Executive Transition Announcement

Dear Supporters,It is with both sadness and gratitude that I announce Elise Blasingame’s departure as Executive Director of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia (HMHBGA). HMHBGA has a 46-year history of serving the community by improving maternal and infant health in Georgia through advocacy, education and access to vital resources.Since 2016, Elise has played a critical role as the Executive Director in the development, growth and success of our organization. While we will miss her leadership, we wish her the best of luck in her new endeavor. Elise will be departing later this year to begin her doctoral program in political science at UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs.On behalf of our Board and Staff, I would like to thank Elise for her many contributions to the success of HMHBGA. Elise’s years of dedicated service involved many significant accomplishments, including, but not limited to:

• Growing the HMHBGA team from 8 to 19 staff across our Call Center and Coalition Programs with the Call Center serving over 40,000 Georgians every year.
• Establishing and fostering key relationships with HMHBGA’s many partner organizations, funders and volunteers to create a diverse and inclusive space to address maternal and infant health outcomes for Georgia.
• Assisting the HMHBGA Board to reach its most diverse state to date in terms of race/ethnicity, age, industry and skillset.
• Leading the effort to establish the first Maternal Mental Health program in Georgia at the Department of Public Health.
• Launching the Building Perinatal Support Professionals Program to provide scholarships and support for women to become certified as Childbirth Educators or Doulas.
• Launching Pickles & Ice Cream Georgia® HMHBGA’s Perinatal Education Program that includes in person sessions and a dynamic online platform aimed at educating and empowering women and their families in the perinatal period (www.picklesandicecreamga.org).

Over the next few months, we will be conducting a search to find a new Executive Director for HMHBGA. During this transition period, it is our priority to find the best individual to lead, while still maintaining all of the great work, funding, and impact of the organization.Again, we cannot thank Elise enough for the unwavering commitment, passion, enthusiasm and integrity she has shown Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition during her tenure. She will be greatly missed by the Staff, Board, Members and Partners alike. We look forward to following the success of her career.We are hopeful and excited for the next chapter of HMHBGA, as we continue to support our community partners and strive to reach our vision of a Georgia where every mother and baby has the resources and support to be healthy and thrive throughout the perinatal period.If you have any questions or concerns during this transition process, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at johnecia@hotmail.com. You may send a note of congratulations and thanks to Elise at elise.blasingame@hmhbga.org.About the SearchThe search is being handled by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits. If you have questions regarding the position, please contact Andrea Zvikas at azvikas@gcn.org.Sincerely,Johnecia MasonBoard President