Her Legacy is Leadership.
Cecile Edwards first joined NJBEFA as a Community Advisory Committee member. As our first-ever Executive Director, she became our guiding light—not only championing our vision and values, but embodying them.
Cecile described birth equity as “a cause for all of us, as we all enter this world through birth,” and was committed to working toward a future where this shared experience would unite us in collective impact. She cared deeply about the well-being of others and consistently reminded us that community — rooted in trust, collaboration, and shared power — was NJBEFA’s greatest strength.
As the maternal health ecosystem continues evolving, we believe one of the most meaningful ways to honor Cecile’s legacy is through sustained investment in the kind of leadership Cecile represented. It is in that spirit that we are honored to begin shaping The Cecile D. Edwards Birth Justice Leadership Fund, a long-term leadership and sustainability initiative dedicated to investing in:
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Community-rooted birth justice leadership must not simply be celebrated. It must be sustained, resourced, protected, and cultivated.
New Jersey stands at an important moment in the evolution of maternal and infant health leadership. Over the last several years, the state has seen increased public investment, expanded policy focus, growing institutional engagement, and broader national visibility surrounding maternal and infant health inequities. These developments create significant opportunity. They also create an important responsibility to ensure that the growth of maternal health infrastructure remains connected to community-rooted leadership, lived experience expertise, and long-term ecosystem sustainability.
The work ahead will require patience, trust-building, long-term investment, collaboration across differences, and sustained commitment to equity and accountability.
It will also require protecting the people carrying the work itself. The Cecile D. Edwards Birth Justice Leadership Fund reflects the belief that leadership sustainability is not separate from systems transformation work. It is an essential part of it. Because ultimately, birth equity is not simply about changing policies or expanding systems. It is about building a future where Black mothers, families, birth workers, and communities are able to thrive with dignity, safety, support, and care. And building that future requires all of us.