Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Summit: Session II

Candi Cornelius is from the Oneida and Menominee Nations of Wisconsin. She has lived on the Oneida reservation all her life with her three grown daughters.  Candi received her Bachelor’s in Nursing from UW Eau Claire and her Masters in Nursing from Bellin College.

Candi has been working for the Oneida Community Health Center as the Prenatal Care Coordinator for twelve years.  Her role is to support and educate Native American pregnant women along with ensuring they have access to all needed services during and after pregnancy to improve birth outcomes. Candi also offers childbirth education sessions to the Oneida community three times a year along with providing lactation support as a certified lactation counselor. Most recently, Candi completed the full spectrum doula training to enhance the care provided.

For the past few years Candi has the opportunity to increase awareness of the dire need to improve Native American Maternal Health through presentations and advocacy work. Candi is passionate about finding solutions or change in practice to protect the lives of the precious life givers/women.  

As a Biologist, Beverly seeks to apply her knowledge in efforts that bridge that gap between the biomedical community and the public. 

Academically, Beverly holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Marquette University, graduate training in Sustainability Leadership and Social Innovation from Edgewood College and is completing her Master of Science in Reproductive Endocrinology Physiology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She has been a guest lecturer for medical students as well as physician assistant students teaching biology and the epigenetics of race.

Connie Stevens is the lead for Parents Reaching Out, Wisconsin’s parent-to-parent support program for families raising deaf/hard of hearing children.  Connie is the mother to a 25-year-old, who is deaf, has Down Syndrome and uses American Sign Language, and a 27-year-old daughter who is hearing.  Connie is a Wisconsin native, received a Masters degree in Applied Sociology and worked with Land’s End marketing department, Federal Bureau of Prisons and WI Department of Health Services before learning of her youngest’s hearing concerns.  Connie’s family participated in the Birth to 3 Program, family support programs and conferences to learn more about the needs of her daughter and her family. She is passionate about building community relationships to ensure families feel supported during the new journey of raising their special needs child. 

Erica has dedicated her time to improving health education for adolescents and young adults across the mid-west since she was 19. She spent many years as a sexual health educator for diverse groups of adolescents in Topeka, Kansas and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Following graduation from Washburn University she spent one year living in Cambodia working for the Peace Corps. In Cambodia she taught about hygiene and nutrition in the local health center, started a village aerobics class, and lead sexual health education sessions with village health promoters. In 2015, Erica finished her Master of Arts in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where her research focused on holistic, life-long approaches to sexual health education. She also worked in curriculum development with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin during graduate school and played a vital role in revamping their sexual health curriculum. Erica is passionate about creating a community where people can relate to their sexuality in a positive way, and believes that flourishing sexual health is strongly correlated with overall health. She’s been working with PATCH since 2015 and has enjoyed combining health education with advocacy while also working with Teen Educators to promote open and honest communication about tough topics!

Prior to coming to the State of Wisconsin; my career spans over 30 years as a Registered Nurse in a variety of setting and roles. Over the past 4 years, I have had privilege and opportunity to work within the Department of Health Services as MCH Nurse Consultant. My primary role involves identifying, connecting, and supporting the shared crosswalks and measures between Department of Health Services and Department of Children and Families. I also serve as a liaison providing intentional supports for communication and collaboration between the two departments.