Stillbirth Symposium 2026: Closing the Gaps
We provide respectful, compassionate care for families who experience the tragedy of stillbirth. Join us in the fight to end preventable stillbirths.
Stillbirth Symposium 2026: Closing the Gaps
We provide respectful, compassionate care for families who experience the tragedy of stillbirth. Join us in the fight to end preventable stillbirths.
Stillbirth Symposium 2026: Closing the Gaps
Fri-Sat, OCTOBER 2-3, 2026
LOCATION: University Guest House, Salt Lake City, Utah
Please join us for learning, reflection, and community around ending preventable stillbirths and ensuring respectful care! We warmly welcome bereaved family members, care providers (MFMs, doulas, midwives, etc.), community leaders, researchers, and all who care about ending preventable stillbirths and ensuring respectful care!
Travel Information
Airport: SLC International Airport
Hotels:
- University Guest House
- University Marriott
- Please note that many other hotels are available downtown, but this is a big travel weekend due to the LDS Conference in SLC. Hotels are booking out quickly. The closer to the U of U campus you can get, the less busy it should be. The further North West you stay in SLC, the busier it will be.
Transportation -
- Uber/Lyft are easiest in SLC
- UTA - Train
- From the airport to the Guest House: Take the Green Line to Courthouse Station, then transfer to the Red Line toward the University. Exit at Fort Douglas Station. Cross the bridge to get to the hotel.
- Utilizing the Red Line, you can easily get back and forth from the Guest House and Down Town SLC where there is a lot of amazing food and other hotel choices.
- From the airport to the Guest House: Take the Green Line to Courthouse Station, then transfer to the Red Line toward the University. Exit at Fort Douglas Station. Cross the bridge to get to the hotel.
Registration Fees as Follows
Registration fees include both days of the symposium, breakfast and lunch on both days, the welcome event, and the celebration dinner.
- MDs (including MFMs, OBGYNs, pathologists, etc.): $300
- All other care providers other than doulas (social workers, midwives, RNs, etc.) and PhDs: $150
- Everyone else (parents, other family members, volunteers, doulas, students, etc.): $50
USCOE is charging a registration fee for our annual symposium for the first time. If the fees pose a difficulty, kindly contact us at the email below.
To complete payment, go to the USCOE Store Front and select the "Symposium Registration" Tile and select the appropriate tier. From there, complete payment. Once that is submitted, our center team will be emailed, and we will confirm your registration and send the invite.
If you'd like to sponsor an attendee, you can also do so with the above the payment link as well. If you'd like to be added to our sponsorship list, please reach out to stillbirthcenter@hsc.utah.edu and we can assist.
Agenda
WEEK AT A GLANCE
THURS - OCTOBER 1
- 8:30 am - 4:00 pm - USPAL (U.S. Pregnancy After Loss) Network Learning Day - By invite only; please contact us at stillbirthcenter@hsc.utah.edu, if you are interested in attending.
- 6:00 - 9:00 pm - Welcome Event - The Natural History Museum
FRI - OCTOBER 2
- 8:00 am - 5:00 pm - Symposium Day One - The University Guest House
SAT - OCTOBER 3
- 8:00 am - 5:00 pm - Symposium Day Two - The University Guest House
- 7:00 - 9:00 pm - Legacy of Love Dinner - This is the Place Heritage Park
SUN - OCTOBER 4
- 8:30 am - 1:30 pm - IMPROVE-USA Workshop - By application only, with additional registration fee. See our webpage for more information.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2: SYMPOSIUM DAY ONE
| 8:00 - 8:30 am | REGISTRATION (coffee/tea/light breakfast) |
| 8:30 am |
Welcome Bob Silver MFM, Kristina Duffin Dean, & Susannah Leisher PhD |
| 8:45 am |
Introductions: What Is Your Why? Stacey Fletcher |
| 9:25 am |
Mindful Moment Hannah Sammons CNM |
| 9:30 am |
Fireside chat: Stillbirth Equity William A. Smith MD, Michelle Debbink MFM, Nathan Blue MFM, Speaker |
| 10:15 am |
BREAK (25 min) Speaker |
| 10:35 am |
Parent Voices Panel Stacey Fletcher, Facilitator; Panelists: Jenny Smith, Karen Gibbins, Rob Saunders, Lindsey Wimmer, & Jaymie Maines |
|
11:30 am
|
Fireside chat: NICHD and parent advocacy on stillbirth Uma Reddy MFM, Facilitator |
| 12:00 pm |
Spotlight: Impact on Caregivers Katherine Gold MD, Speaker |
| 12:30 pm |
LUNCH (45 min) Closed Lunch: Double-Hat Huddle Karen Gibbins MFM, Facilitator |
| 1:30 pm |
Global Stillbirth Tracking and Relevance for the USA Hannah Blencowe PhD, Speaker |
| 2:00 pm |
Global collaboration for stillbirth prevention and care Kapila Jayaratne, Christine Andrews, & Michelle LaFontaine, Panelists |
| 3:00 pm | BREAK (15 min) |
| 3:15 PM |
Global Experiences in community support & parent voice Tina Lavender, Tracey Mills, Speakers |
| 4:00 pm | Breakout Sessions |
|
Track A 4:00 pm |
Workshop 1: Bereavement Photography Ashley Hone & Shirley Hale, Facilitating |
|
Track A 5:00 pm |
Workshop 2: Molds Jaymie Maines & Melannie Green, Facilitating |
|
Track B 4:00 pm |
Researchers Huddle: Prenatal Diagnosis and Management of Placental Disease; NICHD Stillbirth Research Centers Bob Silver MFM, Tsegaselassie Workalemahu PhD, John Kingdom MFM, Jessica Page MFM, & Karen Gibbins MFM |
| 6:00 pm | END DAY ONE |
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3: SYMPOSIUM DAY TWO
| 7:30 - 8:30 am | Parent Breakfast & Registration (coffee/tea/light breakfast) |
| 8:30 am |
Welcome & Mindful Moment Susannah Leisher PhD, Hannah Sammons CNM, Facilitators |
| 8:45 am |
Equity case study: Luke Clinic Katherine Gold MD, Speaker |
| 9:15 am |
Mental health and stillbirth: Connections and Gaps Rana Jawish MD, Bob Silver MFM, Tima Clawson, Jen Rogalski, Samika Baskerville, Christina Cackler, & Fran Boyle |
| 10:15 am | BREAK (20 min) |
| 10:35 am |
IMPROVE-USA Jessica Page MFM, Nathan Blue MFM, & Henderson Lafond, Speakers |
| 11:15 am |
Research keynote: Is Stillbirth Preventable in 2027? John Kingdom, Speaker |
| 12:00 pm |
Lightning talks - Spotlight on junior researchers Warittakorn Kategeaw, Brenna Kelly, Paulina Devlin, Speakers |
| 12:30 pm |
LUNCH (60 mins) Closed Lunch: Research 101: "I've always wanted to know..." Naomi Riches PhD, & Malu Tejada de Rivero Sawers MD, Facilitating |
| 1:30 pm |
Perinatal Pathology in the setting of stillbirth: Challenges and opportunities Mana Parast MD & Drucilla Roberts MD, Speakers |
| 2:15 pm |
Stillbirth Data Quality Jill Lens, Joy Vink MFM, & Suzanne Smith, Speakers |
| 3:00 pm | BREAK (15 min) |
| 3:15 pm |
Guiding Conversations Initiative Stacey Fletcher, & Sunayna Wahi |
| 3:45 pm |
Introducing the USPAL Network: Care in Pregnancy After Loss Brittney Crystal, Fernanda Sheridan, Hayley Miller MFM, & Beth Chapin, Speakers |
| 4:30 pm |
Closing the Gaps: What's next? Susannah Leisher PhD & Sunayna Whai, Speaker |
| 4:50 pm |
Closing & Song Bob Silver MFM, & Hayley Fletcher Singer |
| 5:00 pm | END DAY TWO |
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
William A. Smith
Dr. William A. Smith is a Distinguished Professor and the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair at the University of Utah. He holds academic appointments in the Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Education, Culture, & Society, and the Department of Ethnic, Gender, and Disability Studies, with an affiliation in African American Studies. He also serves as Chief Executive Administrator for Strategic Initiatives and Mental Health Justice at Huntsman Mental Health Institute. Dr. Smith is the originator of Racial Battle Fatigue, a theory and framework that defines systemic racism-related repetitive stress injury as the psychological, physiological, emotional, and social toll produced by cumulative exposure to racism, racial microaggressions, discrimination, and racialized institutional stress. His interdisciplinary scholarship connects education, psychiatry, mental health, institutional climate, and health justice. Recognized internationally for his work on racism, racial stress, and mental health, Dr. Smith has been ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide by the Stanford University/Elsevier Data Repository and among the top 1% of U.S. research professors in the RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. His work advances research, policy, and practice aimed at reducing racialized harm and promoting dignity, care, and institutional accountability.
Michelle Debbink
Dr. Michelle Debbink considers it a privilege and honor to care for others during life-changing and vulnerable moments. As a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, she provides prenatal care for patients with high-risk or rare medical conditions, such as diabetes and congenital heart disease. She also specializes in abnormal placenta conditions like placenta previa and placenta accreta spectrum disorders, as well as fetal and genetic conditions, including twin and higher-order multiple pregnancies and anomalies. Dr. Debbink earned her bachelor’s degrees in sociology and health policy from Rice University in Houston, Texas. She received her medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School, where she also completed her PhD in health services organization and policy along with her obstetrics and gynecology residency. In 2017, she moved to Salt Lake City to complete her fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Utah. This means she has completed special training in the field of high-risk pregnancy. Her research focuses on racial, ethnic, and geographic inequities and disparities in perinatal outcomes, including low birth weight, small for gestational age, maternal morbidity, and maternal mortality. Dr. Debbink is particularly interested in how social structures, neighborhood factors, and health policy produce and reinforce perinatal health disparities among Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.
Nathan Blue
Nathan Blue, MD, MS, is a physician scientist whose work focuses on the prevention of stillbirth, with a focus on fetal growth restriction, cord accidents, and the development of AI-based risk estimation tools. He has an active clinical practice at the University of Utah, which includes work in the University's recently launched Utah Pregnancy After Loss clinic. Dr. Blue earned his medical degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California. He completed his Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at Los Angeles General Medical Center, where he developed a passion for research and a commitment to serving underserved patients. Following this, he pursued a fellowship at the University of New Mexico and served as a Women's Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) K12 scholar at University of Utah Health from 2018 to 2022. His ongoing NIH-funded research aims to use AI to create personalized prenatal risk assessment tools, helping families and health care providers make informed decisions in uncertain situations. Dr. Blue has also researched topics that include preeclampsia, preterm birth, research integrity and reproducibility in obstetrics and gynecology.
John Kingdom
John is a Clinician-Investigator and High-Risk Obstetrician in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division with a clinical and research focus on the full range of complications associated with abnormal placentation. His work centers on the Placenta Program, working with his colleague Dr. John Snelgrove as of July 2026. His research efforts focuses on screening, diagnosis and management of the “placental insufficiency” disorders including the clinical utility of maternal circulating Placenta Growth Factor (PlGF) and in the use of advanced ultrasound and MR imaging methods. In parallel he is involved in mouse models of placental dysfunction (with PI Dr. John Sled, Medical Biophysics at SickKids). He recently published the results of a large (9,100) PlGF screening study aligned with GDM screening at 24-28 weeks to predict 3rd trimester placenta-mediated complications. His research focuses also on detecting placental malfunction and fetal genetic abnormalities non-invasively from placenta-derived trophoblast cells shed into the cervical canal in the first trimester (funded in 2026 by CIHR, PI Dr. Sascha Drewlo at Sunnybrook). John served as Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Toronto 2013-2023, supervises research projects by Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellows, and enjoys mentoring all types of learners and junior Faculty members in their career development.
SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS
Ashley Hone
Ashley is a passionate advocate for those navigating grief. As a devoted parent of four, three living, she turned a personal tragedy—the loss of a child, Kingston Ryan Hone—into a mission to support others experiencing similar pain. Currently, she works at four local hospitals providing bereavement support, helping families find hope and healing after loss. Through her work, Ashley fosters resilience and connection within the community, dedicated to guiding others on their journey toward healing.
Bob Silver
Robert M. Silver, MD is Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Utah Health and a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He joined the University of Utah Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division after completing his fellowship there in 1994. He is serving as the Chief of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and as Co-Director of Labor and Delivery at the UUHSC. Dr. Silver’s clinical and research interests include recurrent pregnancy loss and stillbirth, cesarean delivery, placenta accreta, vaginal birth after cesarean delivery, immunologic diseases in pregnancy, and medical disorders in pregnancy.
Beth Chapin
Beth Anne Chapin, BSN, RNC-OB (she/her) is a Clinical Nurse III at the Birth Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center. She cares for patients and families at UCSF across the perinatal continuum, including pregnancy, labor and birth, postpartum care, and complex or unexpected outcomes. Nationally board certified in Inpatient Obstetric Nursing, Beth is committed to UCSF’s PRIDE values. Her connection to UCSF is also personal: she was born there in 1966 and grew up nearby in Marin County. Beth leads the UCSF Birth Center’s Perinatal Loss Nursing Workgroup, which strengthens workflows and supports consistent, compassionate bereavement care. She completed UCSF’s Evidence-Based Practice Fellowship in 2020, where her project on customized bedside communication boards led to a 2025 publication in Nursing for Women’s Health. Beth is especially passionate about patient-provider communication, advocacy, supporting nurses at the bedside, and improving care for families experiencing pregnancy and loss.
Brittney Crystal
Brittney holds a BA and MA in International Relations and has worked at the United Nations in Switzerland and Save the Children, focusing on operational excellence and emergency response. At Save the Children, she was especially proud of supporting emergency responses in the Philippines and Japan and leading the rollout of a Continuous Improvement Program. Today, Brittney leads The Iris Fund, bringing together leaders in research, clinical care, and patient advocacy to change the trajectory of preterm birth and improve outcomes for mothers and babies. The Iris Fund was founded in July 2017 after the Crystal-Aleman family experienced the devastating loss of their daughter, Iris, following an emergency C-section at 28 weeks. The Iris Fund is now a leading private funder of basic science research into the causes of preterm birth, while also advancing clinical innovation and advocacy to help mothers and babies have safer, healthier pregnancies and deliveries. Brittney and her husband, Jose, live in Connecticut with their children.
Christine Andrews
Dr Christine Andrews is a nationally recognised leader in perinatal implementation research, specialising in translating evidence into safer, more equitable pregnancy care through health-system change, co-design, and consumer partnership. She is a Senior Fellow with the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth and leads national initiatives including Safer Baby SEEK and the implementation and evaluation of the Safer Baby Bundle. Christine recently secured an MRFF Mid-Career Researcher Grant to lead SPARK, a national collaborative initiative co-designing neurodiversity-affirming perinatal care for Autistic expectant parents while building capacity among Australia's next generation of perinatal researchers.
Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya
Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya’s daughter, Autumn Joy, was born still in July 2011. Desperate to give Autumn’s short life great purpose, Debbie has since become a powerful advocate at the state and national levels, working tirelessly to put stillbirth on the map in this country. Over the years she has developed and championed multiple pieces of legislation that focused on improving stillbirth data collection, awareness, education, and bereavement care for families. Most recently she has been working with Members of Congress and their staff to advance federal stillbirth legislation, the bicameral and bipartisan Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act, H.R. 5012/S.2647 which would authorize funding for improved research, data collection, education, reporting, and awareness—all of which will help put the U.S. on the path to ending our country’s stillbirth crisis. Debbie resides in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
Drucilla Roberts
Dr Roberts is Head of Obstetric and Perinatal Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Research Institute, and a professor in the Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School. Her area of expertise and interest is in perinatal pathology - surgical and autopsy pathology. She has a special interest in understanding the biology and clinical significance of pathologic findings. She works on perinatal projects focusing on the placenta both in the US and internationally, including placental malaria, stillbirths, and autopsy pathology in resource-poor settings. She directed the first-ever Harvard Medical School CME course in Sub-Saharan Africa titled "The contribution of anatomic pathology to the health of women and children" with faculty from the USA, South Africa, and Ethiopia in 2011 and in Nigeria in 2013. Dr. Roberts is interested in highlighting the improvements pathologists can make for all patients. Her aim is to raise awareness of issues that can lead to improvements in pathology especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Fernanda Sheridan
Fernanda Sheridan grew up in Brazil, where she earned her law degree from Mackenzie University. After practicing law for several years, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in international law at Fordham University. In 2018, following the stillbirth of her daughter at 38 weeks after a healthy pregnancy, Fernanda left her legal career and dedicate her work to supporting families affected by pregnancy loss. She founded The Natalie Foundation; a nonprofit organization committed to improving prenatal care and expanding access to specialized Pregnancy After Loss (PAL) programs across the United States. Under her leadership, The Natalie Foundation has become a driving force in advancing systems-level change in maternal care and is a founding partner of the U.S. Pregnancy After Loss Network (USPAL), a national initiative focused on standardizing care, expanding access to specialized clinics, and improving outcomes for mothers and babies.
Fran Boyle
Associate Professor Fran Boyle is a health services researcher at The University of Queensland and co-leads the Care Around Stillbirth and Neonatal Death program within Australia’s NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth. With a background in psychology and public health, Fran is dedicated to improving care after perinatal loss and ensuring that all parents receive compassionate, evidence-based support when a baby dies. Like many with a passion for research and practice in this field, Fran’s involvement began with her own lived experience of the loss of a baby soon after birth. Her research has helped build the evidence base for best practice care after perinatal loss including the Care Around Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Clinical Practice Guideline and the IMPROVE education program. She also led the development of Guiding Conversations, the companion resource for bereaved parents, to help translate evidence into meaningful support for families.
Hannah Blencowe
Hannah Blencowe is an Associate Professor of Global Maternal Child Health and co-director of the Centre for Maternal Adolescent Reproductive and Child Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is a clinician and epidemiologist by training, with over twenty years of experience in global health. Her research has contributed to improvements in understanding in the epidemiology and impact of stillbirth, preterm birth and birth defects globally. She contributes to ongoing UN-led work to improve perinatal data through providing country technical support and supporting further research as part of the UN-IGME Core Stillbirth Estimation Group.
Hannah Sammons
Hannah Sammons, DNP is a Certified Nurse Midwife, Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, and Mindfulness Instructor. She works as a Laborist CNM on Labor & Delivery at the University of Utah, where she supports families through birth with presence and evidence-based care. Hannah is the founder of The Birth Class, a Salt Lake City childbirth course that helps couples cultivate deep connection and nervous system regulation in the midst of the unknown. In partnership with the Perinatal Mental Health Clinic and Osher Center for Integrative Health at The University of Utah, she also hosts the Perinatal Mindfulness Virtual Drop-In each Monday at noon (MT) for anyone who is pregnant, postpartum, adopting, conceiving, or grieving—a welcoming space to breathe, feel, and practice together. Her work blends midwifery, neuroscience-informed mindfulness, and practical skills to help families feel supported through pregnancy, birth, and beyond.
Hayley Fletcher
Singer
Hayley Miller
Hayley Miller, MD is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at the UCSF, with a special interest in stillbirth care and pregnancy after loss. She completed both her residency and fellowship at Stanford University, where she led multiple research and quality improvement initiatives focused on advancing care for families experiencing stillbirth. She is now an Assistant Professor in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. At UCSF, she leads the Pregnancy After Loss Clinic as a partner of the the U.S. Pregnancy After Loss Clinic Network, with the goal of fostering research partnerships and advancing high-quality, compassionate care for the perinatal loss community. Dr. Miller is actively involved in policy and advocacy through her work with ACOG and SMFM. She serves on the ACOG Board of Directors as the Early Career Fellow at Large, also as the ACOG District IX Chair of the Committee on Public Health, and a member of both the ACOG Committee on State Legislation and the SMFM Health Policy and Advocacy Committee.
Henderson Lafond
Henderson Lafond is Madison's mom. In 2015, her daughter Madison was stillborn after changes in fetal movement went unrecognized until it was too late - a loss that became the driving force behind her advocacy for stillbirth prevention and equitable, respectful, standardized bereavement care. Henderson founded Madison's Closet in 2016, a nonprofit serving bereaved birthing individuals across the country, serves as an Ambassador for Count the Kicks in North Carolina, is a board member for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep and the International Stillbirth Alliance, and is also active in the Stillbirth Advocacy Working Group. By day, Henderson is Senior Director of Legal Operations at Calm; she is also pursuing an MPH at Clemson University, focused on maternal and perinatal health equity, to bring a stronger research foundation to her advocacy work.
Jaymie Maines
Jaymie Maines has dedicated her service to strengthening Utah communities through advocacy, outreach, and research in the child loss community. After experiencing the loss of her son James to full-term stillbirth in 2009, she committed herself to honoring the lives of babies gone too soon and supporting families walking a similar path. Her personal journey fuels her work in stillbirth research and awareness, where she strives to advance prevention while fostering compassion and connection. Through her efforts, she honors James’ memory and works to ensure that no family grieves alone.
Jennifer Rogalski
Jen Rogalski is the Assistant Director at Empty Arms Bereavement Support, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to providing peer support, education, and community for bereaved parents and healthcare professionals. Driven by Empty Arms’ commitment to ensuring no family grieves alone, Jen focuses on creating systemic change in bereavement care, expanding accessible nationwide support, and passionately advocating for stillbirth prevention. Her dedication to this work is deeply personal, inspired by the memory of her first son, Baby Rogalski, who was stillborn at 38 weeks in April 2023. Prior to joining Empty Arms, Jen spent years in healthcare administration within the Mass General Brigham system, serving as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant to the President of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. She holds a master’s degree in Athletic Training and lives in Massachusetts with her husband, young son, and dog.
Jessica Page
Dr. Page completed medical school at Oregon Health and Science University after earning her degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Oregon State University. She performed her OB/GYN residency training and Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship at the University of Utah. Dr. Page is board certified in OB/GYN and Maternal-Fetal Medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is an Assistant Professor at Intermountain Healthcare and the University of Utah and a member of its Stillbirth Research Program; her research interests include stillbirth and placental insufficiency. She also serves as the Medical Director for Women and Newborn Research at Intermountain Health. Dr. Page feels privileged to work with women and their families through complex pregnancies and deliveries.
Jill Wieber Lens
Jill Wieber Lens is the Dorothy M. Willie Professor in Excellence at the University of Iowa College of Law. Lens is a leading legal expert on reproductive health, which a particular focus on the legal treatment of stillbirth and pregnancy loss more generally. In 2025, she published her first book, Stillbirth & the Law, which explores how laws contribute to the United States’ stagnant stillbirth rate, shape the experience of stillbirth for birthing parents, and define broader cultural conceptions of stillbirth. Her research is inspired by her son Caleb’s stillbirth in 2017 when she was 37 weeks pregnant.
Joy Vink
Joy Vink, MD is a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children and Associate Professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Vink completed her OBGYN residency at Georgetown University Hospital and her Maternal Fetal Medicine fellowship at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). After practicing at CUIMC for over 10 years, Dr. Vink moved home to Hawaii with the goal of improving care for local Hawaiian communities, particularly in the area of stillbirth and preterm birth.
Katherine Gold
Katherine Gold is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan in the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her research focuses on care for families after stillbirth and infant death, with a particular interest in mental health and care for underrepresented populations. She holds a master’s in social work and completed two research fellowships at Michigan and then a policy fellowship with the National Academy of Medicine. She served on the Board and then as Chair of the International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA) and was a member of the NICHD Working Group of Council on Stillbirth. Clinically she sees patients in primary care and for the last decade has served as Medical Director for a free prenatal, postpartum, and infant care clinic in Detroit, Michigan, working on the ground to prevent stillbirth and infant death in high-risk populations.
Kapila Jayaratne
Prof. Kapila Jayaratne is a Professor in Community Medicine at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and a leading public health expert in maternal, newborn and child health. With over 28 years of service in the Ministry of Health Sri Lanka, he has led national systems for maternal and perinatal mortality surveillance. He has contributed to several WHO global frameworks and guidelines on maternal and perinatal mortality. His leadership earned him the Fellowship honoris causa of the RCOG (UK). He has also played a prominent global role, including serving as Conference Chair of the International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA) Conference 2024 in Colombo.
Karen Gibbins
Karen J. Gibbins, MD, MSCI, is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Assistant Division Director and Outpatient Clinic Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Gibbins first became interested in stillbirth research and excellence in clinical care during MFM fellowship at the University of Utah. In 2018, her son Sebastian was stillborn. Her primary research focus, funded by the NICHD, is reducing preventable stillbirth via novel predictive models and biomarkers of placental dysfunction. She is the OHSU lead for the Stillbirth Research Consortium. She also works to improve decision support for recently bereaved parents and is an expert in parent and family centered care both during stillbirth and in pregnancy after loss.
Lindsey Wimmer
Lindsey Wimmer is the Founder and Executive Director of the Star Legacy Foundation. In this role, Dr. Wimmer coordinates research initiatives, manages education programs for health professionals and families, and oversees bereavement support programs. She is a co-investigator for the Study of Trends and Associated Risks for Stillbirth (STARS) and the Pregnancy Research Project. Star Legacy Foundation is the nation’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to stillbirth prevention and care, with more than twenty chapters from coast to coast. Dr. Wimmer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from St. Catherine University, a Master of Science degree in pediatric nursing from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from St. Catherine University. She is certified as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with experience in emergency and primary care and has taught in associate and baccalaureate-level nursing programs. Dr. Wimmer is certified as a Perinatal Excellence Provider and in Perinatal Loss Care. Lindsey has been recognized for her work with the Daisy Award, the Marian Sokol Award for Advancement in Stillbirth, the Butterfly Awards, the 2020 L'Oreal Women of Worth, and the Point of Light Award.
Mana Parast
Dr. Parast is the Director of Perinatal Pathology at the University of California San Diego, and a physician-scientist leading a research program focused on placental development and adverse pregnancy/neonatal outcomes. Her research has ranged from placental pathology in the setting of cord accident and stillbirth, to the use of stem cells to develop “disease-in-a-dish” models for studying placenta-based disorders of pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction. Most recently, in collaboration with her colleagues in obstetrics/gynecology and neonatology, she has established the Center for Perinatal Discovery at UC San Diego, with the goal of bringing together researchers of diverse backgrounds to study the placenta and placenta-based pregnancy complications, including stillbirth.
Malu Tejada de Rivero Sawers
Malu (Maria Luisa) Tejada de Rivero Sawers was born and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, where she trained as an obstetrician and gynecologist. She holds a Master’s in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and completed a Primary Care Research Fellowship at Penn State College of Medicine. She is part of the team at the Penn State Pregnancy After Loss Clinic. Her second son Pablo was stillborn in 2010.
Melannie Green
Melannie Green has a decades-long history as an active volunteer within the Utah community. As the mother of seven children, she has been given countless opportunities to serve others at her children’s schools, local churches and businesses as well as with many notable organizations such as (1) President/Chair(s)/Volunteer with Share Parents of Utah, Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support, since 2013, (2) Executive Board Member with Utah’s Festival of Trees, (3) Contributor, CDC/DHHS, SOARS-Study of Associated Risks of Stillbirth, and (4) International Stillbirth Alliance Conference Planning Committee, Utah. #weWILLlivelifetotheMAX
Michelle La Fontaine
Michelle La Fontaine is the Regional Program Manager for the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network, and is a passionate advocate, speaker, and leader dedicated to raising awareness and support for individuals and families impacted by pregnancy and infant loss. Having personally navigated infertility, miscarriage, and the devastating stillbirth of her twins in 2005, she brings a unique perspective to the conversation around grief and bereavement. Michelle has a background in healthcare as a child life specialist, and worked with children and families in the community for over 15 years before dedicating her career to breaking the silence surrounding pregnancy and infant loss in an effort to create a more compassionate and supportive world for those affected by pregnancy and infant loss.
Naomi Riches
Naomi O. Riches is a Research Assistant Professor in the University of Utah Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member of its Stillbirth Research Program and placenta insufficiency working group. Her research is centered around identifying and addressing the needs of stillbirth parents concerning their postmortem decision. Outside of her qualitative research interests on shared decision-making, Dr. Riches has experience in informatics, exposure science, and social determinants of health research. She received her Doctorate in Occupational and Environmental Health and completed a Postdoctoral fellowship in Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Riches is an active member of the Center of Excellence in Exposure Health Informatics (CEEHI) and the NIH National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Social Determinants of Health working group. Additionally, she is examining the impact of air pollution, climate change, and social determinants of health on adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as stillbirth.
Paul Ndungu
Paul Ndungu is NIHR Unit Community Engagement and Involvement lead for Kenya.
Rana Jawish
Dr Jawish is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Huntsman Mental Health Institute, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine. Her clinical interest is in improving women’s mental health and expanding access to mental health care for pregnant women with substance use and mood disorder. Her research advances innovative neuromodulation modalities including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for the treatment of perinatal substance use and mood disorder with a specific focus on developing a breakthrough treatment to address the ongoing epidemic of methamphetamine use disorder and to reduce related morbidity and mortality in pregnant women. She is also interested in identifying existing barriers and factors that are facing this underserved, vulnerable, understudied patient population. Dr. Jawish is board-certified in Psychiatry and board-eligible in Addiction Psychiatry with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Rob Saunders
Rob Saunders is an Australian endurance adventurer, grief & resilience speaker and the founder of Room Eleven, a social enterprise supporting bereaved families. After the stillbirth of his daughter Billie in 2019, he turned his grief into purpose, working alongside researchers, clinicians, and health services to improve bereavement care and ensure consumer voices shape research and practice. Rob brings a father’s perspective that is rarely heard in healthcare. He has contributed to national and international research initiatives, co-authored a Cochrane review on support after stillbirth and neonatal death, and regularly presents at conferences, hospitals, and events. Outside the conference room, Rob is known for endurance challenges that spark conversations about babyloss, including running every day for a year and raising over $26,000 for pregnancy after loss care during a 24-hour kick scooter Guinness World Record attempt. Sometimes the longest way around is the fastest way to get people talking.
Samika Baskerville
Samika Baskerville is the Founder and Executive Director of Empowerment Youth Leadership Academy (EYLA), a Chicago-based organization she created to serve underserved communities through mental health advocacy, peer support, youth leadership, career readiness, and family-centered care. As a Peer-to-Peer Instructor, she connects individuals and families to support, resources, and hope.
Her work is deeply informed by her lived experience as the mother of her daughter, Jamya Samika Ellebb. Experiencing child loss shaped Samika’s commitment to ensure that bereaved parents are seen, heard, and supported with dignity. She brings a personal understanding of how stillbirth can affect mental health, relationships, a family’s sense of safety, and daily life. Through EYLA’s Embrace Your Little Angel program, Samika has supported more than ten bereaved mothers by providing cremation assistance, peer connections, grief support, and essential care resources. She also mentors high school and college students across the City Colleges of Chicago, empowering them to pursue education, wellness, leadership, and new opportunities. As a panelist, Samika will share the perspective of a bereaved parent, grief-support leader, and community advocate. She will address the connection between stillbirth and mental health; the gaps families encounter when seeking culturally responsive care, trusted support, and clear resources; and the need for spaces where grief is acknowledged without judgment. Her work is rooted in the belief that every family deserves compassionate care and meaningful connection that honors both loss and healing.
Shirley Hale
Shirley Hale is a “Jill” of all trades. She is a mother to five living children and two in heaven, Annie and Tanner. After losing her second baby, she became more involved in the loss community and started working in bereavement care at four hospitals in Utah County, putting her hobby photographer skills to use. She loves to capture the beauty in each baby and provide pictures that families will love to look at and cherish. She also provides hand molds to local mortuaries in need for all ages. In addition to her work in bereavement care, she facilitates mindfulness classes and is a certified sound healer. She loves to bring peace and love to those in need. She is so happy to be here and share what she has learned in bereavement care with others.
Stacey Fletcher
Stacey Fletcher is the Program Manager for Parent Voice at the Utah Stillbirth Center of Excellence (USCOE). As a clinical trainer and peer support specialist for the Utah Pregnancy After Loss (UPAL) Program, Stacey’s position ensures that parent experience plays a key role in developing excellent physical and mental health care. She is honored to share her lived experience of deep grief and also extensive rebuilding following the stillbirth of her son Benjamin 18 years ago. Stacey advocates for and participates in stillbirth research, equitable bereavement care, and community awareness. She has presented her perspective nationally and globally, promoting the important role of parents in stillbirth prevention and sensitive clinical care. She has spent many tender hours with families in hospital rooms, mortuaries, and homes. She is a storyteller. She has worked professionally as a writer, editor, educator, and publisher and is passionate about giving voice to others. Stacey and her husband Bryan are the parents of five living children. Together their family advocates against the racism and disparities often found in underserved and marginalized communities.
Sunayna Wahi
Sunayna Wahi MS, MBA, OLY is a Research Manager in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Utah Health and works in partnership to support the equity core of the Utah Stillbirth Center of Excellence. She is also the manager of the Culture, Resilience, and Community Health Partnership departmental committee. Her interests lie in representing health disparities through the use of geospatial tools, working towards culturally competent and community-supported decision-making processes that actively involve members of the community, and through an approach that centers on implementing solution-driven methods, identifying the barriers faced by people of color in women's and maternal health which significantly contribute to healthcare inequities.
Suzanne Smith
Suzanne Smith, CPM LDEM MS Midwifery, practiced for 25 years as a community midwife in Utah, delivering in both homes and birth centers. She now works for the Utah Dept of Health and Human Services as its Perinatal Mortality Review Coordinator. In that role, she manages multi-professional committees that review Utah's maternal, neonatal, and fetal deaths, trying to understand what contributed to them and to make recommendations that might prevent future occurrences. In particular, she abstracts the medical and other records of stillbiorn infants into case narratives the committee members review, giving the parents and child a voice, and committee members a window into their lives.
Susannah Leisher
Susannah (Zan) Hopkins Leisher is a stillbirth epidemiologist and parent to Wilder Daniel, stillborn at 38½ weeks on July 13, 1999, with no cause found. Her stillbirth research interests include structural racism and epigenetic mechanisms of effect. Dr Leisher is working to launch the first Stillbirth Center of Excellence in the United States. She is an honorary research fellow of the Stillbirth Centre for Research Excellence at the University of Queensland, Australia; ex-officio chair of the International Stillbirth Alliance; co-chair of the Stillbirth Advocacy Working Group; and a member of the Steering Committee of AlignMNH, the MFMU Network’s Community Engagement Board, and the WHO/UNICEF’s Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere Management Team. Prior to becoming an epidemiologist, Dr Leisher was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal and then spent over 20 years working on global poverty and social justice in Asia, Africa and Central America, including ten years in Vietnam.
Timaima Clawson
Timaima (Tima) Clawson is a Fijian iTaukei woman, born in Fiji, raised in California, and now living in Utah. Her maternal health advocacy comes through lived experience and a commitment to ensuring that Pasifika mothers are heard and supported during pregnancy, loss, and healing. After witnessing the resilience of Pasifika mothers and the gaps that remained around them, Tima founded Kula Cares Plus in 2026. The nonprofit strengthens maternal mental wellbeing and connections to care for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families in Utah and across Pasifika diaspora communities. Her approach nurtures the vā, meaning the relationships surrounding mothers, honors ancestral and present-day wisdom, and affirms their voice in decisions affecting their care and families.
Tina Lavender
Professor Dame Tina Lavender is co-director of the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Prevention and Management in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Tracey Mills
Dr Tracey Mills co-investigator and lead for the perinatal bereavement care workstream with the Unit.
Tsegaselassie Workalemahu
Dr. Workalemahu is a genetic epidemiology researcher in the Stillbirth Research Program, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Utah Health, investigating causes of unexplained obstetric complications. He investigates the genetic factors related to pregnancy loss, stillbirth and other obstetric complications that are often linked with adverse health outcomes over the lifespan. One of Dr. Workalemahu's studies is aimed at determining specific genetic mutations that cause pregnancy loss by conducting whole genome sequencing analysis of DNA from families. His other research interests include investigating placental epigenetic factors and genetics of complex chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Vicki Flenady
Professor Flenady is co-director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth at Mater Research, University of Queensland, Australia, and is a nationally and internationally recognized perinatal epidemiologist. She is well-known for her expertise in Cochrane systematic reviews, clinical trials and the development and implementation of high-quality clinical practice guidelines. With a background in midwifery and neonatal nursing, clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, her research is now devoted to stillbirth prevention through improving identification and care for women with risk factors and improving data quality to drive change. Prof Flenady also has a major interest in improving care for parents whose child is stillborn, including in a subsequent pregnancy. She is a past chair of the International Stillbirth Alliance, and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for her research into stillbirth in 2024.