Michelle Cohen (she/her), Co-Chair
Michelle is passionate about helping birthing people have an embodied and supported childbearing season. As a birth and Ayurvedic postpartum doula and prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher she supports birthers in group classes, personalized private sessions, labor support workshops, birth mentorship and compassionate birth and postpartum doula support. Michelle has been working with families since 2008, teaching hundreds of pregnant and new parents how to connect with their bodies and their babies, through breath, movement and mindful awareness.
When she’s not telling someone to lengthen their exhale, witnessing the miracle of birth, or trying to make a positive impact in the world, she’s spending time with her two energetic sons and husband in the heart of Washington, D.C. To learn more about Michelle, visit www.savoritstudios.com.
Sarah Pedersen (she/her), Co-Chair 
Sarah is a senior researcher in the health program at the American Institutes for Research where she oversees policy and research on maternal health and leads the health program’s maternal and child health practice area. Her interests include Medicaid coverage and access for pregnant and postpartum parents, postpartum care and outcomes, perinatal mental and behavioral health, community-based birth and care, and the maternal health workforce. She has a strong passion for uplifting community-driven solutions to improve maternal health outcomes and experiences and advance health equity among populations that have historically been marginalized and underserved. Sarah is also a certified full spectrum doula, specializing in holistic postpartum care. She is a founding member of a DC area doula collective with a mission to offer doula care for all, regardless of pregnancy outcome or ability to pay. She earned a Master of Public Policy with a specialization in social policy at the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Theatre Arts at Nebraska Wesleyan University. A native Nebraskan, Sarah lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two young children. She loves to garden, sew, and learn about herbal medicine.
Maya Connell (LPC, PCD), Liaison 
Maya is a licensed counselor in DC and a DONA certified postpartum doula. Maya began her career as a licensed therapist and accumulated more than a decade of experience in community mental health addressing the needs of individuals in the Washington, D.C. area. She has always had a passion for treating the whole person and addressing the intersection of mental health and physical health. After her own postpartum journey and experience with PMADs, Maya decided to bring her passion for community care to families and became a certified postpartum doula. She loves to help families who are experiencing the exciting and transformative change that comes with a new baby. Maya also facilitates a Peer to Peer Support Group for Moms through PSI. A native Midwesterner, Maya lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two daughters. Outside of work, you can find Maya spending time at her kid’s activities, working on art projects, and enjoying the outdoors.
Stephanie Cruse, Treasurer
Stephanie is passionate about supporting families with nonjudgmental support. She is co-owner of Apple Birth & Wellness, a birth doula, certified childbirth educator, prenatal yoga teacher, and integrative health and wellness coach. She has spent much of her professional life in philanthropy, working to fund programs that promote equity in access to health care for minoritized groups. Stephanie joined the birth worker profession in 2013 after experiencing postpartum depression with her son, and trained as a peer support group leader and worked to advocate for parents experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Some things she can’t live without are coffee, nature walks with her two kids, queso, and regular trips to the ocean.
U’nek Clarke, LICSW, LCSW-C, PMH-C, Alliance Representative
U’nek is the Lead Perinatal Behavior Health Specialist at DC Mother-Baby Wellness Program with the Developing Brain Institute at Children’s National Hospital. U’nek provides therapy services to pregnant and postpartum women. She has a Master’s in Social Work from Howard University and is certified in Perinatal Mental Health, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Heath and Child-Parent Psychotherapy. She has spoken at conferences and conducted trainings on Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) in the United States and Europe.
Prior to joining the Developing Brain Institute, U’nek served as a Clinical Social Worker with the D.C. Government. She has a strong background in the assessment and treatment of trauma, attachment, bonding, and other behavioral health concerns. She has a passion for maternal health and looking forward to providing critical clinical services to improve maternal mental health outcomes. She is certified in Perinatal, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and rostered in Child Parent Psychotherapy.
Life experiences have led U’nek to her passion of working with women and birthing people who are pregnant and postpartum. She has enormous compassion for people going through the challenges and transitions around motherhood and feels privileged to work with those who are seeking support during this phase. In her spare time, U’nek loves spending time with her family and friends. She’s a wife and mother to three children including a set of twins.
Ellen Bartolini, Psy.D., PMH-C, Advocacy Co-Chair
Ellen is a licensed clinical psychologist at Children’s National Hospital in the Developing Brain Institute. Dr. Bartolini specializes in treating pregnant patients and families who have received a serious fetal medical diagnoses. She supports patients across the prenatal and postnatal periods (including NICU and CICU parents), along with those experiencing perinatal loss. Dr. Bartolini has extensive experience in treating grief, loss and medical trauma. Prior to her role at Children’s National, she spent five years in the Pediatric Medical Psychology department at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she developed particular expertise in treating families facing serious medical illnesses. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics at The George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Dr. Bartolini earned her Psy.D. from Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology and completed her postdoctoral fellowship through The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She lives in NE DC with her husband, toddler, and dog.
Dr. Emma Basch, Member-at-Large
Dr. Basch is a licensed clinical psychologist based in Washington, DC. She is the founder and director of Dr. Emma Basch & Associates, a group practice specializing in women’s mental health with a focus on perinatal and reproductive mental health. Dr. Basch also serves on the board of the DC Metro Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative and is a Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at GWU. She teaches, writes, and speaks frequently about perinatal mental health, and has been interviewed by outlets including The Washington Post, The Financial Times, Washington Parent Magazine, and ABC News. She is a native Washingtonian and a parent to two incredible children.
Evdoxia (Evie) Mpras, Advocacy Co-Chair
Evie is a resident Marriage and Family Therapist working in private practice with individuals, couples, and families. Evie has a Master of Science in Human Development with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy from Virginia Tech.
Evie specializes in helping strengthen family relationships (couples and whole family systems) during the postpartum stage. Evie believes that postpartum distress is linked to relationship distress; attending to relationships can not only heal maternal distress, but can also strengthen family intimacy, support, and resiliency in the long-term. Her therapy training includes Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, Emotion-Focused-Therapy, and Daniel Siegel’s Interpersonal Neurobiology.
Evie has been published on the topic of postpartum mood disorders in Family Therapy magazine, Family Focus magazine, and lectures extensively on family approaches to postpartum health. She is currently crafting a workbook for families to help strengthen relationships during the phase of welcoming children into the family system.
Evie is a wife and mother to a 9 year old girl, and is happily pregnant with a second baby on the way. She loves spending summers in Greece with family, reading, and wood block printing and painting.
Shatiera Amankrah, Education & Training Chair 
Shatiera is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in infertility counseling and perinatal mental health. With over a decade of experience, she blends professional expertise with personal experience to provide compassionate, evidence-based care.
She is the Founder of Seeds of Hope LLC, a private practice offering individual therapy, surrogacy and donor screenings, consultations, clinical supervision, and professional training. Shatiera is well-versed in various therapeutic modalities, ensuring each client receives personalized and effective support.
Her mission is twofold: to ensure individuals feel seen, supported, and empowered in their reproductive journey, and to train current and future providers on how to best support those facing the emotional toll of infertility and perinatal challenges. Through workshops, collaborative care, and provider education, she is helping to bridge the gap between mental health and maternal health care.
Shatiera is a professional member of Resolve, the ASRM Mental Health Professional Group, Postpartum Support International, the Alliance for People of Color, and the National Perinatal Association.
Paige Zaitlin, MS, MPH, RD, LD, CLC, Membership Chair 
Paige is a public health professional and mother living just outside DC in Bethesda, MD. Paige has a strong background in nutrition, lactation, and healthcare program operations and strategy. With a decade of experience in the DC WIC program, she has worked with local nonprofits and government organizations, including Unity Health Care Inc., Mary’s Center, DC Health, and the University of DC. Paige enjoys bringing people together and thrives on building community, both personally and professionally. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, making art, taking long walks with her dogs, traveling, and trying new things. She is deeply committed to improving the postpartum experience for new moms and families in the District and is excited to leverage her extensive background in maternal and child health in her work for PSI-DC.
Feyishara Oreagba, Outreach & Engagement Chair 
Feyishara is a postpartum and birth doula who has been doing work in maternal and child health for close to 10 years. Throughout this journey, she has had the opportunity to work in many different areas including the fourth trimester, health access, food insecurity, birth support, criminal justice, reproductive justice, resource management and more. With strengths in analysis, evidence-based research, organization, and empathy, Feyi prides herself on using these tools to increase access, empower and uplift marginalized groups in all that she does whether personal, professional or volunteering. She holds a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Health Science with a Community Health Concentration both from Towson University. She has also completed training and seminars surrounding topics such as maternal health advocacy, essential epidemiological tools, and breastfeeding. Feyi has done work with a number of start ups and worked in local and state government in the operations management and research analyst space. When not working, she volunteers at various organizations, mainly Calvary Women’s Services, through the Junior League of Washington of which she is a member.
Tonya Howe, Scholarship Co-Chair 
Tonya currently works full-time as a securities paralegal in addition to being a full-spectrum doula. She is also the proud mom to a spunky and funny four year old. Her journey into birth work began with her own transition to motherhood, where, as someone of “advanced maternal age,” she sought out a doula who would see her as a whole person—not a statistic. Rooted in her own experiences, Tonya brings a trauma-informed, inclusive approach that centers Black maternal health, LGBTQ+ affirming care, and emotional well-being. As a PSI-DC board member, she is dedicated to destigmatizing perinatal mental health and opening up opportunities for others to do this work in their communities. If she were to choose five words to describe herself, she would say: observant, protective, candid, silly, and evolving. Her favorite pastimes include travelling, embroidery, boutique shopping, live music, sci-fi shows, and photography.
Kaely Harrod, Communications & Social Media 
Chair
Kaely is a full spectrum doula, educator, and business coach who has been supporting families in the perinatal space for over 14 years. She is the founder of Harrod Doula Services and the host of Doula Tips and Tits, a podcast focused on sustainability, autonomy, and equity in birth work. In addition to direct client care, Kaely mentors new and mid-career doulas as they grow their own practices with confidence and clarity. She brings deep experience in hands-on support, systems-building, and community advocacy, and is passionate about improving access, professionalism, and justice within maternal health care.
Amandine Roche, Member-at-Large 
Amandine is an accomplished strategy and operations professional with over 10 years of experience in the finance industry, specializing in organizational planning, performance optimization, and cross-functional leadership. Throughout her career, Amandine has supported organizations through periods of transformation, expansion, and strategic realignment. Amandine is deeply engaged in the non-profit space, having served in different board-related capacities of Forté Foundation, Girls Inc., and Junior League. In these roles, she has led or advised on key governance improvements, strategic planning processes, director recruitment, and board development initiatives. She is particularly passionate about supporting organizations with women and children at the centre of their missions, helping them clarify their goals, build sustainable strategies, and improve board practices. Amandine holds an MBA from the University of Oxford and a BCom from McGill University. She lives in the DMV area with her husband and two young children.
Ruthie Arbit, Member-at-Large
Ruthie is a perinatal and pediatric psychotherapist and the director of Arbit Counseling, a premier psychotherapy practice in DC and Maryland. Ruthie also works as a psychotherapist and researcher for the Department of Psychiatry at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. Ruthie received her Masters in Social Work from Columbia University and a Masters of Arts from The Jewish Theological Seminary.Ruthie teaches, writes, and contributes to research in the field of perinatal and pediatric mental health and has been interviewed for publications including The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Care.Com. Ruthie’s research has been published in the Journal of Maternal and Child Health and has been presented at national conferences including the Postpartum Support International Conference and the Marce of North America Conference. On a number of occasions, Ruthie has testified as an expert before the Washington D.C. City Council on behalf of maternal and child mental health bills. Ruthie lives in Washington DC and loves reading fantasy fiction, baking, and hiking with her three kids and her black labrador retriever.
