Our Board of Directors

James is President at The ERISA Industry Committee, where he develops and advances public policies to design and administer health plans, including legislative and regulatory advocacy at the federal, state, and local levels.

James was Director of Federal Affairs at the March of Dimes Foundation and also spent four years on Capitol Hill as counsel to Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) on the Senate Small Business Committee and to Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

James graduated from George Washington University Law School and Northwestern University.

Ariel Gonzalez is a Principal and Head of Health Practice at the Vogel Group, and was formerly at Chamber Hill Strategies and the March of Dimes. Recognized as one of “The Hill’s Top Lobbyists,” Ariel is an accomplished government affairs and lobbying professional with past head of office experience.

Ariel specializes in healthcare, government relations, political and public affairs, and has also run successful coalitions to accomplish major legislative wins for charitable organizations and membership associations.

Ariel graduated from James Madison University, and he received his Master of Arts in Legislative Affairs from the George Washington University, as well as his law degree from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.

Lee Johnson, III, Ph.D., is Vice President of Policy for the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI). He leads NBCDI’s preeminent advocacy and thought leadership initiatives, distinguished research and publications, and equity-advancing public policy and legislative agenda. Previously, Dr.

Johnson served as Senior Policy Analyst for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) at ZERO TO THREE.

He has also held director appointments at the state of Alabama’s Department of Early Childhood Education – advising the Secretary and directing the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, and various perinatal, IECMH-focused children’s policy efforts.

He earned a B.S. in early childhood education, an M.A., and a Ph.D. in public health from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Meredith is the Director of Accounting for a non-profit group located in Northern Virginia.

Meredith first became an advocate for maternal mental health after one of her closest friends experienced postpartum psychosis and lost her life in 2015.

Since 2016, Meredith has helped to organize Shelane’s Run, which honors its namesake and raises awareness for postpartum depression, and has participated in several maternal mental health advocacy days at the United States Congress.

Harita Raja, MD is the founder and medical director of Bethesda Women’s Mental Health. In her private practice, she provides women with compassionate and nuanced psychiatric care through the lens of holistic care.

Dr. Raja is a maternal mental health advocate and has presented her work at numerous national and international conferences.

She is a volunteer psychiatrist at Mobile Med, a primary care medical home for low-income adults.

Dr. Raja has also created a mental health forum for South Asians through Pro Bono Counseling and provides education for women through the South Asian Mental Health Initiative and Network.

She is an active member of the D.C. Women’s Mental Health Consortium.

Dr. Raja did her residency at Georgetown University Hospital, where she also served as Chief Resident.

Ellen is a Vice President at McAllister & Quinn, managing nonprofit, higher education, and governmental organizations by providing strategic government affairs analysis, advocacy services, and assistance with fund development through federal grants and foundations.

Ellen worked for Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) for over a decade, including as Chief of Staff; she worked on the Appropriations, Budget, and Financial Services Committees, handling health, labor, justice, education, and women’s and children’s issues.

Ellen graduated from California Polytechnic State University and earned an M.A. in political science from Stanford University.

Katie is President and CEO at the Society for Women’s Health Research, the thought leader in promoting research on biological sex differences in disease and improving women’s health through science, policy, and education.

Previously, Katie was Chief Advocacy Officer at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and has expertise in maternal and child health, advocacy, legislation, and coalition building.

Katie is the immediate past president of Women in Government Relations, and she previously worked at a DC-based lobbying firm and as a Legislative Director at the U.S. House of Representatives.

Katie has a Master’s in Public Policy from George Washington University.

Dr. Lamia Soghier is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington DC.

She is a board-certified neonatologist and the Associate Division Chief of Operations for the Department of Neonatology, and the NICU Quality and Safety Officer at Children’s National since 2013.

Dr. Soghier has a profound interest in improving caregiver mental health in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) through the application of improvement science. After completing a randomized controlled, the team at Children’s National understood that the NICU caregiver population remains understudied despite being at higher risk. These findings and others led Dr. Soghier to investigate factors contributing to perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) in NICU caregivers, the role of resilience and neighborhood disadvantage, and the use of quality improvement approaches to advance universal screening and referral for postpartum caregivers.

Through several funding opportunities, Children’s National has established a multidisciplinary team of physicians, social workers, screeners, psychologists, and quality improvement specialists to advance this work.