to reproductive rights, health care inequities, wealth disparity and more.

Prior to the NJ Division on Civil Rights, Aarin served as Senior Staff Attorney at National Advocates for Pregnant Women (now Pregnancy Justice), representing pregnant individuals nationwide facing criminalization and advising on groundbreaking litigation and advocacy campaigns. Her work on pregnancy-related prosecutions and bodily autonomy was featured on CNN’s United Shades of America, earning a 2019 Emmy Award. She was also a New Jersey Public Defender where she represented indigent individuals in myriad of serious felony trials, including one famous case involving a mentally impaired mother charged with serious crimes against her minor children after she became involved in a religious cult. Aarin began her legal career as a law clerk in Family Court and interned as some of the nation's premier civil rights organizations.

Throughout her career, Aarin has centered her experiences as a Black, Southern woman to inform her work in the pursuit of justice. Separately, Aarin trains leaders and organizations to align mission, equity, and strategy to create cultures where justice is actively practiced not just promised.