Ketura'h Edwards - Robinson, MSN, SANE-MA, WHNP-BC, AGNP-C
President

Ketura’h possesses over ten years of advanced practice nursing experience working in the Boston area specializing in Women’s Health, Acute/Primary Care, and Substance Use/Misuse. In addition, she works as a specially trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) responding to trauma emergencies at several hospitals within the Greater Boston area.

Ketura’h has always had a passion for the full scope of maternal health and the diversity of care available to women. She works primarily as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner at the Dimock Center in Roxbury, MA. Understanding the many ways, a person can be cared for during their pregnancy led her to train as a birth doula. Ketura’h worked as a community birth doula for Accompany Doula Are Inc. for a year before joining the board of directors. Through her expert knowledge of maternal and fetal well-being, trauma trauma-informed nursing care, coupled with her doula training, Ketura’h offers a unique perspective on support to the pregnant person.

Ketura’h is a native of Roxbury, MA, and continues to provide healthcare within her childhood community. Currently, she lives in Randolph, MA with her husband and their daughter. In her leisure, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoys cooking, traveling, reading, and some good retail therapy.

KATIE SHEA BARRETT
TREASURER

Katie Shea Barrett is the Head of Medicaid at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, where she leads the payor's work to enter the Medicaid market in the state. Previously, she served as the Founding Executive Director of March for Moms, an organization that aligns the diverse voices of families, health care providers, policymakers, and partners to advocate for mothers and families’ health, well-being and equal access to care. She has also held roles in Massachusetts state government, Beth Israel health care system, and at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to drive critical improvements to the delivery of health care across the Commonwealth.

She brings nearly 20 years of leadership experience in both the private and public sectors aimed at making health care delivery more safe, affordable and equitable for families. She is a mother to Ellie (12) and Will (9) and lives in Walpole with her husband, Ben, a civil engineer.

CATHERINE M. TERNES
Secretary

Catherine Ternes is an experienced project manager, improvement coach, and strategist. In her career, she has worked in the healthcare, tech, and education sectors. She is passionate about reducing systemic inequities and her content expertise is in change management, process improvement, and executing strategic operational initiatives. Cat has almost a decade of experience in healthcare, both as an external consultant for health systems outside the U.S. and an internal consultant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Division of General Medicine. She did independent consulting on quality and process improvement for healthcare startups in the U.S. & U.K. as well as the Singaporean Ministry of Health.

Catherine spent two years as an internal operational excellence consultant at Wayfair before beginning her current role as a Strategy & Operations Consultant at Systems Evolution Incorporated (SEI), a management consulting firm. Her undergraduate degree is from Northeastern University and she received her Master’s in Global Business Administration from Tufts University, where she studied economic opportunities for primary care through telehealth. Catherine joined the Accompany Board of Directors in 2023 with a particular lens on measurement and operational efficiency.

Omobolanle (Bola) Adams, MPH

Bola is a public health professional whose work is driven by a passion for health equity and data-driven decision-making. When not at work, Bola enjoys reading, exploring cultures through food, and spending time with friends and family.

Awara Mendy Adeagbo

Awara’s true passion is advocating for birth equity and justice for black and brown women. She strongly believes that a positive prenatal, birth and postpartum experience has the power to empower women and set up families for success for decades to come.

Megan Burns

Megan Burns is an independent consultant focused on health care policy. She has deep expertise in the health care system and understands the relationships and interdependencies of all stakeholders. Megan is particularly passionate about supporting strategies to reduce inequities in maternal health care and has expertise in maternity care payment reform. She has worked as a hospital administrator responsible for operations and quality improvement initiatives and has worked on behalf of states, employers, health plans, advocacy organizations, and direct-service providers as a consultant. She has over two decades of experience working to improve health care internally and externally, and she knows that now, more than ever, there is still work to be done.

Megan's professional journey is complemented by her personal experiences. She is grateful for the support of certified nurse midwives and seasoned doulas who assisted in welcoming her sons, Liam (10) and Elliot (7), into the world. Megan and her husband, Fred, a robotics engineer, reside in Arlington.

Jessica Colangelo

Jess is an LICSW who got her Masters in Clinical Social Work from Boston College prior to attaining her MBA with a focus in healthcare management. She has spent time in her professional career in inpatient and community care settings serving a variety of ages and demographics. Through her experience navigating the insurance space as a practitioner as well as a healthcare organizational leader she developed a passion for access and advocacy, especially for marginalized populations. She has experience partnering with state governing bodies and has contributed to healthcare reform and policy for the Medicaid and dually eligible population in the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Tameca Fowling

Background in Business Administration, operations and finance. A seasoned administrative professional with over 8 years of experience in non-profit and corporate entities.

Alejandra Garcia, MPH

Alejandra Garcia embarked on her Public Health journey while working in the Operating Room of a hospital, where she witnessed a conscious cesarean section. Though familiar with multiple cesarean procedures, it was the realization of the positive impact a doula's presence can have that spurred her into action. Motivated to effect change, she initiated a maternity program within the hospital aimed at implementing doula services, reducing c-section rates, and promoting breastfeeding.

In 2017, Alejandra co-founded Accompany Doula Care, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for a more positive and supportive birth experience for all. Until 2024, she served as the president of the board of this esteemed organization.

In her current role as a Sales Product Engineer, Alejandra is tasked with designing, implementing, and managing innovative performance improvement programs. With a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology and a Master of Public Health from Boston University, her educational background complements her passion for improving healthcare outcomes.

Hailing from Venezuela, Alejandra is fluent in English, Spanish, and French. Since 2016, she has also proudly served as a doula, enriching her understanding of maternal health and furthering her commitment to making a difference in healthcare.

GOLSA Mirhosseini

Golsa Mirhosseini is the Director of Marketing and Communications at The Dimock Center, a community health center in Roxbury, MA offering primary and specialty medical care, behavioral health, early education, and more. She brings experience in communications strategy, marketing operations, media relations, fundraising, and events.

With a commitment to ensuring that all families can give their little ones a solid foundation to grow and thrive, Ms. Mirhosseini has held positions in several Boston-based organizations serving new and expecting parents and their children. She received her Master of Social Work from the Boston University School of Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University. Currently, she serves on the board of The Pathway Initiative.

Wilna Paulemon

Wilna Paulemon is a dedicated public health professional committed to advancing health equity and improving maternal health outcomes globally. As the Associate Director of U.S. Programs at Merck for Mothers, she plays a key role in driving maternal health equity initiatives across the U.S. In this role, Wilna collaborates with diverse stakeholders to strategically invest in evidence-based programs that address maternal health disparities and promote equitable, high-quality care for women and families.

Wilna's journey with Merck for Mothers began as a graduate summer associate, where she developed recommendations for the Safer Childbirth Cities initiative. She has also worked at Partners In Health, creating COVID-19 materials for equitable pandemic response, and has experience as a global health consultant on projects related to COVID-19, vaccine confidence, and health systems strengthening.

Wilna holds a master’s degree in Public Health from Columbia University and bachelor’s degrees in Community Health and Child Development from Tufts University. Passionate about promoting equitable care, Wilna is honored to serve on the board of directors and contribute to the incredible and impactful work that Accompany Doula Care is doing on behalf of families in Massachusetts.