The Doula’s Role Supporting Decisions for Maternal Immunization

With over two decades of leadership experience in employer benefits within national hospital systems and consulting for Fortune 100 companies, Averjill Rookwood-Lacey brings a wealth of knowledge to the doula landscape. Rookwood-Lacey, known as the Corporate Doula®, is a dedicated doula with extensive training in fertility, birth, and postpartum care. Compassion, cultural sensitivity, evidence-based care, and advocacy form the foundation of her approach to both her bedside doula care and the cocreation of the health care facility focused Doula Friendly® Initiative. Alongside her advocacy for hospital integration of doula care, Rookwood-Lacey is deeply committed to improving maternal and infant health at the community level.

Oluwatosin “Tosin” Goje, MD, MSCR, FACOG, is the medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Infant and Maternal Health (CIMH). As director of the CIMH, Dr. Goje leads Cleveland Clinic’s efforts to reduce infant and maternal mortality, address leading mortality indicators, and eliminate racial disparities. CIMH supports at-risk people from pregnancy through the infant’s first year with a focus on improved access, seamless care transitions, and enhanced community affect. Dr. Goje is a board-certified ob-gyn and infectious diseases specialist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. She completed an internship year in internal medicine at Metropolitan Hospital in New York, New York; completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, in Newark, New Jersey. Dr. Goje has a master’s in clinical research and completed a fellowship in reproductive infectious diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina.

Dr. Goje is an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive biology at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. She facilitates, teaches, and mentors medical students and she collaborates with and mentors medical students and resident physicians’ research. Dr. Goje is actively involved in research and has published on infectious diseases in women, infectious diseases during pregnancy, and other gynecological and pregnancy related conditions.

Dr. Goje serves as a reviewer for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and guest editor for Frontiers in Reproductive Health. She is on the editorial board of Merck Manual Professionals and Elsevier Clinical Key and has served on ACOG publication committees for years. She is on the NIH Adult and Adolescent Opportunistic Infections Guidelines Pregnancy Review Group. She is a regular and frequent media contributor and expert on gynecology infectious diseases, sexually transmitted infections, infections in pregnancy, and racial disparities in maternal and infant health. Dr. Goje is an advocate for health equities. She has participated in national, regional, and local platforms as a speaker or panelist on health advocacy and equity.

Robin Elise Weiss, Ph.D., MPH, CPH, CLC, BDT/AdvCD (DONA), LCCE, FACCE, is a birth doula, childbirth educator, and public health professional with over 30 years of experience in maternal and child health. She holds a PhD in public health, specializing in health care management and systems sciences, and an MPH focused on health behaviors and promotion.

Dr. Weiss trains doulas, childbirth educators, parents, and other professionals, blending evidence-based practices with a systems-level approach to improve birth outcomes. Her work integrates practical doula skills with public health principles, advocating for family-centered care and supporting doulas in navigating health care systems.

She has held leadership roles with organizations such as DONA International and is passionate about improving birth outcomes through education, advocacy, and evidence-based practices.