About Postpartum Support Virginia

Support for new and expectant mothers:

• One-on-one support via telephone and email.

• Social support through free peer-led support groups.

Resources and information for new
mothers and their families:

• Books and websites.

• Information about mental health professionals, postpartum doulas, and postpartum exercise programs.

Outreach and education:

• Brochures and posters.

• Information and training sessions.

HONORARY CHAIR

VALERIE PLAME WILSON, MS is a former covert CIA operations officer specializing in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Plame Wilson is the author of the New York Times best-selling memoir Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, which was recently released as a major motion movie. She also narrates and appears in the critically acclaimed documentary on the dangers of nuclear proliferation "Countdown to Zero". Plame Wilson is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and has Masters degrees from the London School of Economics and the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. She is a consultant to the Santa Fe Institute and serves on the boards of Penn State's School of International Affairs and the United Way of Santa Fe County. She speaks several languages and lives in Santa Fe with her husband and two children. Valerie is also a survivor of postpartum depression and has been the keynote speaker at Postpartum Support International's annual conference.

FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ADRIENNE GRIFFEN, MPP is the founder of Postpartum Support Virginia and the MidAtlantic and Virginia Coordinator for Postpartum Support International. A survivor of postpartum depression and anxiety, she has been leading support groups and providing information and outreach to new mothers for five years. Ms. Griffen graduated from the US Naval Academy and has a Masters in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Her early career included military and federal government service at the White House, Pentagon, and IRS. Ms. Griffen lives in Arlington VA with her husband and three children.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

KATHLEEN DOBLER LAWSON, RN is the newborn coordinator for Virginia Pediatric an Adolescent Center, where she is a breastfeeding educator, runs a monthly New Moms Group, and established a postpartum depression screening program. A registered nurse for 42 years, Kathie has professional experience with children and adolescents struggling with psychiatric and behavioral issues.

BENTA SIMS, LPC runs a private counseling practice where she specializes in women experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Benta's recovery from postpartum depression inspired her to help other women and families facing similar challenges and she has been supporting new mothers in person, via email and telephone, and in support groups for over 10 years. Benta was recently recognized as Volunteer of the Year by Postpartum Support International.

NATASHA SRIRAMAN, MD, MPH, FAAP, IBCLC is the Division of General Academic Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of The Kin's Daughters and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Eastern Virginia Medical School.  She is a board member of the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is on the Virginia Breastfeeding Advisory Committee. Her interest in postpartum depression and screening for PPD in pediatrics began while helping some of the mothers in the practice. Since then, she has conducted research projects looking at postpartum depression in urban clinical settings while addressing the barriers mothers face when accessing treatment. She also looks at physician barriers to screening in the pediatric clinical setting. Other clinical and research interests include: breastfeeding, public health, health disparities, immigrant health care, and health care reform and policy.

CHRISTINE (TINA) TRUMAN, MD is a board-certified adult psychiatrist with expertise in psycho-pharmacology, psychiatric diagnosis, and disease management, focusing her clinical experience and research in treating mood and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Currently, she oversees Adult Psychiatry and Women's Mental Health at the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board. Dr. Truman graduated from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons; interned at Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital; and did her psychiatric residency at the New York Presbyterian Hospital of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where she gained clinical experience at the Payne Whitney Women's Program.