Our People

Charleston, WV

Amy has served as the Executive Director of the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership since 2013. Under her 10+ year tenure, she has grown the organization from a project under the WV Community Voices to an independent not-for-profit corporation with a $5M+ operating budget.

The Partnership, incorporated in 2019, now has seven full-time employees, ten full-time contractors and numerous other special project contractors who all contribute to the important statewide work of the organization. Amy came to the position with 20 years of experience in state and federal policy development focusing on legislative and regulatory health care policy. She served as the Government Relations Specialist and Director of the Political Action Committee for the West Virginia State Medical Association for 15 years and also served as Budget Analyst for the West Virginia House of Delegates Finance Committee and as Program Coordinator for the West Virginia Child Care Association. Ms Tolliver earned her BS in Business Management from Marshall University and an MS in Business and Industrial Relations from Marshall University Graduate College. 

She serves on the Board of the DRESS Syndrome Foundation and organization with a vision to see a world where severe adverse drug reactions are predictable, recognizable and treatable. Amy resides in Charleston, WV with her husband Scott and is the proud mother of a daughter (Emma) and son (Eli).  She is an avid cross-country and downhill mountain biker as well as a snowboarder in the winter season.

Charleston, WV

Ann has been a practicing accountant for more than twenty-three years, with over half of her career specializing in non-profit and small business accounting.  She has extensive experience with non-profit financial reporting and grant reporting.  

Ann attended Marshall University where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration (BBA) and a master’s in business administration (MBA).  She started her career in public accounting, then went on to work in internal audit and later as an accounting manager for a publicly traded advertising agency while residing in Troy, Michigan.  She moved back to West Virginia 13 years ago and started working as an independent accounting consultant.  Ann and her husband enjoy traveling with and without their two teenage boys, Noah and Jacob.  

Morgantown, WV

Janine is responsible for organizational planning and administering multiple programs and projects, ensuring compliance with regulations, and grant management. She joined the partnership in 2010 and has built the Partnership’s extensive programming addressing substance use during pregnancy. Janine directs the Drug Free Moms and Babies project — an innovative initiative to provide integrated, comprehensive services to pregnant and postpartum women. Under Janine’s leadership, the Partnership has also implemented a number of efforts to improve the identification and care of babies diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). 

Janine graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Prior to joining the Partnership, Janine was a senior policy analyst for the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C. where she directed a project on maternal and child health. She also worked as a program coordinator for the West Virginia University National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health.

Janine and her husband, Randy, are the proud parents of four sons. Although her work requires many hours at the computer, she is happiest outdoors where you can find her seeking opportunities to hike, camp, run, and cross-country ski.

Charleston, WV

Robin has a PhD in Interpersonal Communication from Ohio University, and her research interests include international communication and media criticism. She serves as the Communications Director for the Partnership.  Robin is also a full-time professor of Communications at West Virginia State University, where she is the beloved Dr. Robin, and has taught courses in Media Criticism, Media Law, New Media, Media Ethics, Integrative Media, and Medical Ethics. 

Robin is also the owner/operator of Broughton Adventures, an international adventure tour company. She has spent a great deal of time in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and South America. A former competitive mountain biker, she has ridden a bike on every continent but Antarctica and has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro twice.

Charleston, WV

Eleanor has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Kentucky and has worked extensively with local and national healthcare-related organizations prior to joining WVPP in 2022.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, volunteering for local community organizations, and spending time with family and friends.

Morgantown, WV

Juliana has over 16 years of experience in state and national grassroots organizing, direct lobbying, campaign planning and execution, fundraising and volunteer management. She joined the Partnership in 2021 as the Project Director for the Help2Quit project where she is focusing on efforts to help reduce tobacco use before, during and after pregnancy.  In this role, she also coordinates the Tobacco Free Families Advisory Council. 

By gubernatorial appointment, she also serves on the West Virginia Tobacco Prevention & Cessation Task Force, Rare Disease and Palliative Care Councils. 

In 2021, Juliana became an independent consultant and became a legislative analyst for Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, Voices for Healthy Kids, TSG Consulting LLC and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. Following the 2021 legislative session, she joined the Partnership team. Juliana received both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Journalism from West Virginia University Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism.

Narrows, VA

Cara is the Project Coordinator for the Drug Free Moms and Babies project. She has worked in the public/nonprofit realm for over 25 years implementing human service programs in a variety of substantive areas, largely in Appalachian communities. She came to West Virginia to fulfill a one-year term of national service as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with a statewide nutrition and literacy program, and from there, her commitment to the state and its citizens was born. In her role as Project Coordinator with the Drug Free Moms and Babies project, she works closely with programs throughout the state to implement the DFMB model which aims to promote healthy outcomes for pregnant and parenting women and their families.

Cara holds a B.S. in Political Science from St. Vincent College and a Master of Public Administration degree from Northern Arizona University. She has volunteered for a number of organizations including the Special Olympics of South Western Virginia, West Virginia’s WECAN program, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of the New River Valley, and in various roles with Boy Scouts of America. She enjoys exploring West Virginia’s natural treasures with her three sons, often detouring on back roads in search of the perfect swimming hole while insisting they navigate with a (paper) map.

Morgantown, WV

Amna is the Project Assistant to the Substance Use During Pregnancy Projects. As a recent graduate of West Virginia University, she was named a Rural Community Health Scholar and has worked as a research assistant, as well as developing informational health content for a WV health coalition, Healthy Harrison. She is currently a Generation WV Fellow, and her research interests include maternal and rural health issues.

In her free time, Amna enjoys reading, baking, and embroidery. She likes to travel and try new cuisines and has visited eleven countries.

Morgantown, WV

Candice is a Special Project Consultant for the Partnership. Since completing her Master of Public Health degree at West Virginia University in 2004, she has worked closely with West Virginia maternal and infant birth outcome data, substance use during pregnancy, and public health policy. Candice leads the Substance Exposure and NAS Education & Outreach Task Force. The Task Force has focused on how to improve surveillance data for substance exposure and NAS and education for pediatric providers in WV communities.  In addition to working with the Partnership, she coordinates Project WATCH in the Department of Pediatrics at West Virginia University and is the Executive Director of the West Virginia Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (WV AAP). 

Through her previous experience as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and foster parent, she has developed a passion for advocacy to protect and improve kids’ health in West Virginia. Candice is married to her favorite pediatrician in WV and a mom of three children. She enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with her family.

Huntington, WV

Shauna has spent over 40 years in perinatal work. She was an associate professor in Nursing at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Prior to that, she acted as the Director of the perinatal and neonatal intensive care units at WVU Ruby Medical Center, Morgantown, WV. With high-risk obstetric experience, teaching and mentoring young nurses, as well as Lamaze certification, she brought with her a broad base of practice in maternity care expertise when she joined the Partnership’s team as the Director of Outreach Education in 2010. Shauna established the Outreach Education project and oversaw exponential growth in this area over the 12 years she was at the helm. She has developed multiple local and state multi-hospital quality improvement efforts.

Shauna has led the Partnership’s programs on the standardization of Perinatal Bereavement care for all WV delivering hospitals, development of skin-to-skin care and hemorrhage trainings, implemented POST-BIRTH Warning Signs discharge education, and Obstetrical Emergencies Simulation Team Trainings statewide. She now leads a $4 million multi-year Health Resources Services Administration, Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) project which is aimed at providing obstetrical and family support services to address access-to-care needs in eight rural West Virginia counties.

Dr. Lively holds a BSN from Alderson Broaddus University and an MSN and EdD from West Virginia University.

Lewisburg, WV

Molly has served as the Director of the WV Breastfeeding Alliance for the past 5 years.  She has recently grown the work of the Alliance into the WV Breastfeeding Institute, which is housed at the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine. Additionally, during this tenure, Molly has been a Special Projects Consultant for the Partnership working on tobacco/nicotine cessation under the Help2Quit initiative and substance use in pregnancy projects under the Drug Free Moms and Babies initiative. 

Molly is a Registered Nurse, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. She has served the Greenbrier Valley for the last 17 years providing lactation consultation and teaching Lamaze Childbirth Classes. In addition to helping Greenbrier Valley mothers get off to a good start with breastfeeding their newborns, Molly works statewide to increase support for mothers in communities across West Virginia. She is passionate about WVBI’s mission to help make breastfeeding the norm for families in West Virginia. She started the “Drug Free Mother Baby Greenbrier Valley,” at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, a program that has greatly improved the care for pregnant persons with substance use disorders in the greenbrier valley area.

Kitty directs Quality Improvement initiatives for the Partnership. She has 12 years of health care experience as a physical therapist working primarily in inpatient rehabilitation. She specialized in neurorehabilitation and is a certified aquatic therapist, primarily treating her patients in water to help them regain strength and function. Kitty completed her first master’s degree from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen Scotland before returning to her native West Virginia to begin working and raising a family. In addition to her extensive clinical experience, Kitty has also worked for the WVHEPC and the WVHA to develop the healthcare workforce in WV and earned a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration from West Virginia University.

Kitty joined the WVPP to help build QI capacity for the organization. She is leading an initiative to address the number of very low-weight preterm infants being born outside tertiary hospitals.

With her international experience, she wants to make the communities in her home state healthy and thriving, and that starts with making sure the littlest West Virginians get the best start possible. If you see Kitty in December, she will probably try to give you some Christmas cookies, as she bakes over a thousand every year. She also is active in CrossFit; she needs to balance out all those cookies!

Culloden, WV

Melanie has been a registered nurse for thirty-eight years, and has spent most of that time working in women’s health. Melanie graduated from West Virginia University School of Nursing with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, then completed her Master of Nursing Administration at Walden University.

Working in gynecology/oncology, obstetrics, labor and delivery, and newborn care, Melanie has devoted most of her career to the acute care setting. She has experience as a bedside nurse, perinatal educator and Director of Maternal/Infant services at Berkeley Medical Center. She has held certifications as a Nurse Executive, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and currently is certified in Electronic Fetal Monitoring. Melanie is also an AWHONN Designated Fetal Monitoring Instructor.

Since joining the WVPP in 2014, Melanie has coordinated the state’s efforts to implement the AIM Patient Safety Bundle for obstetric hemorrhage and severe hypertension in pregnancy, she has spearheaded the Love Your Birth Control educational trainings and is responsible for overseeing the quality improvement and outreach education programs of the organization. She has partnered with the March of Dimes on a project to reduce early elective deliveries and provided numerous other educational opportunities across the state. She and her husband Terry enjoy spending time with her three adult children, their spouses and the World’s Greatest Grandchildren!

Charleston, WV

Denise is the Project Coordinator of the RMOMS Project. As Project Coordinator, she manages the $4 million HRSA RMOMS cooperative agreement to provide obstetrical and family support services to rural areas in West Virginia. She also works on the 2023 Unicare Doula Project, which focuses on expanding doula services and educating new doulas in West Virginia’s most vulnerable communities. 

Denise has over 20 years of experience working in the area of women’s health. Prior to joining the Partnership’s team, Denise was the Director of Perinatal Care at the Office of Maternal Child and Family Health, WV Department of Health and Human Resources. In her free time, she enjoys textile arts and paper crafting.

Hurricane, WV

Mary Beth has been a registered nurse for thirty-four years, spending most of that time working in women’s health.  A graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Mary Beth has held certifications in Inpatient Obstetrics, Electronic Fetal Monitoring, and International Board Certified of Lactation Consultant.  She is an AWHONN Fetal Monitoring Instructor Trainer teaching Intermediate, Advanced and Intermediate Instructor Fetal Monitoring Courses.

Mary Beth has experience as a bedside nurse in labor, delivery, postpartum, newborn, and gynecology.  As a nurse manager, she led Maternity Services, Pediatrics, and an Outpatient Clinic for the underserved population.

Mary Beth has been engaged with the WVPP for several years teaching fetal heart monitoring classes.  Since joining the Partnership in January 2023, she has been providing educational opportunities to hospitals across the state.

Jennifer L. Weingardt, BA, is the Administrative Support Specialist for the WV Perinatal Partnership. She assists the WV RMOMS (Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies) Project Director and the Project Coordinator in meeting the challenges to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes within the eight-county program area (Braxton, Calhoun, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, Roane, Upshur, and Webster). She coordinates the Perinatal Summit communication with exhibitors and presenters and gathers documentation to assure compliance. She also assists the Outreach Education Director, the WV Breastfeeding Institute Director, and Nurse Coordinator in their work to provide educational opportunities to providers, nurses and others who care for mothers and babies. 

She is a freelance writer, author of short fiction, and poet. She enjoys gardening and can be found on weekends at the farmers’ market selling an array of herbs and indoor plants.

Frankford, WV

Annie joined the partnership in the summer of 2023; and coordinates the Doula Care program. The goal of this program is to improve pregnancy and postpartum outcomes by increasing access to Doula services throughout WV. This grant-funded program has increased the number of Doulas in WV via training scholarships and has established a group that is working toward Medicaid reimbursement for Doulas. These efforts lead to more families having access to services, without limitations of ability to pay out of pocket.

Through Annie’s leadership, a Doula network has been established. The project team has also created and distributed a survey for doulas and will build a directory from this survey. The Doula project hosts various workshops for training specific skills. Additionally, Annie will be working with the Director of the Rural Maternity and Obstetric Management Services (RMOMS) to provide training to Labor and Delivery nursing staff. These in-services trainings aim to reduce the Doula stigma and increase access for Doulas in the hospitals so they have fewer barriers to serving birthing families.

Annie earned a Bachelors in Child Development and Family Studies from WVU; and a Registered Nursing Associate from the University of Charleston. She has a history of working as a coordinator for Birth to Three; a midwifery volunteer organizer; a home health nurse; and a care coordinator for a national non-profit organization.

Annie lives on a farm with her husband, children, dogs, chickens, and honey bees; and enjoys gardening, cooking, reading, photography, and painting.

Bradenton, FL

Anne is a Nurse Consultant to and Liaison to the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel. She has 35 years of experience in the healthcare field. She graduated from the West Virginia University School of Nursing with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Marshall University Graduate College with a Master of Science in Management and Healthcare Administration.

She launched her career providing direct clinical care for 5 years as a Clinical Nurse in the Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Units at Charleston Area Medical Center. That experience was followed by 27 years with the WV Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health. In her public health career, Anne participated in numerous national, state and community level partnerships, collaborative workgroups and advisory committees to stimulate, support and implement investments in the delivery of quality healthcare and provide experienced leadership in health systems transformation in West Virginia. Toward the end of her tenure at the Department Anne served as the Director of the Office of Maternal Child and Family Health (OMCFH) and Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health.

In January 2019, Anne joined the Partnership as a Nurse Consultant to provide case ascertainment of medical and social service information on pregnant women and their infants as liaison to the WV Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel administered by OMCFH.

Charleston, WV

Robin has been engaged in direct services in the helping field for over 23 years. She has served victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, substance use disorder, mental illness, and individuals with justice system involvement. This work as an advocate, counselor, group therapist, psychometrician and sentencing director has given her a wide range of experience to assist clients across a spectrum of needs.

Robin is an alumnus of California State University and WV State University with a degree in Psychology. She is a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor and a Qualified Mental Health Professional. Robin was the first Court Advocate chosen to serve victims at Magistrate court with the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program. She was involved in founding the first Reentry Council in West Virginia which is heavily involved with pushing for legislative changes. Robin is qualified at the WV State Police Academy to train Law Enforcement on the dynamics of Domestic Violence. She was awarded advocate of the year by the WV Chiefs of Police Association.

Robin loves the outdoors, art, cooking, live music, family, and her “champion” dachshund.