Micaela Berry-Smith, a Madison-area birth equity leader and Doula, has been named program manager for maternal and child health initiatives for The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit committed to advancing Black women’s health and reducing racial health and birth disparities. The organization, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, made the announcement on Tuesday morning.
“I am honored to be a part of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness Team”, says Berry-Smith in a statement. “To be valued and affirmed in your skills, talent and expertise is a rarity, and I am excited to join an organization that provides this while leading transformational work in our community and state. I look forward to doing my part to uplift the Black women and birthing bodies and communities we are advocating for and serving.”
Berry-Smith joins the Foundation with a broad track record of work and service in birth equity leadership, early childhood education, and social entrepreneurship, according to a press release from FBWW, and she brings over 15 years of working with children and families in diverse settings. She has led several high-impact efforts including most recently serving as co-executive director of Harambee Village Doulas.
Established in June 2012, The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness engages and supports thousands of women and girls each year to build healthier lives through education, outreach, support circles, powerful partnerships, and by influencing systemic change.
Berry-Smith completed a double major in Early Childhood Development and Art Therapy at Metro State University in St. Paul, Minnesota and is a DONA trained Doula, Certified Infant Specialist, Certified Lactation Consultant, a Protective Factors and Ages and Stages Trainer, and a former Head Start Teacher. CEO & President Lisa Peyton-Caire says the addition of Berry-Smith is part of the Foundation further expanding its commitment to address pressing public health crises including the urgency to shift the tide on Dane County’s alarming and longstanding racial birth disparities.
“Miceala is a powerful addition to our team and joins us at a time where her experience is needed more than ever to help lead the growing body of impactful work we are doing to advance Black maternal and child health,” says Peyton-Caire. “Her relationships and knowledge in the birth equity space, in child and family health, and her collaborative approach in working in community and systems are what we need right now to take meaningful steps forward in securing the health of Black mothers and babies in Dane County and ultimately across Wisconsin.”
In her role with the Foundation, Berry-Smith joins the newly established Community Health Initiatives team where she will manage the organization’s growing body of Maternal and Child Health work aimed at improving the health and birth outcomes of Black mothers, birthing people and babies in Dane County and Wisconsin.
