MA Mom Advocates jobs and careers

About MA Mom Advocates

MA Mom Advocates (MAMA) was born from my lived experience and a shared vision with my co-founder, Katie Riconda. We saw how birthing people—particularly Black and Indigenous parents—were falling through the cracks of systems that often overlook emotional, cultural, and behavioral health needs during pregnancy and postpartum. For me, this work is deeply personal. With a history of trauma and mental health challenges, I intentionally built a support network before giving birth, yet I still encountered bias and moments of being dismissed. That experience revealed how fragile and fragmented maternal care can be—and how no one should have to navigate it alone. Katie and I united around this reality. She had witnessed many new mothers struggle in silence without coordinated support. Together, we launched MAMA as a grassroots, peer-led nonprofit that connects birthing people with compassionate, culturally responsive advocates who walk alongside them throughout pregnancy and the postpartum year. Our model centers relationship-based support that evolves with each family’s needs, often delivered by team members with lived experience who can build trust and reduce isolation. We quickly realized direct service must be paired with systems change. MAMA actively engages in statewide advocacy to address the root causes of maternal health inequities, including racism, trauma, provider bias, and underinvestment in community-based care. We have contributed to coalition efforts advancing policies to strengthen the perinatal behavioral health workforce and expand access to culturally competent services. Now expanding through Boston and beyond, MAMA remains grounded in a simple vision: ensuring every birthing person is supported, seen, and able to heal with dignity through community-driven care and sustainable policy change.