Stronger Together:
A Family Strengthening Summit
March 4, 11, and 18, 2026
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Virtual Conference
About the Summit
Join us for a three-part virtual summit focused on empowering families and strengthening communities throughout Georgia. Expert speakers, vital resources, and community-driven conversations for lasting impact.
Conference Schedule
Wednesday, March 4th
• 10:30 AM - Ky Lindberg:
Building Maternal Vitality
• 11:30 AM - Juan Irby:
Why Fathers Matter
Wednesday, March 11th
• 10:30 AM - Sharon Donalson:
Self-Care and You
• 11:30 AM - Dr. Jennifer Barkin:
Strategies to Improve Maternal Functioning
in the Postpartum Period
Wednesday, March 18th
• 10:30 AM - Dr. Patrice Jackson:
Disrupting Burnout
• 11:30 AM - Kathi Frankel:
Nurturing Shared Attention for Families
Meet Our Speakers
Ky Lindberg is Vice President of Community Engagement at the Georgia Health Initiative, bringing more than 20 years of experience advancing health equity through policy, education, outreach, and coalition-building at local, state, and national levels. She is known for turning bold ideas into sustainable impact, strengthening organizations, and building trusted partnerships that center community voice.
Previously, she served as CEO of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia, where she expanded organizational capacity and improved maternal and infant health outcomes statewide. Ky holds an M.Ed. and a B.A. in Political Science from Wayne State University and is deeply committed to collaborative, community-informed solutions.
Conference Session: Building Maternal Vitality: A Multisector Systems-Change Approach for Maternal Health in Georgia
Rural communities face unique barriers to maternal health, from limited access to care to workforce and transportation challenges. This session highlights how philanthropy, state agencies, and nonprofit partners are working together to drive systems change that strengthens maternal vitality. Through real examples and collaborative strategies, attendees will learn how crosssector partnerships can align resources, elevate community voice, and build sustainable, equity-centered solutions that improve maternal outcomes in rural regions.
Juan Irby is the founder of Dad to Dudla, an Alabama-based doula practice that supports families by centering fathers and partners in the birth journey. As one of the nation’s leading male doulas, he provides compassionate, evidence-based support during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, helping dads feel included, prepared, and confident. In 2025, he was appointed a CAPPA Faculty Member, training and mentoring future doulas while advancing family-centered care. A devoted father and national speaker, Juan is passionate about strengthening families by ensuring both parents are supported from day one.
Conference Session: Including Men in Maternal Health - Why Fathers Matter
Highlighting the critical role men play in maternal safety, advocacy, and emotional support throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
Sharon Ross-Donaldson, LCSW-QS, MBA, is a nationally recognized leader in maternal and child health, infant and early childhood mental health, and health equity, with more than 30 years of experience in leadership, clinical practice, and workforce development. She is President and CEO of the Center for Health Equity in Quincy, Florida, where she leads community-based efforts to improve outcomes for women, infants, and families. A licensed clinical social worker and qualified supervisor, she also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Florida State University and Co-Chair of Florida’s Maternal Mental Health Statewide Steering Committee. Her work integrates clinical expertise, policy, and practice to advance trauma-informed, family-centered, and community-driven care.
Conference Session: Self-Care and You!
As helpers whether we are clinicians, social workers, home visitors, parents, or friends, we often find ourselves
caring for everyone else while neglecting our own needs. We regularly encourage others to prioritize self-care, but it is just as important that we begin to practice what we preach.
Participants will engage in meaningful dialogue about the demands of work, family, and parenting, and explore how
we hold space for the emotional challenges faced by those we serve. Together, we will reflect on how we can protect and nurture our own well-being as helpers.
Dr. Jennifer Barkin is a professor, inventor, academic administrator, and entrepreneur. She is a Research 1 (R1)–trained psychiatric epidemiologist with deep expertise in maternal mental health and postpartum functioning. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and has a strong foundation in biostatistics, epidemiology, and clinical trials. Dr. Barkin has produced an extensive body of research in reproductive health, including pioneering work on the impact of extreme weather on perinatal mental health. She is the creator of the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning, a widely used tool implemented globally across clinical and research settings.
Conference Session: A Complicated Juggling Act - Strategies to Improve Maternal Functioning in the Postpartum Period
Learning Objectives:
● Become familiar with the prevalence and associated public health burden of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) such as Postpartum Depression (PPD) and Postpartum Anxiety (PPA)
● Become familiar with the common tools used to assess maternal mental health
● Understand the purpose of measuring postpartum functioning.
● Discuss strategies to improve maternal self-care and postpartum functioning regardless of financial resources
● Name three no-cost Maternal Mental Health supports in Georgia
Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson, known as Dr. PBJ, is an educator, executive coach, and speaker who helps professionals accomplish purposeful work without burnout. With nearly 25 years in education and more than a decade in coaching, she has held executive leadership roles in higher education and facilitated leadership training with the Center for Creative Leadership. She is the founder of EduCare Training and Consulting, where she focuses on equipping and renewing educators and other helping professionals. Dr. PBJ is also host of the Disrupting Burnout podcast and author of the Amazon best-seller Disrupting Burnout: The Professional Woman’s Lifeline to Finding Purpose.
Conference Session: Disrupting Burnout
Burnout isn’t a personal failure. It’s a signal that something deeper needs care. In this powerful session, Dr. PBJ challenges the myths of balance and resilience that leave families and professionals exhausted.
Participants will learn how burnout shows up, why surface solutions don’t work, and what truly restores wellbeing. You’ll leave with a sustainable framework to reclaim your brilliance, protect your energy, and design a life that works, for you and those you serve.
Kathi Frankel is a physical therapist with a Master of Science in educational psychology and extensive experience supporting babies and families in prenatal, postnatal, and intensive care settings. Based in Atlanta, she has consulted in NICUs across the South and brings advanced, evidence-based training in neonatal assessment and development. She provides home visits through her private practice, Bear With Me Atlanta, and is the author of the baby board book Here I Am. Passionate about holistic, reflective care, she mentors future providers and advocates to help families and infants thrive.r goal is to help all families shine.
Conference Session: Nurturing Shared Attention for Families
Shared attention is a lofty goal for babies and the people who care for them.
It has been studied for years and has been held as developmental building block for relationships, communication and acquiring new skills.
We all hear that parents are babies’ first teachers, but how? And if babies are facing birth or post birth challenges, what is the best way to nurture their transitions to home and healing?
This talk will increase the understanding of the Synactive theory: a holistic way of
looking at the subsystems that make all of us who we are. We will explore the interplay between babies’ breathing, movements, levels of sleep to wakefulness, their signals to adults and how adults support them to stay alert or asleep.
About Georgia Strong Families
The Georgia Strong Families Program is a Healthy Start Initiative focused on improving health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy and encourage healthy birth outcomes for families within the West Central Health District. Georgia Strong Families provides moms, their partners, and infants with the resources, support and the help that they need to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy birth.
Georgia Strong Families serves pregnant women, families & caregivers of children age birth up to 18 months in Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Muscogee, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, and Taylor County.
Georgia Strong Families services include:
- Case Management and Home Visitation
- Parenting and Childbirth Education Classes
- Monthly Group Workshops & Play Groups
- Health and Development Screenings
- Connection to local resources
- Baby items and other incentives
- Fatherhood Program
This program is completely voluntary. There is no cost for this program and there are no income requirements.
Stay connected with Georgia Strong Families.