Sherri Garber Mendelson, RNC, PhD, CNS, IBCLC

President

Dr. Mendelson completed her BSN and MSN in Perinatal Nursing at University of Illinois Chicago in 1977 and 1984. She spent her early career in the Mother-Baby Unit and in Labor and Delivery. She worked as a clinical nurse in all areas of obstetrics and pediatrics, NICU, and PICU before taking a position as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in 1984. She became an IBCLC in 1993. She completed her PhD in Nursing at UCLA in 2007. Dr. Mendelson was employed as a Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center from 1997 to September, 2010 and as Director of Nursing Research and Magnet Program at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center from 2010 through 2019, and Regional Nurse Scientist for Providence Saint Joseph Health Southern California and Magnet Program Director for Providence Holy Cross Medical Center through June 2023.  She taught as an adjunct instructor and introduced a Maternal-Child course at COC. She is currently teaching a Lactation Consultant preparation course for California State University Northridge. Dr. Mendelson has multiple research publications.  She serves on the executive committee for AWHONN California as vendor coordinator.

Vacant

Vice President

Susan G. Igdaloff, MD

Secretary

Susan G. Igdaloff, M.D. received a B.S with Distinction from the University of Michigan, 1970, majoring in Zoology. She worked for a year as a research laboratory technician at Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine/Pulmonary Medicine. Her next four years were spent at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine from which she received an M.D. degree in 1975. She completed her pediatric post-graduate training at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in 1978. She worked in private practice initially with a pediatric group and then from 1980-1998 in solo practice. From 1998-2012, she served as southern California Medical Consultant, Children’s Medical Services Branch, Department of Health Care Services, State of California working primarily with California Children’s Services (CCS) and Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) programs. She then served as a medical director for Aetna Insurance from 2012-2016 until retirement. Since retiring she spent several years providing education to physicians, nurses, and families on suicide risk in both the hospital and community setting.

Mordechai Taylor, CPA

Treasurer

Mordechai Taylor has 20+ years of taxation, accounting, auditing, and financial service experience both in public accounting and private industry. He has successfully guided his clients through several debt restructures and numerous IRS and state agency examinations. Mr. Taylor has held key management positions for several middle market manufacturing companies in Southern California. Through his involvement, Mr. Taylor was able to significantly improve operating efficiencies and bottom-line results for his clients. As a co-founding member of Premier Accounting & Tax Services, Mr. Taylor is responsible for the tax and financial service areas of the practice. These services include tax planning and preparation, accounting, financial consulting, and IRS tax debt resolutions. Mr. Taylor has served as a repeat guest lecturer for numerous local private universities in southern California. He is a graduate of California State University, Northridge, a licensed Certified Public Accountant, and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts and California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Mitch Goldstein, MD, MBA, CML

Director at Large

Dr. Goldstein attended the University of Miami’s Honor Program in Medical Education, completed his pediatric residency at the University of California, Los Angeles, and finished his Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Goldstein is board certified in both Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. Dr. Goldstein’s most important trait is his tireless devotion to patient access issues. When his hospital and many others nationwide could not purchase equipment vital to patient care, Dr. Goldstein rallied. He wrote senators and congressman. He testified in front of a United States Senate Sub-Committee of the Judiciary regarding the practices of the Group Purchasing Organizations and the potential for restriction of access to vital medical devices. The story of Dr. Goldstein’s vigilance, success in helping modify these practices, and improve patient care made the front page of the New York Times. Dr. Goldstein has been a vocal advocate for “right” sizing technology. He is a past president of the National Perinatal Association (NPA) and author of the NPA’s Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Prophylaxis 2018 Guidelines. Additionally, Dr. Goldstein is editor in chief of Neonatology Today. Dr. Goldstein is the Medical Director of the National Coalition for Infant Health. In this role, he lobbies for access to critical medical therapies and technology development including those essential to the prevention of NEC. He is also the present National Chair of the Section on Advances in Therapeutics & Technology (SOATT) of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Gilbert I. Martin, MD

Director at Large

Dr. Martin is Director Emeritus of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Emanate Health, Queen of the Valley Hospital and has been on the faculty since 1972. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda California. He is Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Perinatology. He is a past member of the Executive Committee of the Perinatal Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a past member of the Committee of the Fetus and Newborn and a member of the Coder’s Committee of the Perinatal Section. He is past-president of the California Perinatal Association, and a member of the California Association of Neonatologists. He is the author of several books and treatises.

Steven Chin, MD, MMSc

Director at Large

Steven W. Chin, MD, MMSc is the Regional Director of Neonatology for the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Section Head of Quality and Performance Improvement for the Division of Neonatology. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Dr Chin completed his residency training in pediatrics at Rush University Medical Center and his Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fellowship training at the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program. He completed a research fellowship in Clinical and Translation Science and advanced training in Quality Improvement and Clinical Informatics at Harvard Medical School. His research interests include Health Systems Development, Quality Improvement, Clinical Transformation and Maternal-Infant Mental Health.

Donald M. Null Jr., MD

Director at Large

A recognized expert in neonatology practiced medicine and research, Dr. Donald Null has served as the Medical Director of Neonatal Critical Care Unit at Primary Children’s Medical Center from October 1999 to December 2013. He was the Director of the NICU and Neonatal transport at UC Davis Children’s Hospital from March 2015 until July of 2021. He is currently an Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at the Division of Neonatology at the University of Utah. He has numerous publications relating to high frequency ventilation.   Dr. Null has been a leading researcher in high frequency ventilation for more than 24 years and was a key investigator in the development of the 3100 HFOV.  He is also a founder of the annual Advances in Neonatal and Pediatric Cardiorespiratory Care, formerly Snowbird High Frequency Ventilation Conference, which celebrates its 40th year in 2024. Dr. Null was presented with the 1st Annual Primary Children’s Medical Center “Physician of the Year” Award in March 2002. He was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award in Transport Medicine by the American Academy of Pediatrics in October 2022. Dr. Null was presented with the first Annual Primary

Harry Schned, MD

Director at Large

Katrina J. Johnson, MSN/Ed, RN

Director at Large

Katrina Johnson is a nationally recognized voice for Birth Equity and Perinatal Safety. As a passionate, committed patient advocate for women and newborns, she supports them through safe, equitable, culturally sensitive care. She actively promotes healthcare equity and best practices to improve the outcomes of underrepresented mothers and their newborns through education and advocacy. Katrina’s professional experience includes Nurse Manager of labor and delivery and WIP surgical services, Educator and Simulation Coordinator in women’s and perinatal health, and Perinatal Quality and Safety Coordinator.  She is currently an AWHONN Intermediate and Advanced Fetal Monitoring Instructor/Mentor, as well as a Neonatal Resuscitation BLS Instructor and a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer. An active member of AWHONN for more than 16 years, Katrina was elected to the AWHONN Board of Directors in 2021.

William E. Wagner-Huang, MA, MPH, Ph.D.

Director at Large

Dr. Wagner is Professor & Chair of the Department of Sociology at California State University, Dominguez Hills and also serves as the Executive Director of the Social Science Research & Instructional Council of CSU System.  He teaches primarily biostatistics and research methods/design courses, as well as LGBT Studies, and study abroad in Taiwan.  Dr. Wagner has been awarded research grants from non-profits and government, including the National Science Foundation. He has published in scholarly journals on topics such as urban sociology, sports, homophobia, higher education, and public health. His work has also been presented at numerous regional, national, and international scientific and professional conferences. Dr. Wagner has published several books in the areas of statistics, survey research, and research methodology. Dr. Wagner worked as a statistician at SPSS, Inc., while completing his M.A. & Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He also holds an M.P.H. (Master of Public Health) degree from CSU Northridge as well as two undergraduate degrees from St. Mary’s College of Maryland: one in Anthropology/Sociology, the other in Mathematics.

Barry R. Halpern, MD

Director at Large

Tania Esakoff, MD

Director at Large

Tania Esakoff, is an obstetrician and gynecologist at Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with a subspecialty in maternal-fetal medicine. She is the Clinical Director of the Cedars Sinai Prenatal Diagnosis Center and also directs the comprehensive Diabetes in Pregnancy Program at the Cedars-Sinai Prenatal Diagnosis Center. Dr. Esakoff is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Esakoff’s clinical focus and areas of research include diabetes in pregnancy, macrosomia, racial and ethnic differences in perinatal outcomes, ultrasound and placenta accreta. She has published numerous scientific studies in such peer-reviewed journals as the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Journal of Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Medicine and is the author of four book chapters. Dr. Esakoff earned her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned her medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she performed her internship and residency, serving as chief resident. She also completed fellowship training in maternal-fetal medicine at UCSF.

Yolonda Rogers-Jones, BA-Communication

Director at Large

Yolonda Rogers-Jones is a native of Los Angeles, CA and she has worked over two decades in communities where African American/Black women, men and children live. As the County Coordinator of the Black Infant Health (BIH) Program for the past 20 years, Yolonda has amplified the voices of Black people in health settings to ensure folk outside the culture hear about the birth, health and life experiences of people living in Black skin. Yolonda attended LAUSD schools, earned her BA in Communications from Mills College and holds a Human Resources Certification from UCLA. Her career experiences also include managerial positions with New England Telephone Company and Pepsi Corporation. Yolonda loves a good mystery… she stands in awe of the African American/Black people who have lived before her and who confronted earlier iterations of social injustice… she is genuinely a “people person” and loves being the mother of a son and a daughter.