Carolina Carbajal, LCPC, PMH-C
Alliance Representative
Carolina is a licensed professional counselor in DC, MD, and VA and holds certifications in perinatal mental health, hypnotherapy, anger management, and life and success coaching. Carolina is pursuing her doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision at Oregon State University. Her dissertation focuses on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. As a private practice owner, Carolina provides workshops for student parents. Carolina contracts with The Womb Room in Baltimore, MD, offering counseling to individuals navigating perinatal mental health challenges during childbirth. Carolina is part of the Healthy Brain Child Development Study (HBCD) research team at Johns Hopkins University, working with pregnant women and babies. Carolina is dedicated to advocating, raising awareness, and educating marginalized communities about perinatal mental health support.
Danelle A. Buchman, MBA, MSW, LMSW
Co-Chair
Danelle Buchman, MBA, MSW, LMSW serves as PSI-Maryland’s Co-Chair. She has worked for many years in the nonprofit and government sectors in various roles including public policy, grassroots advocacy, communications, and corporate engagement for a variety of nonprofits in Maryland and overseas. She has a passion for supporting women through all phases of life and is especially passionate about empowering women to take an active role in the political process through advocacy and policy change. She also volunteers as a PSI support group leader.
Darci Lewis, M.A., DONA PCP, CLC
Liason
Darci Lewis is an early childhood and family support professional, with over 20 years of experience. Darci is rooted in the belief that families–parents, siblings, and babies–are in need of physical and emotional support, especially when families grow and change.
Darci is a DONA certified Postpartum Doula, a Certified Lactation Consultant, and an early childhood and young family expert. Her professional path has allowed her to work with hundreds of families, building relationships and ensuring positive connections and secure attachments. She is the Director of the Family Center at Congregation Adas Israel in Washington DC, and the owner of Nurture Postpartum & Family Support. The scope of Darci’s work includes working with families and parents of all backgrounds and make-up.
As a perinatal support professional, Darci brings experience and knowledge to families, in the prenatal time, after birth, cesarean birth, and adoption. Darci also provides support to single parents, families with multiples and siblings, mothers experiencing postpartum depression, preemies, babies born via surrogate, adoption, and families needing breastfeeding support. Darci’s goal is to come into homes and bring calm and a set of helping hands as baby enters the family. Darci provides support around the emotional experiences of siblings and families as a whole.
Darci is the grateful mother of three children and believes that every parent–mother and fathers–need strong support as baby enters the family.
Kelley Jenean Smith, LPC, PMH-C
Treasurer
Kelley Smith is a licensed professional counselor in the District of Columbia. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University in Human Services and later her Master’s degree from Bowie State University in Counseling Psychology. Since 2014, she has been dedicated to making sure underserved families in the District of Columbia have access to mental health treatment and resources. In 2021, she became a mother and shifted her focus to Early Childhood Mental health. She is a member of ZERO TO THREE’s HealthySteps program and currently provides early childhood development support, including child development, social-emotional and behavioral screenings, development and behavior consults, positive parenting guidance, care coordination and systems navigation, and maternal mental health support to families at Unity Healthcare clinic in Washington, DC. Kelley has received her certification in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health from Georgetown University and her Perinatal Mental Health Certification through PSI. She has received training in Trauma and Attachment and is working toward becoming an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. Kelley strives to strengthen family systems through establishing healthy attachment and bonding.
Lilian Gunawan, LMSW, PMH-C
Member At Large
Lilian Gunawan is a licensed Masters in Social Work (LMSW) and a psychotherapist in private practice. Lilian is certified in perinatal mental health (PMH-C) and is passionate about supporting women and birthing people during their reproductive journey and their transition to parenthood. She is interested in advocating for improved conditions and policies for individuals and families during the perinatal period, including reducing stigma and raising awareness for mental health issues, and increasing access to services on state and community level. Lilian also works for Postpartum Support International (PSI) in their Peer Mentor Program and volunteers on the PSI helpline and in other capacities. She has a multi-cultural background and is always keen to incorporate diversity and cultural considerations into her work.
Lauren Thompson, MHS
Co-Chair
Lauren is a postpartum doula trained in public health research and founder of Community After Birth, an organization dedicated to expanding postpartum care. She’s worked as a grassroots organizer for doula, lactation and mental health coalitions across the state to better conditions and resources for families. She received her Masters of Health Science degree from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she researched perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, community models of care, and lactation. She’s a mom of 3 who struggled herself with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and hopes to improve programs and services for individuals and families here in Maryland.
Lindsay Devon
Advocacy Lead
Lindsay Devon is filling the role of co-Advocacy Lead for PSI’s Maryland Chapter. She spent ten years in New York and Paris, working in Product Development and Sales before returning home to Maryland. She has lived experience with Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and feels passionately about prioritizing and standardizing prenatal and postpartum maternal mental health care.
She completed the “PSI and 2020 Mom Professional Maternal Mental Health Certificate Training” and co-facilitates two different PSI peer-to-peer support groups.
Nicole Kumi, PhD, PMH-C
Outreach and Engagement
Dr. Nicole Kumi is the CEO and founder of The Whole Mom, a maternal wellness organization specializing in perinatal transitional coaching, assisting mothers with preparing their mental health as they transition into motherhood. In 2018 Nicole found herself on the other side of the behavioral healthcare system, needing services after being diagnosed with Postpartum Depression. It was during this time that she realized how little discussion there was around perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and the challenges in finding the right type of services for what she was experiencing. Once she was able to improve her mental and emotional health, she felt called to action on behalf of mothers everywhere who were staying silent out of fear or a lack of information. Nicole wrote about her experience publishing her first book, Postpartum My Language. My True Account of the 4th Trimester, in 2019 to bring awareness to the isolation, silence, and crisis affecting mothers all over the country, and has since created courses for new mothers and their partners to increase awareness, reduce stigma and limit the impact PMAD’s has on their experience with motherhood.
Nicole Leistikow, MD
Communications Coordinator
Nicole is a reproductive psychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland where she sees patients and trains residents and fellows in managing mental illness from premenstrual exacerbation, to pregnancy, postpartum and perimenopause. She completed both medical school and residency at Johns Hopkins. She is a former high school English teacher and freelance journalist and is on the Education Committee of the National Curriculum in Reproductive Psychiatry (NCRPtraining.org). She has written about women’s mental health for textbooks, scientific journals, news outlets and on her private practice blog at www.womenspsychiatrybaltimore.com.
Nina Davey, LCPC, ATR-BC, PMH-C
Social Media
Nina Davey, LCPC, ATR-BC, PMH-C serves on the board for social media and is currently part of a group practice, The Counseling Center, where she holds space for clients who have or are currently experiencing trauma. Nina works from an experiential, somatic-based, relational model to support her clients and their healing journey through motherhood. Nina is a Certified EMDR Therapist and an Approved EMDR Consultant as well as an Art Therapist and a Perinatal Mental Health Certified Therapist. She is also completing her certification in Somatic Experiencing (SE) and is certified in personal training from ACE. Nina is an Approved Credentialed Supervisor (ACS) for LGPC clinicians as well as an Approved Supervisor for Art Therapists.
Paulette Smith
Advocacy, Member At Large
Paulette Smith, Founder of Friends of Zayne Adams, (FOZA, Inc.)
Paulette’s primary purpose for becoming a volunteer with Postpartum Support International (PSI), Maryland Chapter, is to advocate for the awareness of PSI and maternal mental wellness in the state of Maryland, Prince George’s County, and nationwide.
Sara Daly, LCSW-C
Member At Large
Sara Daly is a licensed clinical social worker in Baltimore City, Maryland. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from The University of Maryland in College Park, and later her Master’s in Social Work from The University of Michigan. Sara has focused her practice on perinatal mental health for over 10 years, in both hospital- and therapy- settings. In 2015 Sara founded a private therapy practice focused on perinatal mental health, and also launched the Baltimore Perinatal Mental Health Professional Study Group – which has helped build community among professionals in the area, while also facilitating continued collaborative growth and learning related to perinatal mental health. Sara currently provides specialized perinatal mental health therapy services at the Johns Hopkins Reproductive Mental Health Center.
Taylor Liggins, LCPC, NCC, PMH-C,
Maryland Board Approved Supervisor
Secretary
Taylor Liggins is a licensed therapist in Maryland who specializes in Perinatal Mental Health and is also a Board Approved Supervisor. She operates her own private practice where she conducts virtual therapy sessions with clients. She is certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) through PSI. Taylor obtained her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Johns Hopkins University in 2016. She has a strong passion for advocating for the mental health needs of individuals during the perinatal period, which encompasses pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. With her expertise and dedication, Taylor strives to support and provide effective therapy for those experiencing perinatal mental health concerns.
