Our team works together to advance health and reclaim dignity for all pregnant and parenting individuals.
Our Team of Experts
Erica Gerrity, WI
Executive Director
Colleen Bell, PhD, St. Paul, MN
Board Chair
Tommy Franklin, St. Paul, MN
Board Secretary
Gwen Bradford, Marietta, GA
Board Treasurer
Genevive Bojado, AR
Board Director
Josh Christofferson, Hawley, MN
Board Director
Richard Rice, J.D., Birmingham, AL
Board Director
Reimagining our leadership strategy
Within Ostara, we are reimagining health and justice to end prison birth in America. Just as we strive for radical changes to improve health and justice, we strive for radical changes within our doula programming, our decision making processes. We are inspired by the TEAL Model of leadership and acknowledge the thinking of adrienne marie brown (Emergent Strategy, 2017) and Frederic Laloux (Reinventing Organizations, 2014) as important influences in our developing processes and practices.
Reimagining our workplace strategy
We seek to create and uphold a diverse, all-embracing, equitable workplace where employees, volunteers, and participants regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, status, geography, age, sexual orientation, education, and ability, feel valued and respected, most importantly those directly impacted by incarceration and their loved ones. Together we are moving beyond these categories to understand the intersections of ideas and processes that are most often seen to be separate and unrelated. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for employment and advancement in all programs. We respect, honor, and value diverse life experiences and heritages and aim for inclusivity of all voices. We acknowledge and dismantle inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and report organizational progress. We aim to model this philosophy for the entire healthcare industry and are advocates for just and equitable access for all.