Our Team

Meet the dedicated researchers, educators, and advocates working to advance women's health equity.

Senior Leadership

 
Ndidiamaka Amutah Onukagha, PhD, MPH

Ndidiamaka Amutah Onukagha, PhD, MPH

Founder and Executive Director

Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is the Founder and Director of the Center of Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ), and of the Maternal Outcomes of Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab.

Sundé Daniels, MBA, CLC

Sundé Daniels, MBA, CLC

Managing Director, Education and Training Unit Lead

Sundé Daniels, MBA, CLC is the Founder and Director of the Center of Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ), and of the Maternal Outcomes of Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab.

Unit Leads

 
Nina Ashford , DrPH, MPH

Nina Ashford , DrPH, MPH

Policy Advisor

Dr. Ashford is committed to health equity through innovative person-centered policy, public health programming, and evaluation. She has over 16 years of experience working across multiple sectors including government, academia, and community-based non-profits.

Linda Hudson, Sc.D., Sc.M, M.S.P.H.

Linda Hudson, Sc.D., Sc.M, M.S.P.H.

Community Engaged Research Unit Lead

Dr. Hudson is anl Assistant Professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine. The strength of her contribution has been in community-based practice, implementation, management and evaluation of programs designed to facilitate health-related behavior change by addressing individual and community level determinants of health.

Shikhar Shrestha, PhD

Shikhar Shrestha, PhD

Maternal and Child Health Epidemiological Data Unit Lead

Dr. Shrestha is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine. His research studies the opioid crisis, emphasizing prenatal opioid exposure and associated health outcomes, opioid overdose events, and harm reduction. 

Candace Stewart , MPH

Candace Stewart, MPH

MOTHER Lab Unit Lead

Candace Stewart, MPH is a graduate of Philadelphia University, now known as Thomas Jefferson University (2011), and completed her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy and Management in 2016 at Stony Brook University.  

Team

 
Alysha Noel

Alysha Noel

Senior Administrative Coordinator

Alysha Noel is a results-driven professional with a diverse background in operations management and community engagement.

Judith Jeanty

Judith Jeanty

Event Coordinator/Project Manager for the BE A MOM Study (R01)

Judith Jeanty, MPH, is from New Jersey where she received her Bachelor of Science from Montclair State University and her Master's in Public Health with a concentration in Community Health and Prevention from Drexel University.

Farida N. YADA, PhD, MPH

Farida N. YADA, PhD, MPH

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Yada's background is in Biology, Public Health, and Health Services Research. She is passionate about reproductive health, access, utilization, and quality of maternity services across the Black Diaspora with a focus on immigrant Black women.

Heather Olden, DrPH, MPH

Heather Olden, DrPH, MPH

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Olden is the new Postdoctoral Research Fellow tackling racial disparities in severe maternal mortality.