The MN PRAMS Advisory Committee is required by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to advise the Minnesota PRAMS staff in the development and selection of state-specific questions and on the use, dissemination, and application of findings. The multi-disciplinary committee includes individuals from the public, private, and academic sector (city, county, state, and tribal agencies; academic centers; health plans and medical centers; and maternal child health nonprofit organizations). The PRAMS Advisory Committee is a sub-committee under the Maternal and Child Health Advisory Task Force. The PRAMS Advisory Committee meets annually.

Minnesota PRAMS Advisory Committee Members

OBSTETRIC GYNECOLOGIST

M HEALTH FAIRVIEW WOMEN’S CLINIC

Christy Boraas, MD, MPH

Dr. Boraas received her master's degree in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and her medical degree with honors from the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH and went on to complete her fellowship in complex family planning at the Magee-Womens Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh. During her education, she also completed four elective rotations/internships in developing countries. She is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and complex family planning.

INFANT HEALTH AND MORTALITY REDUCTION SPECIALIST

MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Michelle Chiezah, MPH

Michelle Chiezah is the State’s Infant Health and Mortality Reduction Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). At MDH, Michelle provides statewide leadership around infant mortality reduction and manages the state’s Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative. The Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative provides resources, education, information, and technical assistance to local public health agencies, Tribal governments, and community-based organizations to improve birth outcomes. A major focus of Michelle’s work is to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality by planning, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating interventions and activities using the most current data, best practices, and promising strategies. Michelle also serves on several other committees that aim to improve maternal and/or infant health outcomes, including the Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths Case Review Committee, the Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative Health Equity Group, the St. Paul-Ramsey County Birth Equity Community Council, and the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs Healthy Beginnings Cohort, to name a few.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

GREAT LAKES INTER-TRIBAL EPIDEMIOLOGY CENTER (GLITEC)

Jenni Edwards, MPH

Jeni Edwards is a Research Assistant at the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center. She has over 15 years of leadership experience from the customer service, hospitality, and manufacturing industries, where she has developed strong skills in team management, project and event organization, and customer/client relations. Her venture into a program that specializes in Tribal public health reflects her commitment to being more involved with her community and the overall improvement of health in the Native American communities. She is a self-starter who enjoys taking on new projects and challenges while learning new skills. She especially enjoys the outreach opportunities that her job offers. She is a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians and has been a beadwork artist for the last 10 years. She also believes in sharing her skills and enjoys teaching others how to bead. When she isn’t beading, she likes to weightlift, read, and spend time with her dog, Buddy.

PERINATAL PROGRAM AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT

MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES (DHS)

Takayla Lightfield

Takayla Lightfield (she/her/winyan) is Mnicoujou Lakota, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Currently, she is a Perinatal Program and Community Engagement Consultant on the Population Health Innovation team at Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). Her main role is co-managing the Integrated Care for High-Risk Pregnancies (ICHRP) grant program. She is also supporting the creation of the Pathways to Racial Equity for American Indian Medicaid Members (P2RE) report and a part of the DHS Healthcare Administration Equity Committee, Birthing Person Health Workgroup, co-convener of the Participant Expert Panel Discussion Group of Medicaid Members, and an organizing member of the Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective.

Takayla holds a Public Health Training Certificate for American Indian Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She also received her Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Minnesota Morris and majored in Psychology, Human Services, and American Indian Studies.

Over the last decade Takayla has worked on various health-related issues in the American Indian community such as access to Medicaid, SNAP, & TANF benefits, mental health resources for children, Indigenous food and nutrition education for families, doula support, perinatal education, and lactation advocacy, education, and support. She is currently an active labor and birth doula and Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor.

FORMER NEONATOLOGIST

N/A

Rich Lussky, MD, MPH

Rich Lussky is a former neonatologist who spent 30 years caring for critically ill newborns in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Hennepin Healthcare (formerly Hennepin County Medical Center). Early in his career, he recognized how deeply social determinants of health and systemic disparities impacted the infants and families he served. This insight sparked a lifelong commitment to advancing maternal and child health through collaboration with community, public, and private organizations.

To strengthen his impact in this space, he was awarded a Bush Foundation Medical Fellowship, which he used to pursue a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health. He was also selected as a Humphrey Institute Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota, further equipping him to influence health policy and advocate for equitable care across clinical and community settings.

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER

CITY OF SHOREVIEW

Eugene (Gene) M. Nichols

Gene brings over 30 years of experience in health care management, having served as a Division Manager for the Health Care Division at 3M Corporation before retiring. He remains deeply engaged in public service and advocacy, currently serving on several boards including Face2Face, the Association for Non-Smokers–Minnesota, and the Tobacco Free Alliance.

Gene is also a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Shoreview, where he resides, and contributes to the Ramsey County Charter Commission as well as the Minnesota Department of Health’s Maternal and Child Health Advisory Task Force. Originally from Yonkers, New York, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh.

REGISTERED DIETICIAN AND LACTATION CONSULTANT

MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH- WIC

Rosie Pierce-Martin, MPH, RD, IBCLC

Rosie Pierce-Martin is a Registered Dietitian and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant with a passion for lactation, community health, and equitable access to quality lactation support and education. Rosie has worked in the field of Public Health with the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC) since 2008. Her current role is the State Breastfeeding Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Health WIC program. Rosie’s work supports local WIC agencies in having the resources they need to support lactating parents. Her collaborative work with state, regional, and federal partners help increase access to breastfeeding education and support for every family that wants it. Rosie has 2 young sons and enjoys getting outside any time of the year.

SENIOR EPIDEMIOLOGIST

GREAT LAKES INTER-TRIBAL EPIDEMIOLOGY CENTER (GLITEC)

Helen Tesfai, MPH

Helen Tesfai is a Senior Epidemiologist at the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center (GLITEC) in Madison, Wisconsin, where she works at a satellite office. Originally from Eritrea (East Africa), she moved to the United States in 2007 and earned a Master of Public Health degree from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, with a dual concentration in Epidemiology and International Health, graduating in 2009.

She previously spent nearly 12 years working for the Rocky Mountain Tribal Epidemiology Center, where she served Tribes in Montana and Wyoming. Following that, she worked as a Contractor for eight months in Program Effectiveness at the Tennessee Department of Health.

Outside of work, she loves cooking Ethiopian/Eritrean dishes, reading books, and watching TV—especially comedies and documentaries—as well as basketball games. She is a big fan of the Golden State Warriors.