Meet Our Team

Alyssa Stenson

Provider & Community Education Manager

Alyssa (she/they) joined MAP in 2022. Alyssa is a proud abortion story-teller. Alyssa has extensive experience within reproductive justice organizing and mobilizing for abortion access. Most recently, Alyssa completed a fellowship with Collective Power for Reproductive Justice, supporting youth building skills for community organizing. Alyssa currently teaches inclusive and diverse Sexual and Reproductive Health in Chicago. Alyssa is passionate about the youth and community having access to sexual and reproductive health.  In Alyssa’s free time she is an abortion doula, Feminist Women’s Health Center fellow, and a Abortion Trainer for Advocates for Youth. In the past, Alyssa did abortion training and education in Arizona at Planned Parenthood. In college, Alyssa completed internships with GLAAD, Planned Parenthood, Public Defender’s Office, Interpersonal Violence on Campus, and Advocates for Youth; this gives Alyssa the tools to provide a diverse background in abortion space. Alyssa decenters cisgender whiteness in abortion training and uplifts queer, trans, and BIPOC voices in her trainings. Alyssa loves watching reality tv, reading, and taking her dog for a walk! Alyssa has a Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University- Newark in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and a minor in sociology.

 

Latona Giwa, RN, BSN, IBCLC

Executive Director

Latona (she/they) became MAP’s Executive Director in September, 2023, bringing their experience as a Birth Doula, Registered Nurse, Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and birth justice advocate. In 2011, they co-founded Birthmark Doula Collective, Louisiana’s only birth-worker-owned cooperative. In 2017, they co-founded the New Orleans Breastfeeding Center, Louisiana’s first freestanding breastfeeding clinic. Latona is a natural instigator and loves collaboration for liberation. Some of their recent collaborative projects include a statewide network of lactation support circles for families of color, a community-led, queer pregnancy and parenting project, and a perinatal emergency preparedness training program. They have served on the Louisiana Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review, the New Orleans Maternal Child Health Coalition, and other reproductive health- related legislative commissions. Their reproductive justice impact has been featured in the New York Times MagazineCBS’s 60 Minutes, and Yes! Magazine. Their writing has been published in The NationRewire News Group, and Huffington PostLatona is happiest when sitting outside next to fresh water, and reading an Afro-futuristic fantasy novel. 

 

Nature Brooks

Individual Clinical Training Manager

Nature (she/her) joined MAP in December 2022. She has significantly impacted public health and advocacy. Her expertise extends to spearheading reproductive rights campaigns, developing HIV prevention initiatives, and driving community health improvements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature’s work, characterized by innovative solutions and a commitment to health equity, showcases a deep dedication to empowering communities and addressing health disparities. Beyond her professional roles, Nature is deeply involved in community organizing and volunteerism, including significant contributions to a prominent local organization dedicated to social justice and racial equality in Cincinnati. This involvement further underscores her passion for fostering a just and healthy society. Nature lives in Cincinnati with her partner and their two dogs, Bear and Cocoa, where she continues to be a force for positive change in her community.

 

Ramey Connelly

Director of Individual Clinical Training

Ramey (she/her) joined Midwest Access Project in November 2021. After completing her BA in Gender & Sexuality Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, she joined the reproductive health/abortion care community as a full-spectrum doula and a collective member of the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project. She currently has over a decade of experience in the field through direct patient care, clinic administration, and clinical training coordination. She is particularly passionate about systems management and quality improvement. Ramey is dedicated to the expansion of access to safe, individualized, compassionate reproductive health care, and committed to protecting the dignity of those who seek it. She currently lives in New Jersey with her partner and an overabundance of house plants.

Deputy Director

To reach MAP’s new Deputy Director, please email info@midwestaccessproject.org.

Operations Manager

To reach MAP’s Operations Manager, please email admin@midwestaccessproject.org.

 

Our Board of Directors

Sameera Ali

Communications and Marketing Consultant

Hannah Cutts, CNM, WHNP

Nurse Practitioner, ACCESS Community Health Network

Andrea Friedman, JD

National Abortion Access Advocate

Stephanie Tillman, CNM, MSN

Feminist Midwife, LLC; Health Care Ethics PhD Student at Saint Louis University

Nicole Baltrushes Hughes, MD

Family Medicine Physician; Faculty, Cook County Family Medicine Residency, Cook County Health and Hospital Systems

Dinaz Mansuri, MA

Executive Director, The Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation

Julie Walner, MM, CPA

Real Estate Financial Consultant, JMB Financial Advisors, LLC

Lorie Chaiten, JD

MAP Co-Founder / Senior Staff Attorney, Reproductive Freedom Project, ACLU Foundation

Morgan Madison, MD

Family Medicine Physician, PCC Community Wellness Center

Barbara Schechtman, MPH

Retired. Former Executive Director, Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center

Kathy Chan

Director of Policy, Cook County Health and Hospitals System

Kevin Hu, MD

Family Physician and Residency Faculty; ACCESS Community Health Network; Sinai Chicago; Planned Parenthood

Debra Stulberg, MD, MA

MAP Co-Founder / Family Medicine Physician; Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology; Chair, Department of Family Medicine, University of Chicago