Meet Our Team
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Merry McKenna, Executive Director: Merry resides in Bristol and is by trade a registered nurse certified in Inpatient Obstetrics with a B.A. in Business and Marketing. For her, business and nursing seemed a perfect marriage when she first introduced Baby Basics to Southwest Virginia in 2006. Now working in partnership with the March of Dimes Virginia Chapter, Merry implements Moms Clubs across the state. She often shares a favorite quote with our moms which praises motherhood as the preeminent force for change in the world:
"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." ~William Ross Wallace |
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Our Talented 'Before Baby' Moms Club Facilitators:
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Lisa Dolinger has been a nurse since 1992. Her career has been centered around caring for mothers and babies. Lisa is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She is currently a prenatal educator for Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, VA. Lisa has been an American Heart Association CPR instructor since 2000. As a Moms Club Facilitator, Lisa finds her position to be a complement to her past jobs and enjoys being a part of Moms Club.
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Chesterfield:
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New facilitator bio coming soon...
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Farmville:
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Sarafina Cooper works as the Community Outreach Specialist for Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital. She provides community outreach and education for perinatal and maternal health programs through the Center for Childbirth & Family Education. She also provides outreach for the National Community Voice: Taking It to the People program which serves to increase community awareness of disparities in infant mortality and provide perinatal health education. Sarafina holds a Master of Public Health degree from Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA).
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Hampton:
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Lameisha Poole is a Program Coordinator in the education department at Planned Parenthood. She received her Bachelors in Public Health Education from North Carolina Central University and is currently working on her MSW at Walden University. Lameisha began working with Moms Clubs as an educator coming to club meetings to help improve awareness about healthy lifestyles and behaviors during and after pregnancy. In 2018 Lameisha accepted a role in group facilitation for Moms Club groups. Her passion and knowledge about working with pregnant women will will assist in furthering positive outcomes for Moms Club participants.
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"Character is like pregnancy, it will by all means manifest." |
Lynchburg:
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Ann Scott is the coordinator and developer of the National Community Voice: Taking it to the People program. Her 19 years of experience managing and developing community outreach programs include the Resource Mothers Program, a mentoring program for pregnant teens, for Central Virginia Health Department; and People for People at Court Street Baptist Church, an educational program to positively impact chronic diseases that disparately affect African Americans. Ann is a board certified Respiratory Therapist, a Certified Lactation Specialist, and a 2009 nominee for the Virginia Chapter March of Dimes Hall of Fame for being a champion for babies.
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"Your character is defined by what you do, not by what you say you will do." |
Newport News:
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Liz Marshall is a certified childbirth educator (ICCE) and a certified birth doula (DONA) and is the owner of Gentle Stork Childbirth Services. Liz has a Master of Public Health degree from The Ohio State University and is excited by how Moms Club is dedicated to improving birth outcomes. Her prior work experience as a grant writer and health reporter has proven useful as she launches a new Moms Club. Liz was the secretary of Birth Matters Virginia, a statewide organization. In 2011, she received the Hampton Roads Child Health Advocacy Award from the Consortium for Infant and Child Health (CINCH) for “Grass Roots Advocate.”
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Roanoke Carilion:
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William & Mary Healthy Beginnings Project:
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