Community Spotlight: Christine Ivery, Public Health Jawn

In 2023, Christine Ivery—public health expert and NJBEFA Community Advisory Committee (CAC) member—launched Public Health Jawn to mitigate health disparities in marginalized communities in the Greater Philadelphia area and beyond. Today, the organization is focused on accelerating public health projects and initiatives, providing tailored mentorship and coaching for students and early career professionals, and creating networking, service, and professional development opportunities for public health professionals.

What inspired Public Health Jawn?

Sometimes in public health, we're trying to find community. Physicians, nurses, social workers—they have spaces, but for people in this field, oftentimes there's not one gathering place. So, my primary vision was about leveraging convenings to bring everyone together. 

Now, Public Health Jawn has three pillars: Convening, coaching, and consulting. The convenings bring folks together. Coaching is for the next generation of public health professionals and people that want to know more about public health and health equity. And within the last two years, I've had the opportunity to consult with other organizations, particularly with a maternal health focus, and provide guidance on all different types of really great projects.


How do you define public health?

In the field, we say public health is everything. It's the air we breathe. It's the water we drink. It's how we move and navigate through this life. Anything that has a connection or alignment to health, that is where public health comes in and tries to assist.

Sometimes it's quality improvement, sometimes it might be developing a new program. But really, betterment of health in our communities is what it's about.


What drew you to maternal health?

Before public health—before all the things—I looked up to my mom. She's a nurse, and for a long time, she was one of the only people in my family who pursued a higher education. So, I was deeply inspired by her. I went to school for nursing and found I did not necessarily want to go that route, but knew I wanted to stay in health.

Fast forward to having my Bachelors degree in exercise science, working in the fitness realm, and bringing programs to a community center in North Philadelphia—not knowing at first that I was doing public health work! I went back to school shortly after. 

At Drexel, I learned about maternal mortality rates and infant mortality. At the time, it wasn't as wide a conversation as it is now. A classmate from California talked about all the great initiatives they had there, and after graduating with my public health degree, I worked at a New Jersey maternal health consortia. That was the impetus—when I saw, heard, and tuned into the data, and I knew it was in our backyard as well—especially for Black and Brown individuals, how it impacted them—there was no way I could turn back.

Can you talk about getting involved with the Community Advisory Committee (CAC)?

A few years into working in maternal health, I heard about the CAC opportunity, and it sounded like a great way to get involved with other people in the state. I put an application in—and am so glad I did! 

I'm involved in a lot of different spaces, and each is unique for its own reason, but—and I can say this honestly—the CAC is one of my favorites. I love how everyone has these different rich backgrounds, and we all pour into what's happening each month—how we can be of service, and support each other, as CAC members. We’re a smaller group, but I feel like we have a tremendous impact together, and it's always very exciting to hear what everyone has going on across the table.

Public Health Jawn’s 2025 Black Maternal Health Summit: Advancing Awareness Into Action

Recently, you organized your first-ever Black Maternal Health Summit. What was that like?

The Summit was amazing! It was right after Black Maternal Health Week and intentionally held in Camden County. While I do live in Philadelphia, I've always been a both-sides-of-the-bridge person and strive to make an impact in New Jersey, as well as Greater Philadelphia.

When I think about health data, maternal mortality rates, infant mortality, and preterm birth, I think a lot about Camden, where—unfortunately, there are higher rates for many of these health outcomes. So, I wanted to bring everybody together and draw attention to the county, while also bringing a statewide focus as well.

During the evening, we had Lisa Asare, CEO of the New Jersey Maternal & Infant Health Innovation Authority (NJMIHIA), Crystal Charley, Founder of Melanin & Maternal Wellness, and two panels: “Fathers in Focus,” about how fathers and “doulos” help to improve maternal health; and “Our Voice is Our Power,” on advocacy and Black maternal health. We also had information tables around maternal health advocacy, preterm birth information, and information on housing and resources.

We came together, had conversations, and talked about how to turn the conversations into action. And also, folks could grab resources and talk about their takeaways with the stakeholders in the room—bringing it full circle.


What were your key takeaways?

There are so many. I'm still digesting them! 

Crystal Charley did our keynote about legacy and had all of us standing on our feet and repeating these really powerful affirmations. There were all these different people in the room—people with lived experience, people working in government, people on the ground, and I really felt how, as a collective, we're stronger. Together, we can break silos, we can make change. We can't do it as a single effort. Inherently a lot of us know that, and we might say it, but for me there was even more of an underliner—a bold there. We still need collective empowerment.


What would you tell someone who wants to get involved in birth equity work?

It sounds simplistic, but start where your strength or interest is. Lean into that, because—again—we're all stronger together. If your background is in data, we need more infographics, more dashboards, more storytelling. If your interest is in connecting others, we need more intentional partnerships and opportunities for collaboration. Wherever your background or interests lie, there's a place for you.

Also, get involved with interest groups. If there's an interest group or collective—it doesn’t have to be maternal health-focused—you can bring maternal health into the conversation and continue the work. Moving the needle is about finding the people having the conversation—like the CAC— and just getting involved.


Finally, you know we think a lot about the well-being of our community members at NJBEFA. What keeps you feeling whole?

I think I'm still finding my way. Doing so many things, it's like, “OK, I do need to take some time for me.”

Working out and dancing are two things I enjoy. Back in the day, my mom put me in dance, and I pretty much never stopped. This season, I tried weekly clay classes, where I got to throw clay on the wheel—something I wasn't really familiar with! 

Leaning into things that we love and also trying something new is so important. And I always stay grounded in my faith and anchor myself in my family and friends.

Christine Ivery is a Program Officer in maternal health quality improvement efforts and lectures as an Adjunct Professor at Thomas Jefferson University. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science/Kinesiotherapy from Norfolk State University; a Master’s degree in Public Health from Drexel University; and holds a Health Education Specialist Certification (CHES).

To learn more about Public Health Jawn’s services or connect with Christine, start here.