Maternal and Child Health: It's a Family Affair

Talya Straughter desires to live in a world where people communicate with one another more deeply, are true to their hearts, stop to taste the sweetness of the honeysuckle, and scribble thank you notes by hand. She would also like, at times, a force field around her bedroom that repels a demanding millennial and a 4th grader. She understands that a part of deep communication is silence and separation. As a mental health provider for the Veterans at G.V. Sonny Montgomery in Jackson, MS she is collaborating with staff to integrate mental health services as a component of primary healthcare. She also provides mental health training and consultation through her business, Garden of Confidence, LLC. Talya holds the credentials of National Certified Counselor, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Board Certified Tele-Mental Health Counselor.When Talya is not consulting, staffing or collaborating with someone on the journey of improving their mental health, you may find her whipping up a dish, lounging with a book cracked open, or being poured into by her mentors.#justakidfromyazoo, Talya began her educational journey in Yazoo City, MS. She then obtained a bachelors in Communication Disorders and a masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from Jackson State University. Due to her love of learning, she acquired a masters in Marriage and Family Counseling and a doctorate in Professional Counseling from Mississippi College.

Consuelo Beck-Sagué, MD, FAAP, recently retired from her position as Associate Professor of Public Health at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University (FIU). She obtained her medical doctoral degree at Temple University Medical School and is board-certified as a specialist in clinical pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases. She served as a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, for 19 years focusing on prevention and treatment of HIV and other infectious diseases, and on elimination of racial disparities in maternal and infant health. She served as a Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative consultant to the Dominican Republic Ministry of Health for four years, focusing on use of antiretrovirals for HIV prevention and treatment in women, infants and children.  While at FIU, she was Principal Investigator of FIU’s HRSA-funded training program for Maternal and Child Health (MCH), which created an MCH concentration and certificate program. Dr. Beck-Sagué is the author/co-author of 20 chapters in medical and epidemiology texts, 20 CDC Guidelines/Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report articles, and 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, some cited thousands of times. Her principal professional interest is the elimination of racial disparities in health outcomes in US women and children.