Perinatal Mental Health Summit 2026 Speakers

Paola Amaya-Rodriguez, LCSW, PMH-C

Paola Amaya-Rodriguez, LCSW, PMH-C, is a bilingual licensed clinical social worker and certified perinatal mental health specialist at Chances for Children, where she provides dyadic psychotherapy and co-facilitates reflective groups. Her work focuses on supporting the parent–child relationship from pregnancy through the first five years of life, with a relational and strengths-based approach that honors each family’s cultural identity, history, and community context.

Prior to joining Chances for Children, Amaya-Rodriguez worked in trauma-focused clinical settings, including the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC), Safe Horizon, the Child Advocacy Center, the Roberto Clemente Center, and the NYU Military Family Clinic. She earned her B.A. in psychology and Master of Social Work from New York University and completed postgraduate training in child and family therapy at NYU, parent–infant psychotherapy at Columbia University, and perinatal mental health training through Postpartum Support International and the Seleni Institute.

Alison C. Baker, LCSW, PMH-C

Alison C. Baker, LCSW, PMH-C, is the clinical director at the Seleni Institute and an experienced psychotherapist working with individuals, couples, and families navigating life transitions, reproductive and parenting experiences, and mental health challenges including anxiety and depression. Her work focuses on supporting clients through co-parenting dynamics, trauma, grief and loss, and the emotional complexities of family building, including fertility challenges, pregnancy and postpartum transitions, parenting stress, and reproductive loss.

In addition to her clinical work, Baker has extensive experience as an educational consultant, parenting coach, and parenting group facilitator, helping caregivers strengthen relationships and navigate the evolving challenges of raising children. She holds a Master of Social Work from Columbia University and completed advanced post-graduate training at the Ackerman Institute for the Family. She is also certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) through Postpartum Support International.

Paige Bellenbaum, LCSW, PMH-C

Paige Bellenbaum, LCSW, PMH-C, is a perinatal mental health advocate, clinician, and consultant with over 25 years of experience working with marginalized communities and families. After experiencing severe postpartum depression and anxiety following the birth of her son, she became a leading voice in maternal mental health policy and advocacy. She helped draft New York State legislation requiring hospitals to educate and screen for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), which was signed into law in 2014.

Bellenbaum was the founding director and chief external relations officer of The Motherhood Center of New York, where she helped establish the first New York State Office of Mental Health Article-31 Perinatal Partial Hospital Program for mothers experiencing moderate to severe PMADs. She currently works as a perinatal mental health consultant, partnering with government agencies, hospitals, nonprofits, and academic institutions to integrate PMAD best practices into policy and care systems.

She is also an adjunct professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and a trainer with Postpartum Support International. Bellenbaum has been widely recognized as a maternal mental health expert, appearing on outlets including The Today Show, Good Morning America, NPR, PBS NewsHour, and in The New York Times andThe Wall Street Journal.

Laudy Burgos, LCSW-R, PMH-C

Laudy Burgos, LCSW-R, PMH-C, is a bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed clinical social worker with over 27 years of experience specializing in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, as well as family and children’s services. She is trained in trauma-informed, evidence-based treatment approaches, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT).

Burgos currently serves as associate director in the Department of Social Work Services at Mount Sinai Hospital, where she supervises OB/GYN and NICU social work teams and manages the Northeast Regional Alliance (NERA) Behavioral Health–Social Work Program. In addition to her hospital leadership role, she has served as a consultant to multiple child welfare agencies.

Burgos earned both her Bachelor of Science in Social Work and her Master of Social Work from the NYU Silver School of Social Work. She is adjunct faculty at New York University and Columbia University. She also serves on the boards of Postpartum Support International and Siembra Today.

Burgos has presented at numerous national and international professional conferences and is the author of several publications focused on perinatal mental health, trauma-informed care, and social work practice.

Helena A. Grant, MS, CNM, LM, CICP, FACNM

Helena A. Grant is a licensed midwife, evolving professionally through the Certified Nurse-Midwife pathway, who has cared for and empowered the lives of women, birthing people, and families for three decades. She has had thousands of new souls birthed and born—never delivered—into her hands in hospital and birth center settings in NYC.

Grant is co-chair of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee and the inaugural senior advisor of Midwifery Initiatives at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the first midwifery position of its kind in the United States. She is also the outgoing president and current legislative chair of New York Midwives, board liaison to the New York State Perinatal Association, a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, and co-chair of the Brooklyn Borough President’s Maternal Health Taskforce.

As the past director of midwifery at NYC Health and Hospital’s Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center’s Obstetric and Gynecological service, Grant successfully integrated an ingrained and respected midwifery model, caring for women and birthing people independent of most clinical risk statuses with physician and nursing collaboration, resulting in one of the lowest cesarean birth and highest vaginal birth after cesarean rates in New York State, along with many other indicators of low morbidity and high patient satisfaction, defying the low expectations too often put on Black and Brown bodies.

Grant is also a member of the New York State Department of Health’s Maternal Mortality Advisory Committee. Nationally, she has served on the Joint Commission Taskforce to improve perinatal quality for postpartum hemorrhage and severe hypertension in pregnancy, and is a long-serving member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives DEIB Committee and a co-author of the landmark Truth, Reconciliation and Apology Resolution.

Grant is a sought-after presenter, panelist, and book and article consultant, for her ability to apply a historical, ethnographic, and epigenetic lens to synergize current clinical realities. She is the midwifery historian in the nationwide documentary film Aftershock, and most recently appeared on the podcast Overlooked to discuss the historical and modern-day physical and psycho-soul-spiritual sequelae of cesarean birth for all women, especially Black women. She has received many local and national awards for her service, most recently from her alma mater, Georgetown University, which named her a 2025 Exemplar Nursing Alumni.

Grant received a Bachelor of Science in nursing with a minor in theology from Georgetown University, where she became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She received her master’s degree in midwifery education from the State University of New York at Downstate and an Integrative Professional Coaching Certification from the Ford Institute.

Silvia Juárez-Marazzo, LCSW

Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Silvia Juárez-Marazzo is a licensed clinical social worker, nationally accredited Adlerian psychoanalyst, and educator with more than thirty-five years of experience working with young children and families. She began her career as an educator for children with complex emotional needs in both inner-city and rural communities in Buenos Aires, developing a deep respect for the inner world of the child.

Her work as an educator, child-parent psychotherapist, and social worker is grounded in relational and trauma-informed perspectives, and guided by the belief that a child cannot be understood in isolation but within the context of caregivers and community. Inspired by the immigrant families she serves, Juárez-Marazzo has authored and illustrated children’s books for immigrant families, with her work recognized internationally, including at the 2025 London International Book Fair.

Juárez-Marazzo has taught and presented nationally and internationally. She served as core faculty for the Early Relational Health Fellowship at UMASS CHAN led by Ed Tronick, and has held adjunct faculty roles at Southern Connecticut State University, Fairfield University, and Brooklyn College. She currently works closely with expectant parents and families with children birth to age five and has held leadership roles in early relational health initiatives including Child First and Chances for Children-NY. In 2014, she received the Connecticut Infant Mental Health Association’s Jane C. Bourns Award for Excellence in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

Moshe Moeller, Ph.D.

Moshe Moeller, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in cross-cultural fatherhood, parenting, couples, and paternal mental health. He is an attending psychologist at Montefiore Medical Center and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Moeller is currently the associate program director of Montefiore’s HERO Dads program in the Bronx. For over a decade, he has been conducting and presenting fatherhood and relationship education research and has been providing clinical services for fathers and families from diverse backgrounds. Moeller received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Queens College and his master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Adelphi University, Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology.

Carmen Muñoz-Medrano

Carmen Muñoz-Medrano is a health program coordinator at Hispanic Federation, where she supports the implementation of statewide public health initiatives across New York. She earned her Bachelor of Science in public health from the University at Albany and has been recognized for her leadership and advocacy, receiving the Dr. Seth Spellman Jr. Distinguished Leadership Award.

Kimberly Polanco

Kimberly Polanco is a social worker, birth and abortion doula, and childbirth educator who specializes in and is passionate about supporting families throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. She currently works in the OB/GYN Ambulatory Practice at Mount Sinai Hospital, where she provides clinical and emotional support to patients navigating both high-risk medical and social challenges during the perinatal period. Polanco also facilitates Spanish prenatal education groups at Nido de Esperanza and has dedicated much of her work to supporting immigrant and Spanish-speaking communities. Her work centers on perinatal mental health, culturally responsive care, and advocating for more equitable support for birthing people and families.

Tykeen Robinson

Tykeen Robinson is a mental health program manager within the Strategic Initiatives and Projects Unit at Gotham. He earned his Master of Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work in 1999 and, in 2008, completed an Advanced Clinical Family and Couples Therapy Training Certification from the same institution.

With over 15 years of experience working with adolescents and their families, Robinson has provided individual, family, and group therapeutic services. In 2016, he joined the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of School Health as a public health social worker, contributing to an asthma program. Within two years, he was promoted to deputy director, where he oversaw the training of case managers prior to their placement in schools. In this role, he also developed comprehensive training manuals for both case managers and supervisors.

In February 2023, Robinson joined the Bureau of Maternal, Infant, and Reproductive Health (BMIRH) as a mental health program manager. His responsibilities include managing the maternal mental health vendor contract, developing a mental health resource directory, and facilitating monthly team meetings for social workers within home visiting programs.

Throughout his professional journey, Robinson has consistently recognized and advocated for the critical role of fathers in mental health and family systems.

Ashanda Saint-Jean, M.D., FACOG

Dr. Ashanda Saint Jean is a proud graduate of The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education/CUNY Medical School and earned her medical degree from New York Medical College. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Danbury Hospital, a Yale New-Haven affiliate in Connecticut, and is a board-certified OB/GYN physician.

For more than two decades, Dr. Saint Jean has devoted her career to delivering high-quality, culturally responsive healthcare to underrepresented minority women across both urban New York City and rural communities in upstate New York. Her patient-centered philosophy is anchored in comprehensive care—integrating mental health, addressing social determinants of health, and ensuring that every patient’s voice is valued.

Dr. Saint Jean has held numerous leadership and academic roles throughout her career. She is the former chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Health Alliance Hospitals of the Hudson Valley within the Westchester Medical Center Health Network and serves as an associate professor in the Department of OB/GYN. She is also a senior maternal health consultant for the New York City Department of Health, a former member of the Ulster County Board of Health, and a past leader within ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) District II.

Her commitment to advancing women’s health, equity, representation, and reducing maternal mortality and morbidity extends far beyond clinical care. Dr. Saint Jean is a New York State delegate for ACOG’s national Collective Action Advancing Respect and Equity (CAARE) initiative and a physician member of the New York State Coalition for Doula Access. She also serves on the New York State Maternal Taskforce, the New York State Maternal Mortality Review Board, and co-chairs the New York City Maternal Mortality Review Board.

Solimar Santiago-Warner, DSW, LCSW, PMH-C

Solimar Santiago-Warner, DSW, LCSW, PMH-C is a clinician-scholar, educator, and leader in perinatal mental health. She earned her Doctor of Social Work from NYU’s Silver School of Social Work, where her scholarship focused on advancing equitable perinatal palliative care and strengthening the role of social work within interdisciplinary medical settings.

With nearly two decades of experience across pediatric, neonatal, and perinatal hospital systems, Santiago-Warner integrates trauma-informed, culturally responsive frameworks into clinical care, program development, and systems transformation. She is the founder of Solmaterna Psychotherapy & Consulting, where she provides specialized psychotherapy and trains health care teams in grief-informed, justice-centered perinatal care.

Through her clinical work, scholarship, and national leadership, she advances compassionate, evidence-informed approaches to reproductive mental health that honor both the science and the lived experience of families.