2020 Mom Ambassadors

View names of Ambassadors in past classes here.

Congratulations to Heather Martin, our 2021 Ambassador of the Year

Heather has worked so hard this year in spreading awareness of the importance of maternal mental health. This pandemic continues to be challenging for moms and their mental health. One way to recognize the moms who were struggling was to start a depression screen program at the pediatrics office (Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock) where she currently works.

Heather created a workflow where the moms get screened for postpartum depression (Edinburgh on a confidential tablet) at their baby's visits and provide resources/groups for these moms that screen positive. They also get a follow-up call in 1-2 weeks to check-in to see how these moms are doing and if they contacted their OB/Gyn or a mental healthcare provider. This step is the most important! Just a simple check-in with these moms has proved a world of difference for them. This successful workflow was recognized by the hospital and by the local news here in New Hampshire.

Heather has written multiple articles that have appeared in the local newspapers, hospital websites, and the 2020 Mom blog to help spread awareness about maternal suicide. Her goal is to continue advocating for maternal mental health in her state and beyond. Screening should be done everywhere and access to maternal mental health for everyone. The fire has been lit, and she notes she will continue on her journey!

Learn about the other 2021 finalists here.

Meet Emily Jacobson, our 2020 Ambassador of the Year

Emily is a birth and postpartum doula and runs her own agency to support other doulas who wish to serve mothers without having to manage the administrative side of the business. She came to 2020 Mom because she knew we needed to do more in her community to help pregnant and postpartum women.

Her community doesn’t have its own diaper bank, and she wanted to create a way for the community to access diapers, so, she partnered with a local emergency homeless shelter for pregnant and parenting women ages 17-24 and their children. In 2019, the community was able to distribute more than 26,000 diapers to the shelter and other community partners in our area. 2020’s diaper drive, which was held in July collected over 36,500 diapers and over 27,700 wipes.

In April 2020, Emily was elected to the Brown County Board of Supervisors hopingto be the mom voice for our community and using herpassion for working with mothers, women, and children.. In August Emily put forth communication to have October 15th, 2020 recognized by her county, as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness day. The resolution passed unanimously and the community was able to honor the hundreds of children lost each year and to grieve alongside their parents and families.

Learn about the other 2020 finalists here.

Meet our 2019 Ambassador of the Year, Corie Hess

Corie is incredibly honored to have been selected as the 2020 Mom Ambassador of the Year! It was last year around this time when she learned about 2020 Mom as she searched the internet desperately trying to make some meaning after experiencing her third pregnancy loss and nearly losing her own life in the process. Shortly after her near miss, she learned that her home state of Indiana has the third-highest rate of maternal mortality in the nation. She also came to realize just how difficult it was in her community to access quality perinatal mental health care. As a Graduate student in the field of Counseling Psychology, she was well informed and had access to numerous resources; yet, she really struggled to find help. She was thrilled to discover the Ambassador program through 2020 Mom as she felt this was a way she could make a difference.

Take a look at her outstanding Ambassador acomplishments:

• Mason Jars for Moms – Raised $250

• Hosted Forum webcast at Ball State – 20 attendees

• Attended Mom Congress

• Organizing a Community Coalition: Muncie & Delaware County Maternal Mental Health Collaborative

Learn about the other 2019 finalists here.

Meet our 2018 Ambassadors of the Year

Congratulations to our husband and wife team, Ed and Millie Pagett, our 2018 Ambassadors of the year.

Ed and Millie were selected by the 2020 Mom board of directors for this honor, because of their tireless work supporting 2020 Mom in our effort to close the gaps in maternal mental health care. They do this work in honor of their daughter Charlene and grandson Shane who lost their lives in 2016 to an undiagnosed and untreated maternal mental health disorder. Read more about one of Millie's and Ed's numerous trips to DC and the CA state capitol to advocate for change, here.

Learn about the other 2018 finalists here.