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m2m Launches in the Big Apple 

Today, we are delighted to announce that mothers2mothers (m2m) has opened our first office in New York City. It is our second foothold on the America continent,  complementing our Los Angeles presence. 

Three full-time staff, led by m2m’s Acting North America Director Delia Burnett, are now based in the heart of Manhattan. The New York team has a dedicated focus on resource mobilisation to allow us to accelerate our scale and impact even further. To achieve these goals, the team will introduce m2m’s peer-to-peer model to new audiences, steward the m2m brand with North American private sector and philanthropic partners, and raise additional funds to support our work and continued expansion in Africa.  

From a single site in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2001, m2m has grown to provide services at over 1,000 locations, including both health centres and surrounding communities, across eight sub-Saharan African countries. In 2017, together with our partners, m2m enrolled nearly 2.3M clients and employed almost 3,000 HIV-positive women as Mentor Mothers. While a tremendous part of this growth is due to the outstanding work of m2m staff in our eight country programmes across Africa, the expansion has also been driven by our offices in the United Kingdom and in the United States, which are responsible for strategic engagement, and raising awareness and funds to support our work. The opening of our New York office is an exciting step that will help support our plans to broaden and expand our services even further as well as deepen our impact for millions of African women, children, adolescents and families.   

Meet our new team: 

Delia Burnett, Deputy Director, Development.

Delia Burnett, MPH, spent her early career providing direct patient care to vulnerable populations both domestically and internationally. Building upon her decade of experience in the health equity arena, most recently with UNICEF and Last Mile Health, Delia is our Acting North America Director and Deputy Director, Development. 

 

 

  • Why did you join m2m? Equipping women with the resources they need to make decisions about their health and the health of their families is representative of much more, and brings us closer to an equitable world. 
  • What are you currently reading?The Cooking Gene (Michael Twitty) and We That Are Young (Preti Taneja).
  • What is your favourite treat? Every kind of cake imaginable. 

Melissa Marrocco, Institutional Giving Officer.

Melissa Marrocco has eight years of non-profit experience in various forms — from board governance and communications, to proposal development. Before joining m2m as Institutional Giving Officer, she worked at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.  

  • Why did you join m2m? It’s an absolute dream to be able to be a part of an organisation that supports women, especially women’s right to healthcare. I had previously worked with Felicity Jones, the Head of Development in the UK office, and it certainly helped that she spent eight months talking up mothers2mothers. 
  • What are you currently reading? Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House (Alyssa Mastromonaco). I also read a ton of fiction – right now, that is Sea Prayer (Khaled Hosseini).
  • What is your favourite treat? Carbs of the Italian variety – pizza, pasta, arancini. 

Kate Miller, Development Office Coordinator.

And last but certainly not least, Kate MillerDevelopment Office Coordinator was hired in May. Prior to joining m2m, she spent 10 years working in a variety of roles in school districts and non-profit organisations. Her experience as a lead teacher and senior teacher trainer has provided her with a well-rounded skill set. 

  • Why did you join m2m? During the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam in July 2018, m2m Spokeswoman Irene Nkosi said: “Knowledge is power. Give a women knowledge and she becomes a rock, and she will inspire other women.” This simple yet profound approach to facilitate the creation of a healthier, happier, and empowered future generation drew me to m2m.
  • What are you currently reading? My train book is The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival, while Food and Wine magazine and Bloomberg Businessweek always cycle into the mix.
  • What is your favourite treat? Fresh fruit and flavoured sparkling water. 

The New York team will work alongside m2m co-founder and Chief Connector, Robin Smalley—who will be concentrating on our Southern California presence, advocacy, and the Patrons programme as well as special projects— and Carolyn McEwen, our Senior Communications Manager, who continue to be based in Los Angeles. 

To get in touch with the US team—whether you work at a corporate that is interested in partnering with us, or you’re an individual who wants to learn about ways to support m2m, please email them:

Delia Burnett, Institutional, Individual, and Corporate Partnerships, and Government Support: [email protected]

Melissa Marrocco, Institutional Giving: [email protected]

Kate Miller: [email protected]

 **This post was updated on 22 December 2018 to reflect our staffing structure on this date.

 

  

  

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