MEET OUR SPEAKERS

Blessing Adesiyan

Founder of Mother Honestly and Mother the Summit, working to support mothers everywhere.

Blessing Adesiyan is a mother of three, a career professional and the Founder & CEO of Mother Honestly, a solution-driven platform and ecosystem that propels women forward in motherhood, work and life. Blessing is a trusted expert in work-life solutions for working parents and has helped transform the role of mothers in the workplace and home, engaging over 300,000 ambitious women through her platform, podcast and conferences. Her passion to call women to their truest and limitless potential in motherhood, addressing challenges and crafting sustainable solutions, while combining work and life helps women, their family and their employers achieve long-term success. Blessing is no stranger to big ideas and even bigger to-do lists, but her passion for solving challenges that millennial women face in the workforce and the cultivation of their ambitions is what led her to launch MH as a response to a “gaping hole” in culture. A global citizen who resides in Houston, TX, she obtained her BSc. In Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida, an MSc. in Energy Management from the New York Institute of Technology and an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Katie Bethell

Named one of the “World’s Greatest Leaders” – is leading the way on U.S. paid leave policy.

Katie Bethell is the Founder and Executive Director of PL+US and named one of Fortune's 2018 "World's Greatest Leaders" with 15 years of public policy and issue advocacy experience in the United States. Under Katie's leadership, PL+US has won paid family and medical leave for nearly 8 million people in the United States at companies including Walmart, Starbucks and more. Katie is a proud mom, partner, native Oregonian and current San Franciscan.

Bekah Bischoff

The ultimate maternal health and storytelling champion.

Bekah Bischoff is a former educator, is a mother of three, and a strong advocate for making changes in maternal health. Bekah currently devotes much of her time to sharing her story and is passionate about helping moms identify and heal from their traumatic birth experience. She currently works at a local hospital providing direct patient care to postpartum moms and babies. Her story has been featured in several news outlets including the USA Today’s “Deadly Deliveries” series. She serves on the board of directors for ImprovingBirth as their Legislative Advocacy Coordinator, is a 2020 Mom Ambassador, leads the Preeclampsia Foundation’s Promise Walk locally, and is involved in representing the patient's voice for Kentucky's Perinatal Quality Collaborative. She calls Louisville, KY home where she lives with her husband Joseph, and three children, Ady, age 9, Henry, age 7, and Max, age 5 months.

Evolyn Brooks

Marketing guru offering healing and personal transformation through the Intention Candle Experience.

Evolyn Brooks is a Reiki practitioner, award-winning television producer, author, wellness journalist and breast cancer survivor. She's the founder of In My Solitude LA, a self-care company designed to help women create supportive intentions and goals through mindfulness, yoga, reiki, meditation, wellness products and experiential events. Evolyn shares a message of healing and personal transformation through the Intention Candle Experience, an IRL and virtual event she describes as "Self- Discovery through DIY." During the experience, attendees create and personalize their own luxury intention candle; journal and set new life goals and aspirations, make a daily mantra and experience a reiki meditation in a tablescaped setting. Evolyn has created the Intention Candle Experience for brands such as Youtube, bumbleff, Athleta, Davita Health Care, Camp Pendleton, Superdry, beautycon, Mindbody, Lorna Jane and more. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times Times, Santa Monica Daily Press, Yoga & Spa Magazine and Voyage LA.

Christine Michel Carter

Best-selling author, speaker and business consultant. Mom AF, 5-star rated on Amazon is a “sister circle in a book” and depicts “all the things that we do and say as mothers, but are afraid to tell anyone.”

Consultant For Brands And Agencies | Speaker On Millennial Moms And Black Consumers | Forbes and TIME Writer | Creator of Mompreneur and Me

As a writer, speaker and consultant Christine Michel Carter works with companies to ensure they’re at the forefront of the minds of Black female consumers. She has been featured in, and guest contributed to several global digital publications, including Forbes, TIME, The New York Times, Harper's BAZAAR, Parents, Health, Ebony, Women’s Health and has been called "the exec inspiring millennial moms," a "branding mastermind" and "the voice of millennial moms." Maternal Care Act. She also created Mompreneur and Me, the first national free mommy and me professional development event for moms who can’t afford time away from the kids to network or develop professional skills. Mompreneur and Me gives companies the opportunity to connect with affluent millennial moms via an intimate, unforgettable brand experience. Across the country, they connect moms offline and provide a guilt-free space for fellowship... all while helping them spend quality time with their little ones.

Katie Crenshaw

A millennial mom and influencer with over 80K followers on Instagram who believes we can all be activists and comfortable (aka “neutral”) with our motherhood struggles.

Katie Crenshaw is a thirty-something mom of three living in Atlanta. A maternal mental health disorder survivor herself, she started her blog in 2015 as an outlet for authentic storytelling in the trenches of motherhood. Leaving behind a career in Labor & Delivery, she has spent the last four years building a community of women through honesty and humor. Her emotional work on body image, mental health, and redefining beauty has gone viral multiple times and reached audiences all over the world by way of Good Morning America, CNN, Inside Edition, and more. In 2019 she launched a podcast, If I’m Being Honest with Katie Crenshaw, as another way to elevate and voiceless and normalize the human experience.

Beth Crutcher

A two-time survivor of pregnancy-related heart failure, the number one cause of maternal death in the U.S.

Wife and mother of two daughters and two-time survivor of Peripartum Cardiomyopathy and awareness advocate since 1988. Current Executive Director of the nonprofit Save the Mommies.

Judge Glenda Hatchett, Esq.

Television personality and powerhouse who lost her daughter-in-law, Kira Dixon Johnson during childbirth.

Judge Hatchett presides over the two-time Emmy nominated nationally syndicated show, Judge Hatchett, now in its 18th season (Sony Pictures Television). Judge Hatchett won a Prism Award for Best Unscripted Non-Fiction Series. She is also the author of the National Best Sellers, Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say (Harper Collins, 2003) and Dare to Take Charge (Center Street / Hachette Book Group, 2010).

A graduate of Mt. Holyoke College and Emory University School of Law, where she was an Earl Warren Scholar, Hatchett completed a prestigious federal clerkship in the United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia. She then spent nearly 10 years at Delta Air Lines, where she was the airline’s highest-ranking woman of color worldwide. Hatchett left Delta Air Lines to accept an appointment as Chief Presiding Judge of the Fulton County (Atlanta, Georgia) Juvenile Court—becoming the first African-American Chief Presiding Judge of a state court in Georgia and head of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country.

Hatchett has served on the Boards of three Fortune 500 companies – HCA, The Gap Inc. and ServiceMaster Company. Hatchett has also consistently shown her commitment to community development through her service on various nonprofit boards including: the National Board of Governors of the Boys and Girls Club of America and has served as the national spokesperson for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a non-profit volunteer organization that trains volunteers to represent abused and neglected children and is the recipient of their President’s Award.

Hatchett is the recipient of numerous awards including the Roscoe Pound Award for outstanding work in Criminal Justice, NAACP’s Thurgood Marshall Award and she has been recognized as one of the “100 Best and Brightest Women in Corporate America” by Ebony magazine. She was named Distinguished Alumna at Mt. Holyoke College, which later granted her an honorary degree. Her other alma mater, Emory University Law School, named her Outstanding Alumni of the Year. Emory University also presented her with the highest award given to university alumni, the Emory Medal.

Melaney Lubey

Connector, Community Activist & Chief Impact Officer at DailyKarma

Mel is a creative marketer, problem solver and connector with a passion for maternal health activism. By day, Mel leads strategic partnerships & marketing for DailyKarma, a social impact company dedicated to creating easy-to-launch cause marketing initiatives for e-commerce brands. By night, Mel gives back to her community through various initiatives focused on women & women's health. After training as a birth & postpartum doula in 2015, she began the Radical Mother Project to give a voice to women sharing their stories about motherhood - specifically perinatal depression & anxiety. In 2018, she organized the Los Angeles March for Moms Rally to Improve Birth and currently serves as Chair of the West Hollywood Women's Advisory Board. She is a proud 2020 Mom Ambassador and sits on the board of Improving Birth.

She shares her life with her partner, TJ & two tiny people ages 2 and 5.

Abigail Hawk

An actress who struggled through the postpartum period
and will empower us to effectuate change.

Abigail Hawk is an award-winning actor, singer, writer, humanitarian, and mom. She has starred opposite industry giants Chevy Chase, Laurence Fishburne, Jim Gaffigan, and Mariska Hargitay, to name a few, but she most enjoys working alongside legend Tom Selleck as Detective Abigail Baker on the CBS series, Blue Bloods. When she’s not keeping Commissioner Reagan in line, Abigail enjoys singing, writing, living, loving, over-posting on social media, and parenting two brilliant sons with her husband, who is practically perfect in every way. She is honored and excited to be here at 2020 Mom Congress.

Kay Matthews

A mother who experienced infant loss and became the mother of all mothers, black, brown, white and everything in between.

Kay Matthews is a Successful Business Woman, Motivator, Advocate and Mental Health & Wellness Advisor. Kay Matthews lives in Houston Texas and is the Founder of BabyCakes & Brunch and Shades of Blue Project which was started after delivering her daughter stillborn and experiencing maternal mental health issues. She has been a local community advocate in Houston for over 20 years and her organization BabyCakes & Brunch has been recognized by the Mayor and was given their own day in the City. As a very active community advocate, Kay feels that helping others to reach their own goals is the best benefit of helping those she encounters. Kay is now actively teaching and speaking to women of all ages to help them better understand how important it is to help themselves before during and after childbirth. Helping them to realize that they are able to continue to live their dreams and still make life great against all odds. To Kay, this is the most important aspect of the work she does within the communities and it's the motivation that she uses to continue to educate communities worldwide.

Monica Mo, PhD

TEDx speaker, mental health advocate, and brand strategist. She champions women who challenge the status quo as they rewrite a healthier, happier world for all.

As WellSeek's founder & CEO, Monica Mo is on a mission to dispel myths and spread truth in the health and wellness world. With a curious mind and as a seeker of life, Monica never shies away from exploring the unknown — as a former bioengineer and scientist, and now in her second act as a health advocate, brand strategist, and speaker.What began as a passion for science led to Monica’s realization that her own health behaviors contradicted her knowledge, inspiring the conception of WellSeek to guide people on their own path of health and happiness. She has since devoted her life's mission to explore our culture's influence on our physical & mental wellbeing, and helps health experts find clarity in their voice so they can share it boldly amidst the noise.As Curating Editor of the WellSeek Collective and founder of the non-profit project SeekHer Foundation, Monica is widely recognized by the nutrition professional community for her progressive stance on the social constructs and wellness myths that hold women back from reaching their greatest potential. She's had the privilege of sharing her message on the TEDx stage and was recognized by San Diego Magazine as a 2019 Rising Star finalist & Woman of the Year nominee for her work in wellness media and mental health advocacy.

Sayida Peprah, PsyD

As a psychologist and doula, she is changing the dialogue around supporting birth for mothers of color and helping others understand the importance along the way.

Dr. Sayida Peprah is both a licensed clinical psychologist and trained birth doula. She specializes in multicultural psychology, trauma, suicide prevention and maternal mental health. Dr. Sayida has a multi-faced career as a psychologist having worked in community-based, in-home, psychiatric hospital and correctional settings. She is also a trainer and consultant on topics of cultural humility, implicit bias and trauma as they impact mental and maternal health. Dr. Sayida is the founder of the non-profit organization Diversity Uplifts, Inc. Dr. Sayida’s work in maternal health include serving as a doula trainer/mentor and maternal mental health and cultural competency consultant for perinatal health programs in Southern California. Dr. Sayida is also an active member of the Black Women Birthing Justice Collective and a Collaborator with the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, promoting research, education and community-based services to positively transform birthing experiences of black families. Dr. Sayida has served and continues to serve on advisory committees to improve maternal health including the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, Maternal Suicide Review Committee, Perinatal Equity Initiative Committees (San Bernardino and Riverside County) and others aimed at identifying key risks and opportunities for quality improvement and prevention around disparities.

Vanessa Procter

Powerhouse at Sage Therapeutics.

Vanessa Procter is Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Sage Therapeutics, with over 20 years of experience in health care legislative and regulatory policy.

Vanessa joined Sage Therapeutics from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies for patients with ultra-rare and rare diseases, where she led Government Affairs and Patient Advocacy for North America.

Prior to Alexion, Vanessa led U.S. Government Affairs for MedImmune, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca. Vanessa served for more than six years as Health Policy Advisor to Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and two years with Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Congressman Dick Gephardt (D-MO).

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Civil War Studies from Gettysburg College.

Jen Schwartz

The “medicated mommy” who picked up the debris left by postpartum anxiety and depression to launch and run Motherhood Understood. She gives “permission slips” to moms sharing it’s ok to not be enamored with motherhood.

Jen Schwartz created Motherhood Understood, an online platform, community, and story-sharing hub for moms affected by pregnancy and postpartum mental health issues. Jen is on a mission to educate, support, and prepare women for the emotional complications that sometimes accompany childbirth in the weeks, months, and even years that follow so that no woman has to suffer from a maternal mental health illness alone, and so that all women get the help they need to feel well and have the motherhood experience they deserve.

Jen moderates the Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental Health Online Support Community at Inspire.com and is a speaker, writer, consultant, content creator, and thought-leader whose work and commentary has been featured all over the mommy blogosphere and on popular websites like Forbes, Romper, The Mighty, Healthline, Thrive Global, The Bump, Happiest Baby, and more. In 2019, she completed her Maternal Mental Health Certificate Training with Postpartum Support International and was named the Blue Dot Project’s National Spokeswoman by 2020 Mom. Though she will always consider herself a New Yorker first, Jen now lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband Jason, tiny human Mason, and fur baby Harry Potter.

Diana Spalding, MSN, CNM

Develops critical digital education with Motherly, is a certified nurse-midwife and a pediatric nurse. She’s passionate about helping mothers feel powerful.

Diana is the Digital Education Editor at Motherly, and wrote The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama. She is a certified nurse midwife, pediatric nurse, and mother of three. She has a BA in anthropology from Emory University and both a BS in nursing and a master’s degree in midwifery from New York University. In addition to caring for thousands of pregnant women, Diana has worked in pediatric oncology, and has served in several professorial and advisory roles in higher education settings.

Jaye Wilson

A nurse and the founder of Melinated Moms, has risen from adversity and is powerfully driving change in maternal health.

Jatesha “Jaye” Madden-Wilson is a Mom, Entrepreneur, Social Impact Speaker, Social Activist, Maternal Advocate and Self-sufficiency Coach. Jaye has created big strides in advocacy for women of color most notably with the First Lady and Governor of New Jersey as a public speaker and maternal health advocate for Nurture NJ with the Black Maternal Health crisis. On her own, she has reached over 1,000 women through her in-person events and has created a reputation for her organization that is trusted for its authenticity and support. She connects and empowers women throughout the Melinated Spectrum to find their power and purpose in their lives. In her professional career as a Community Health Nurse, she worked as a Nursing Operational Manager and lobbied in Washington DC, Albany NY and Trenton, NJ as a community advocate for the LGBT+ community. In these positions she saw the importance of how community advocacy and engagement created better physical, emotional and mental health outcomes for its people. Through her own personal transitions from marriage to divorce, she redefined single motherhood by creating a community of support that changed the narrative of motherhood, sisterhood and womanhood through her women-empowerment organization, Melinated Moms.

Melinated Moms is a community-based membership for moms and women of color. They curate events that empower, motivate and cultivate women to be better versions of themselves with support. They bridge their women through the intersections of Motherhood, Sisterhood & Womanhood. Although Melinated Moms initially started as a self-reflective supportive community for moms and women of color; it has quickly grown into an amazing platform for empowerment, advocacy and motivation for the women in their community.

Jaye began her work with Melinated Moms hosting events in Bayonne, NJ (Hudson County) at The Bridge Art Gallery that brought awareness and advocacy conversations to the intersections of Motherhood, Sisterhood and Womanhood. In two years, she has curated in person events for moms and women of color throughout the states of New Jersey, New York, Washington DC and Toronto/GTA, Canada. Her virtual community spans throughout communities of color in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Jaye is the proud mother of 2 young girls, Nadiyah and Ava, who continue to move and motivate her to create a space where women's rights are acknowledged and not silenced.