About

National Accreta Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation founded in April 2017.

Our Mission: Amplifying the experience of those impacted by placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) to improve quality of care and patient outcomes.

Our Focus: Increasing awareness of accreta and cesarean overuse, advocating for moms and babies, and connecting patients & providers with resources to help improve quality of care.

Board of DirectorS

Kristen Terlizzi is a speaker and advocate for maternal health & patient safety and a founding Director of National Accreta Foundation. Over her two month postpartum hospital stay for complications of placenta percreta, Kristen learned first-hand how to cope with an unknown prognosis and to partner with her care team. Kristen now shares her patient story to bring awareness to the downstream costs of cesarean overuse and the complex patient experience of high risk obstetrics. Her medical case report is published in the official journal of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and her patient story has been featured on Vox.com, the Wall Street Journal and People.com. Kristen is an advocate for patient centered research and patient education. She serves on the Community Advisory Board of the NIH Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network and is the host and creator of NAF’s exciting new Accreta Expert Series live-stream interview events. She represented NAF as an inaugural member of the Executive Steering Committee to MoMMA’s Voices coalition of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Advocates and is currently a member of CMQCC’s Obstetric Hemorrhage TaskForce. Kristen is passionate about patient storytelling and speaks at events for medical students, hospital leadership, perinatal quality improvement initiatives, medical conferences and blood banks. Visit Kristen’s speaking page for a complete media and speaking history and to book her to speak at your event.

Alexis Carena is a survivor of placenta accreta and a Director of National Accreta Foundation. Her patient story requiring life saving surgery and blood transfusions during her son’s birth has been shared in Inova’s INhealth Magazine and at blood drives in the Washington DC area. Alexis focuses on increasing awareness of placenta accreta and other life-threatening pregnancy complications that rely on the availability of donor blood, through regular blood drives and the advocacy platform Heroes for Moms that she founded. Alexis is a director of the organization and also has personal experience with müllerian anomalies, a congenital disorder of the female reproductive tract. In addition to her maternal health advocacy work, Alexis has spent her career in the enterprise software industry, working in marketing and communications. More about Alexis.

Brianna Evans is a survivor of placenta percreta, which caused the extremely premature delivery of her youngest son. She has spoken to promote awareness of both accreta and prematurity at local blood drives, ICAN meetings, hospital events benefiting the neonatal unit and in the community, and she has also shared her story for the media in television, newspaper, and online formats. Brianna has six children who keep her life busy and full, especially her youngest son who has special needs due to his very early accreta birth. Brianna is passionate about helping other women find local and online support for these conditions through several social media forums that she helped found, some of which now have large worldwide membership. Brianna serves on the National Accreta Foundation board and is a moderator in our support group community for accreta patients and survivors.

Mykalynn Penny is a placenta percreta survivor. After experiencing accreta in 2021 following just one cesarean birth, Mykalynn became passionate about raising awareness of the risks associated with PAS and the importance of informed care. Since her diagnosis, she has shared her story through podcasts focused on PAS and interacted within NAF’s online PAS support community to help others feel seen, heard, and supported. Mykalynn also promotes blood donation as a vital part of care in those diagnosed with PAS. In 2025, she began volunteering as the Social Media Specialist for the National Accreta Foundation, helping shape the organization’s voice and reach online. Outside of her advocacy work, Mykalynn serves as a Marketing Director and brings over a decade of experience in branding and communications. She continues to use her professional expertise to amplify placenta accreta awareness and support the PAS community with compassion and purpose.

STAFF VOLUNTEERS

Lindsay Evans’ journey with PAS began at 33 weeks, learning of her diagnosis (accreta with suspected percreta) one week before delivering her son. Feeling well informed about the plans for delivery and in an effort to protect her mental health, she didn't research PAS during that week. That meant Lindsay started to process the true gravity of her diagnosis while she was recovering. She started her healing process with the help of the resources and online community offered by the National Accreta Foundation and a trauma-informed therapist she found through Postpartum Support International. A contributor to NAF’s Accreta Series, Lindsay focuses on the emotional complexities of recovery. In 2026, she began volunteering as the author of NAF’s monthly newsletter to help spread awareness of PAS. Lindsay lives with her husband and two children and brings the same patient-first passion to NAF that she does to her professional role as Director of Strategy and Patient Engagement in clinical research.

Manilyn Feringa is a placenta accreta survivor, maternal health advocate, and creative communications professional. After experiencing a high-risk pregnancy and premature delivery related to placenta accreta in 2025, she became passionate about supporting and advocating for women and families navigating accreta spectrum disorders and complex maternal health journeys. Manilyn helps create social media graphics and educational content for NAF to raise awareness and provide support for the accreta community. Drawing from her background in virtual assistance, social media management, website support, and digital content creation, she combines creativity and advocacy to help connect families with encouragement, education, and life-saving information. In addition to her advocacy work, Manilyn serves as a Kids Director at her church, where she supports children’s ministry, social media, and website communications. She is also a homeschooling mother and works as a Site Talent Acquisition Specialist for a mining company. Through every role she holds, Manilyn is passionate about serving others, building community, and using her story to bring hope and awareness to women facing high-risk pregnancies and maternal health challenges.

Tracy Talley is a placenta accreta survivor and maternal health advocate. After experiencing accreta in 2023 and overcoming a prolonged hospital stay and postoperative complications, she remains deeply grateful for the well-informed, coordinated care her medical team provided, which saved both her life and the life of her micropreterm accreta baby. Drawing on her years of experience as a health sciences professor in higher education, Tracy now uses her knowledge and personal experience to advocate for individuals and families navigating high-risk pregnancies, accreta spectrum disorders, preeclampsia, and complex postpartum recovery. Tracy serves as a Patient Family Partner with MoMMA’s Voices and volunteers with the National Accreta Foundation (NAF), providing online peer support and responding to support emails for patients and families facing accreta-related diagnoses and recovery.

Advisory board

Alisha Keller Berry is a survivor of placenta percreta, a founding Director of National Accreta Foundation, and a passionate advocate for maternal health. Alisha's background includes 10 years of non-profit and fundraising experience with organizations such as California State Parks, numerous youth organizations and the Junior League of San Jose.  She holds a bachelor of science degree in Natural Resources Management from CSU, Sacramento. Spreading awareness, advocating for patients and contributing to the research of accreta is something she feels is vital to saving the lives of women with this condition. Alisha shared her story in early 2016 on Popsugar, around the time when Kim Kardashian West revealed that she had experienced placenta accreta complications following her second birth. Alisha currently represents NAF on MoMMA’s Voices coalition of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Advocates. More about Alisha.

Joree Novotny is a survivor of undiagnosed placenta accreta, which occurred during her first and only pregnancy. In the aftermath of her traumatic birth experience, she was fortunate to discover the National Accreta Foundation and the online support groups it facilitates. In those spaces, she became empowered to share her story, and grew passionate about helping other women find support and resources, promoting awareness of accreta, and advocating for improved maternal health outcomes. Joree has more than 13 years of career experience in the nonprofit sector as a communications, development, and public policy advocacy professional. Joree serves on the National Accreta Foundation board and as our social media manager. She was the inaugural fundraising champion for our Virtual Accreta Awareness 5K and helped to launch our Accreta Expert Series.

Lauren Burrow is a placenta percreta survivor, maternal health advocate, and former National Accreta Foundation communications specialist volunteer. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina. She experienced her percreta pregnancy during her 10 years working as a biomedical and pharmaceutical patent attorney and fully realized her passion for maternal health. While still practicing law, Lauren became a certified birth doula and childbirth educator to directly support women through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. To put her experiences to use in providing more direct support to other mothers, Lauren is beginning medical school at Wake Forest University to specialize in high-risk obstetrics. She is extremely grateful to have found NAF and looks forward to continuing to use her professional experience to support the NAF community in any way possible.

National Accreta Foundation is a volunteer staffed and donation funded 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to placenta accreta advocacy. If you find our content of value, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue this work.