Maternal Health Equity

Two breakout sessions will be held, and all topics will be presented during both sessions.

Session A: 2 – 2:30 p.m.

Session B: 2:45 – 3:15 p.m.

Abdul-Rahmaan I. Muhammad, MSW
My People Clinical Services, LLC; Fatherhood Man-ologues
Topic: Men’s Health

Abdul-Rahmaan I. Muhammad, MSW, is founder and executive director of My People Clinical Services, an organization providing therapeutic and community-based support programs since 2005. A speaker, author and trainer, he developed several initiatives focused on fatherhood and men’s wellness, including the Fatherhood Man-ologues and the Men’s Health is Community Health program. Muhammad holds degrees in psychology and social work and is active in statewide fatherhood and community leadership initiatives.

Jeanette Epps
Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Clinician
Topic: Maturing Into Womanhood

Iyanna Liles, MD
Hartford HealthCare – OB/GYN
Topic: Maternity

Iyanna Liles, MD, is an OB/GYN specializing in gynecologic care and minimally invasive surgery at Comprehensive GYN of Connecticut and serves as an OB Hospitalist at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. She completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University, earned her MD from Emory University, and completed her OB/GYN residency at UConn. Dr. Liles also serves as vice chair of the Connecticut American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and co-chair of the Connecticut Maternal Mortality Review Committee.

Moderator

Yvette Highsmith
Regional Vice President
Community Health Center

Yvette Highsmith is Regional Vice President at Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI), a statewide federally qualified health center. She oversees eight primary care locations in eastern Connecticut and CHCI’s school-based health services serving more than 150 schools across the state. A longtime advocate for health equity, she has received state and national recognition for her work expanding access to care and improving community health outcomes.

Panelists

Tiffanny Donelson
President & CEO
Connecticut Health Foundation

Tiffany Donelson is President and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation, where she leads the organization’s grantmaking, policy advancement, communications, and leadership development efforts. She previously served as the foundation’s vice president of program and held leadership roles at Aetna in corporate strategy and national business operations. Donelson holds an MPH in health policy and management from Emory University.

Greg Jones
Vice President, Community Health & Engagement
Hartford Hospital

Greg Jones is Vice President of Community Health at Hartford HealthCare. He previously served as an investment banker and corporate finance executive with more than 30 years of experience. Jones founded Hartford Hospital’s Black Men’s Health Project and co-founded the Food 4 Health initiative, helping expand community health programs that address access to care, nutrition, and health equity.

Daileann Hemmings, DNP, MSN, RN
System Director, Maternal Health Equity
Hartford HealthCare

Daileann Hemmings, DNP, MSN, RN, is System Director of Maternal Health Equity at Hartford HealthCare, where she leads initiatives to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce disparities. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Yale University and has more than two decades of experience in nursing, public health, and maternal care leadership.

Fatmata Williams, DNP, MSN, MPH, APRN 
Deputy Medicaid Director
Department of Social Services

Fatmata Williams, DNP, MSN, MPH, APRN, is Deputy Medicaid Director for the State of Connecticut, where she provides leadership across policy, operations, and health equity initiatives within the Medicaid program. With nearly three decades of nursing and public health experience, she has played a key role in advancing maternal health policy, including the development of Connecticut’s Medicaid Maternity Payment Bundle.