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 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 currently serves on 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.

Board members

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.

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.

Kate McMeekin is a placenta accreta survivor, a maternal health advocate and a health care provider. She credits having an early diagnosis, a well-prepared medical team, and open communication with her care team for the success of her accreta delivery. Kate works to bring awareness to placenta accreta, the importance of early diagnosis, and the need for blood donation. Kate is a leader in promoting blood donation. She organizes several blood drives a year bringing awareness to all obstetric complications requiring blood donation. Kate is the co-founder of a local accreta support group, an active member of Donate4Mothers, The Preeclampsia Foundation, and a certified Patient Family Partner with MoMMA’s Voices. In addition to her advocacy work, Kate directly improves outcomes for moms in her professional role as a Nurse Practitioner specializing in OBGYN. When not working or advocating Kate can be found enjoying life with her husband and two boys.