Each year at Midwifery Forward we take the opportunity to celebrate individuals and groups who have made an impact on midwifery in Pennsylvania.
Team Award
In 2024, we celebrate two individuals for their contribution to midwifery and the care of women and families in Pennsylvania.
My name is Laura Violet Miller (she/her), and I am a Licensed Social Worker (LSW), educator, mother, and jack of all trades based in Philadelphia, PA. In 2017, I received my Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania and in 2019 I joined the Jefferson Midwifery Team. The first decade of my career was actually as an English eacher, where I worked primarily in alternative and nonprofit settings. This role introduced me to a diversity of people, systems, and perspectives; for example, I have worked with youth experiencing homelessness in Portland, Oregon, and factory workers in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. All were very different settings but each demonstrated the ability for education to be a tool of empowerment. While I love teaching, I knew that I wanted to shift my career to one that was more all-encompassing and that encouraged some of my most valued strengths, such as my bleeding heart, stubborn morality, fiery advocacy, and restorative humor. My current social work role also utilizes my specific passion in working with the perinatal population. During my own pregnancy experience, I noted the difficulties that I, a person with many privileges, faced in managing my own understanding of the physical, emotional, and social aspects of this process. So, when I noticed a lack of support for my pregnant/parenting students, I received training to facilitate an adolescent psychoeducation support group and I sought out doulas-in-training to attend my students’ deliveries. Since becoming a social worker, I have facilitated parenting support groups for mothers experiencing homelessness, provided trauma-sensitive in-home case management support to families in Northwest Philadelphia, enforced a strength-based approach to supporting prenatal patients in a public healthcare setting, and have even been honored to act as birth doula for several close individuals giving birth for the first time. Almost five years into my role as a social worker alongside midwives, I continue to be inspired and motivated by my warmhearted, ambitious colleagues. This year I plan to obtain my license as a Clinical Social Worker (LSCW), as well as a Certification in Perinatal Mental Health from Postpartum Support International (PSI). In pursuing such knowledge, I hope to continue to nurture hope in our patients and their families as they move toward their futures. At this conference of midwives, I know I can say with full support that every parent-to-be, every baby, and every family deserves both competent and compassionate care. Thank you for allowing me to work alongside you and for honoring me with this thoughtful award.
Nomination: submitted by Mari-Carmen Farmer
Creative. Committed. Funny. Humble. Resourceful. Compassionate. Quirky. Gutsy. These are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think of Laura Miller, our very own midwife team social worker. Laura came on board during a tumultuous time in our midwifery practice. We were in the midst of transitioning from Hahnemann University Hospital to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, a much bigger entity that had never had midwives before. We knew we needed a social worker to keep supporting our Health Center patients, but it had to be someone gutsy and creative enough to really make the role their own. Little did any of us know that COVID would appear in our city just a few months later, and that our new social worker still learning the ropes of working with busy midwives would be required to help us provide community-based health care in the throes of a pandemic! Laura has risen to so many challenges since. We have a tough clientele…many of our patients live with layers of complexity due to gaps in structural and social determinants of health, including poverty, lack of access to preventive health care, all manner of trauma, lack of access to basic resources due to documentation status, language barriers, lack of formal education, etc. They require a range of resources to thrive and have safe, healthy pregnancies above and beyond the prenatal care we provide. Laura meets each one of our patients where they are when they walk through our clinic doors — whether they are 5 weeks pregnant or 35 weeks pregnant, 12 years old or 42 years old, whether they were born and raised in Philly or just arrived from a continent clear across the globe, whether they are open to receiving help or they are scared and skeptical of our assistance. She is kind and steady and knows her stuff. She educates them about their rights and advocates for them when they need it and makes sure our care is as individualized as possible. She holds space for their sorrows and fears and celebrates their wins and is really good at making their toddlers happy.
This fall will mark Laura’s 5th year with us. In her time with us, her Spanish fluency has skyrocketed, she has written grants to ensure every single one of our patients can obtain a quality car seat, and has partnered with several local organizations to ensure our patients have consistent access to important resources that help bridge some of the most consistent gaps they experience. Even though she only works with our patients in the ambulatory setting, her success in ensuring no one falls through the proverbial cracks has earned her high marks with our inpatient team, who often ask who is this all-powerful Laura person who is making things happen. She has prepared and delivered a lecture for our OB/GYN residents, educating them about our patient population and about some of the most essential resources available to birthing families in Philadelphia. And she puts up with us, and our million questions and requests, our inability to stop using medical jargon when talking to her, our blunders in paperwork, and our all-around chaotic awesomeness.
Laura, you deserve this huge state-wide standing ovation from the midwifery community. We are very proud you are one of us!
LaTasha D. Mayes (she/her) was elected to the House in 2022. Born and raised in West Philadelphia, she moved to Pittsburgh in 1999 to attend college and has been a dedicated community leader in the region for the past two decades. Mayes is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, and also earned a Master of Science degree in public policy &management at the Heinz School of Carnegie Melon University. As the founder and former president and CEO of New Voices for Reproductive Justice for 18 years, Mayes garnered national attention and a statewide reputation as an unwavering advocate for improving the health and well-being of marginalized communities, especially Black women, femmes, girls, and gender-expansive folx. Mayes served on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on African American Affairs under Gov. Tom Wolf; was the inaugural Vice Chair of the Allegheny County Human Relations Commission that expanded civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ residents; and she has worked in both state government in a House district office and in local government supporting minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises (MWDBE). Mayes is the first woman to ever represent House District 24 and the first out lesbian to ever serve in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Mayes credits her mother, a single mom, Army veteran and union member, for sparking her passion for justice at a young age.
Nomination: submitted by Aya Eliza-Christie
I am excited to nominate PA State Representative La’Tasha D. Mayes for the PA-ACNM Team Member Recognition Award. She, along with Representative Gina Curry and Representative Morgan Cephas launched the Black Maternal Health Caucus for the State of Pennsylvania in October 2023, calling out the injustice of outcomes for Black maternal health and Black neonatal and child health. Her life’s work in public policy and community organizing has affected change to safeguard abortion access, fight for shifts in leadership and resources to address the maternal health crisis, and end racial, gender, and sexual discrimination. For 18 years, she led New Voices for Reproductive Justice, building networks across the state and region. Her work parallels the clinical work of midwifery in her aim for whole person and holistic community wellness, bodily autonomy and trusting in and centering on the lived experiences of her constituents in general, and Black women and folks in particular. Representative Mayes has long been an outspoken supporter and speaker on behalf of The Midwife Center in Pittsburgh while also challenging decision-makers in Pittsburgh and beyond to respond to the need for authentic and comprehensive Reproductive Justice by elevating the voices, leadership, and vision of Black women, girls and femmes. Midwifery care across the state has and will continue to benefit greatly from the work advanced by Representative Mayes. As we live through times that sexual and reproductive healthcare is being threatened by bans and restrictions on best practice standards for gender affirming care, hospital closings and pandemic staffing shortages, and mounting barriers to abortion and contraceptive care, I am deeply comforted to have a dear friend in Harrisburg working for us while we work at the bedside for our clients. Together, through shared goals, we will make meaningful and lasting change.
Keystone Midwives
This award is given to individuals who have dedicated themselves to midwifery in the Commonwealth for 25 years or more. This year we celebrate 10 individuals who have chosen to give their hearts and careers to Pennsylvania midwifery. They join 63 other Keystone Midwives who have been honored in previous years on their 25th year of licensure in Pennyslvania.
Student Scholarships
Lila (she/her) lives in Philadelphia, where she is a student in Jefferson’s midwifery program. She is now completing her final two semesters with the fabulous midwives of the Philadelphia Midwife Collective and Einstein Montgomery. She also works as a labor and delivery nurse and telehealth lactation/infant feeding counselor. She loves making birth and healthcare in any setting feel safe and personal, and she is thankful for the learning journey this career is already taking her on!
Mariel (they/them) is very excited to be at Midwifery Forward this year, their first year attending! They work as a labor and delivery nurse in Philadelphia, where they are enrolled in Jefferson’s CNM program. They love being a part of Philly’s birthworker community and are very excited to meet midwives from across PA this weekend. Besides birth, Mariel is fascinated by trees, birds, food (particularly cheese,) octopus, and dogs.