Maternal and Child Health Committee

The MCH Committee is responsible for:

  • Providing expert input to the AHA’s advocacy and public policy process
  • Bringing the perspectives of women’s and children’s hospital leaders to key policy issues
  • Guiding and supporting the ongoing work of the AHA’s Better Health for Mothers and Babies Initiative

2026 MEMBERSHIP ROSTER

CHAIR
Chanda Chacon, MPH, FACHE
President and Chief Executive Officer
Children’s Nebraska
Omaha, NE 
CHAIR ELECT
Tasha Hopper, MSN, RN, NE-BC, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer
The Hospitals of Providence East Campus – TENET Healthcare El Paso, TX
PAST CHAIR 
Cheri Barker Johnson, MSN, RNC-OB 
Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer 
Woman’s Hospital 
Baton Rouge, LA
AHA BOARD LIAISON 
Leah Glasgo, RN, MHA 
Market President - Fort Dodge 
UnityPoint Health 
Fort Dodge, IA

TERM EXPIRES 2026

Carey Ehlert, MD 
Professor of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin 
Medical Director, NICU 
Children’s Wisconsin 
Milwaukee, WI 
Nicholas M. Holmes, MD, MBA 
President 
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals 
San Francisco, CA 
John T. Walkup, MD 
Chair, Pritzker Department of 
Psychiatry and Behavioral Health 
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s 
Hospital of Chicago 
Chicago, IL 
 

TERM EXPIRES 2027

Makunda Abdul-Mbacke, MD 
Chief Executive Officer 
UNC Rockingham Health Care (Piedmont Preferred Women's Healthcare) 
Ridgeway, VA
Melanie Akers, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC 
Vice President, Women’s and 
Children’s Services 
Marshall Health Network 
Huntington, WV 
Allison Chase 
Administrator and 
Chief Executive Officer 
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women 
Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation 
Memphis, TN 
Alejandro Quiroga, MD, MBA 
President and Chief Executive Officer 
Children's Mercy Kansas City 
Kansas City, MO 

TERM EXPIRES 2028

Debra Feigin Sukin, PhD 
President and Chief Executive Officer 
Texas Children’s Hospital 
Houston, TX 
Sharon Kurfuerst, EdD, FACHE 
Executive Director, Temple Women and Families 
Temple University Health System 
Philadelphia, PA 
Blake McLaughlin, DO, MSOL, FACOG 
Senior Medical Director, Women's Health Services 
Banner Health 
Phoenix, AZ
Dora Anne Mills, MD, MPH, FAAP 
Chief Health Improvement Officer 
MaineHealth 
Portland, ME

AHA STAFF

Joy A. Rhoden, MSW, MPH
Senior Vice President and Executive Director
Division of Health Outcomes and Care Transformation
Benjamin Finder, MPH
Vice President
Coverage Policy
Megan Cundari
Senior Director
Federal Relations
Julia Resnick, MPH
Senior Director
Health Outcomes and Care Transformation
Madison Lands, MPH, MSW
Program Manager
Health Outcomes and Care Transformation
 

Download the Committee Roster PDF