Meet Our 2026 Champions for Change Winners
Infant mortality is an issue no single person, program or organization can solve alone — collaboration is essential. In that spirit, Cradle Cincinnati launched our Champions for Change Awards to honor leaders who go the extra mile for moms and babies in our community. Nominated by their peers, this year’s winners were recognized on September 15 during a Hamilton County Commissioners Meeting by Commissioners Stephanie Summerow Dumas, Denise Driehaus and Alicia Reece.
Meet our 2026 Champions:
2026 Champion of Knowledge: Dr. Kayleigh Gregory
To win the fight against infant mortality, we need research and data that centers community voices and drives system change.
An assistant professor at Miami University, Dr Kayleigh Gregory has built a research program dedicated to improving maternal and infant health by advancing equitable, compassionate and evidence-informed care across the perinatal period. Her work looks closely at the social, structural and healthcare factor the shape maternal mental health, early pregnancy loss and access to quality care for women and families. Through her research, Dr. Gregory has examined barriers to identifying and treating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, evaluated innovative fourth trimester support programs, and explored the experiences of patients navigating miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy care in emergency departments.
By amplifying the voices of mothers and families and translating their experiences into practical recommendations — then publishing and presenting those findings — Dr. Gregory helps ensure that research informs practice and contributes to healthier experiences for mothers and infants throughout Hamilton County and beyond.
2026 Community Activist Champions: Paul and Amy McMillian
Devoting energy and resources to your community takes dedication, and the impact can be life-changing.
For decades, Paul and Amy McMillian have championed children by providing resources and educational opportunities for single moms and families. Through S.I.M.P.Y.’s Learning Center, they serve children from infancy through preschool, while also providing after-school and summer camp programming that supports families year-round. Paul and Amy became parents early in their college years and know firsthand the challenges many families face when they are under-resourced and marginalized, including the inequities Black women and single mothers face in maternal healthcare.
That understanding is reflected in the way they support families. They provide back-to-school giveaways to help offset financial burdens, safety blankets for families who are a part of their S.I.M.P.Y. community, food giveaways, intentional resource fairs and scholarships for families. And their generosity extends beyond immediate needs. Paul and Amy have supported many beyond their community with college entry, financial support, and opportunities to pursue their goals. They are givers, who invest their time, resources and energy in helping their community thrive.
2026 Champion for Healthy Families: Beth Straubel
Moms who feel supported by their community have better outcomes.
Beth has been a parent educator with Every Child Succeeds for the past three years, meeting families right where they are and supporting them from pregnancy through their child’s early years. In this role, she carries a caseload of families and gets to know each one individually, building plans around what each family needs and the strengths they already bring, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
That individualized support extends to helping families navigate their healthcare. Whether she is talking with a mom about the importance of prenatal care or helping women get the most out of their doctors’ visits, Beth provides coaching and steady support every step of the way. Sometimes that means sitting down with a mom and going over her doctor’s recommendations together — or helping her find transportation to an appointment. Building that kind of trust takes skill, especially when working with families from many different backgrounds. Beth celebrates with moms as they reach important milestones and makes sure they know that they don’t have to navigate care alone.
2026 Safe Sleep Champion: Katie Wunder
Everyone who shares and practices safe sleep can save a life.
As a home visitor with Every Child Succeeds Pathways to Home, Katie is always looking for ways to promote health, safety and well-being for the families she serves. She is patient and thoughtful, giving her clients the space to ask questions and share their own experiences and feedback. With every family, she walks through the ABCs of Safe Sleep and helps put those recommendations into practice, connecting then with the resources they need to ensure a safe sleeping environment.
Katie recently took that commitment a step further and became a certified lactation specialist. She now uses her knowledge to support not only her breastfeeding clients, but her fellow home visitors and their families, too, so that more families across Pathways to Home can benefit. Breastfeeding and safe sleep go hand in hand, with research showing that breastfeeding reduces the risk of sleep-related infant death. So when Katie helps a new mom troubleshoot latching issues, answers questions about nursing, or offers encouragement to keep going, she’s reinforcing a practice that helps protect babies during sleep time.
2026 Champion for Better Care: Dr. Janelle McClain
Transforming care requires vision, commitment and heart.
For the past decade, Dr. McClain, CEO and Executive Director of Breastfeeding Outreach for Our Beautiful Sisters (BOOBS), has worked directly with mothers and babies across 22 high-risk zip codes, helping to reduce infant mortality through the prenatal and postnatal support of human milk feeding. She build BOOBS on relationship with mothers in the community. That approach is backed by data showing positive impacts on breastfeeding intentions, initiation and duration, underscoring the value of culturally responsive, community-led care.
Under Dr. McClain’s leadership, BOOBS provides nursing essentials like nursing bras, emergency pumping supplies, nursing pads and replacement breast pumps. Women also have an open invite to call, text and join a community of mothers for support and assistance on demand. Dr. McClain knows that this work can’t be done alone. That’s why she’s partnered with hospitals, clinics, doulas, WIC, churches, faith organizations and community councils — all working together to close racial disparities in maternal and infant health and improve breastfeeding outcomes.
2026 Champion for Equity: Jena’ Bradley
Addressing systemic inequities helps ensure every mother and baby has the chance to thrive.
As Director of Community Partnerships for bi3 Fund, Jena’ has shifted the culture of maternal and infant health in Hamilton County by prioritizing trust-based philanthropy and creating space for collective healing. That philosophy can be seen in action through bi3’s Spark Grants — and in particular, the way Jena’ has championed Black Maternal Health Week. This work empowers local organizations to move beyond addressing trauma toward creating intentional spaces for rest, joy and celebration of Black birthing people.
The same spirits runs through Jena’s broader work to build supportive, community-centered culture that validates the lived experiences of Black mamas and birthing people. Jena’ bridges the gap between large-scale health institutions and grassroots organizations. She actively facilitates collaboration across sectors and keeps the birth equity community connected through resource sharing, policy updates, training opportunities and more. She makes sure that improvement efforts are informed by those closest to the work, so that everyone working directly with moms and babies is equipped to serve at their best.
2026 Champion for Equity: Maggie Hare
Addressing systemic inequities helps ensure every mother and baby has the chance to thrive.
In her role as Parent Navigator with Every Child Succeeds, Maggie champions inclusion and equity by bringing care, understanding and intentionality to every family she works with, building consistent, trusting relationship with families and their children. Maggie often asks to work with families from different cultures and countries. She cultivates trust by being compassionate and caring and an active listener. For some families, she may be the only person in this country that they feel safe turning to.
Maggie is a strong advocate of wraparound support, understanding that families often need the help of other people and organizations on their journeys to health and sustainability. When families need support beyond what she can offer, she connects them with outside agencies. To communicate better with the families she serves, Maggie even took courses to improve her ability to speak Spanish. When language barriers get in the way, she will call medical providers directly to help schedule appointments, and she advocates on families’s behalf — with their permission — when they are feeling unheard.
Congratulations to our 2026 Champions for Change winners. Thank you for showing up for Hamilton County moms and babies every day.