Meredith is an Occupational therapist and International Board certified Lactation Consultant. She began her career as an Occupational Therapist in 2000 working in NICU and rehab settings, specializing in feeding and swallowing disorders.She later moved to Colorado and started her training in lactation in 2005 while working in a high altitude NICU, supporting families with bottle and breastfeeding. After moving to Nevada she has worked in early intervention, provided breastfeeding education for state WIC and now has a busy private practice Nourish

Nevada Lactation and Feeding Services serving Northern Nevada and surrounding areas. Meredith has volunteered her time with the Northern Nevada Breastfeeding Coalition since moving to Nevada in 2012 and has held many roles. She is currently the Latch On Host.

Denise has been working in the field of child advocacy in Nevada since 1998 conducting applied research and policy analysis on children’s issues, with an emphasis on translating research and data to improve policy and practice. Denise’s current projects are focused on improving Nevada’s early childhood system including the development of the First 5 Nevada website and eligibility portal, establishing a comprehensive governance structure, conducting fiscal and policy analysis, and facilitating the First 5 Nevada Leadership Academy, among others. She previously served as the ECCS Director at The Children’s Cabinet, Executive Director of the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, and Executive Director of the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy (NICRP). Denise has a BA in Women’s Studies from UNLV, with a minor in Sociology and received her Juris Doctorate from the William S. Boyd School of Law.

Jennifer Campbell is no stranger to the maternal and child health space. She’s a certified birth doula, childbirth educator, lactation consultant, bereavement doula®, and adoption & surrogacy doula. She’s spent more than 15 years walking alongside families through their birth journeys —

and now, she’s ready to guide the Doula Co-op of Nevada into its next phase of impact as she was just announced as their new Executive Director.

Ann Jensen serves on Nevada Medicaid's executive leadership team as the Innovation Officer/Agency Manager. She brings expertise in primary care, value-based care, and health policy across the public and private sectors. Ann spent five years in Washington, D.C. working for a value-based care enablement company that partners with over 1,500 independent primary care physicians across the country. She has a track record of successfully achieving shared savings in risk-bearing Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and improving quality performance in complex, state-wide provider networks. Additionally, Ann served as Chief of Staff to the Chief Performance Officer for two years, ensuring a high-functioning and outcomes-oriented team of nearly 500 staff. Ann also has experience with federal health policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and care delivery at safety-net health systems. She holds a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Ann is humbled and grateful to serve the people of Nevada through innovative Medicaid programs to improve access and quality of care.

With 29 years of experience as a dedicated nurse, most of my career has been spent as a Pediatric Intensive Care nurse, where my passion for working with children truly flourished. Now, I channel my dedication into working with the Clinical Quality nurse team, previously working as an asthma care specialist and now a quality improvement nurse. As a Las Vegas resident for 29 years, I am committed to patient education and advocacy, always ensuring honest and accurate information is at the forefront of my practice.

Tasha is a native Nevadan, mom to a toddler, and a supportive law enforcement wife. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and an MBA from the University of Nevada, Reno. With eight years of experience as a fitness coach and seven years working in maternal and child health, she brings a well-rounded and passionate perspective to her work. She is dedicated to supporting families and improving health outcomes for mothers and children in her community.

Dr. Chelsea Travers, MD, MPH is Board Certified from the American Board of Family Medicine. She is a native Nevadan and grew up wanting to be a doctor to provide care to the under-served populations surrounding her. She is passionate about providing high-quality care to patients regardless of their gender, income, or language. Working with patients to improve their mental and physical health makes her proud to be a family medicine physician. Dr. Travers joined HOPES because she wanted to be part of a clinic that responded Northern Nevada’s health care needs. She loves working to provide substance use management, and family planning in addition to the high need for chronic disease management and preventative care for the children and adults in northern Nevada. She is the provider on the Perinatal Care team that provides wrap around services to pregnant people and their babies in the context of addiction.

Megan Aucutt is the Program Director at Healthy Birth Day, Inc., the nonprofit behind the evidence-based stillbirth prevention program Count the Kicks. With over 15 years of experience in nonprofit and government work, she specializes in grant writing, coalition building, and the development of educational programs. Megan oversees programmatic outreach, research efforts, and the free Count the Kicks app while working closely with the medical community to drive system and policy change. A mom of three who used the app during her pregnancies, Megan is passionate about empowering families through education to help save babies.

Elika Nematian is an academic faculty at University of Nevada, Reno Extension and directs the early childhood nutrition education and public health programs in Southern Nevada. With over 13 years of experience in community health program implementation and evaluation, Elika has worked on local and federal child nutrition and food security programs and has provided leadership, strategic planning and coaching for large teams. Elika is currently pursuing her PhD in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences and serves on the State of Nevada Maternal and Child Health Advisory Board, Nevada Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Workgroup & UNLV’s Early Responsive Nurturing Care for Food Security Advisory Board.

Amanda Castelo Saragosa is a Ph.D. student at the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. For the past two years, she has served as a graduate research assistant on the Early Responsive Nurturing for Food Security project, led by Dr. Gabriela Buccini, where she supports quality improvement efforts. Her research interests focus on childhood obesity, responsive feeding, breastfeeding, child health, and early childhood development.

Rhonda Lawrence is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist. Rhonda supports four Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health community clinics in Nevada (three in Las Vegas and one in Reno) with the Division of Child and Family Services – Children’s Community Mental Health Services. Rhonda was born and raised on an alfalfa farm and cattle ranch in Stillwater, outside of Fallon.

Sabina Malik is an Assistant Professor for Healthy Food Systems with the University of Nevada, Reno, Extension. She earned her Ph.D. in Public Health in 2020, currently chairs the Southern Nevada Food Council and serves on the board of the Governor's Council on Food Security. Sabina leads various nutrition education and program evaluation initiatives and has conducted research on food system needs assessments for Southern Nevada. Her expertise encompasses food access, food systems, policy advocacy, health, nutrition education, community engagement, and consumer education.

Tiffany Olivas has been the Early Childhood Comprehensive System’s Manager for The Children’s Cabinet for the last 2 and half years. Previously, she was with the Nevada Department of Education, Office of Early Learning and Development for 7 years where she oversaw the Quality Rating & Improvement System for Northern Nevada. Although most of her professional experience has been in Early Learning, Ms. Olivas has taken to building an Early Childhood System as the next logical step to strengthening services for young children and their families in Nevada. Additionally, Ms. Olivas has served as Chair of the Carson and Douglas County (Nevada) Early Childhood Advisory Council since 2019. When she is not working, she is a proud wife and mother of two children and resides in beautiful Carson City.