Meet the Taskforce

Core Leadership Team

Committee Chairs

  • Marketing & Communications Committee Co-Chair

    Daphna Barbeau, MD
    Attending Neonatologist,
    HCA University Hospital
    Director,
    High Risk Infant Follow Up Clinic
    Co-Founder, The Incubator

  • Marketing & Communications Committee Co-Chair

    Alex Zavala
    Founder,
    The NICU Dad &
    The NICU Dad Podcast

    PFAC Chair,
    Dell Ascencion NICU Network
    Family Advisor,
    Vermont Oxford Network

  • Newsletter Committee Co-Chair

    Vargabi Ghei, MD
    NICU Medical Director,
    HCA East Florida Northwest Medical Center

  • Newsletter Committee Co-Chair

    Morgan Kowalski
    Program Manager,
    Family-Centered Care Taskforce
    Family Partner,
    Golisano Children’s Hospital NICU at University of Rochester Medical Center

  • Advocacy Committee Co-Chair

    Kerri Machut, MD
    Attending Neonatologist,
    Lurie Children’s Hospital
    Associate Professor,
    Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University

  • Advocacy Committee Co-Chair

    Nicole Nyberg, NNP
    Neonatal Nurse Practitioner,
    Cone Health
    Founder,
    Empowering NICU Parents & The Empowering NICU Parents Podcast

Executive Council
Family Partners

Executive Council
Healthcare Partners

  • Daphna Barbeau, MD

  • Joy Browne, PhD

  • Robert Cicco, MD

  • Mary Coughlin, MS, NNP, NCC-E

  • Jessica Daigle, MD

  • Jessica Fry, MD

  • Vargabi Ghei, MD

  • Christy Gliniak, PhD, OTR/L, CNT, CPXP, NTMTC

  • Mitchell Goldstein, MD

  • Luann Jones, DNP, APRN, NNP-BC, NE-BC

  • Henry Lee, MD

  • Lily Lou, MD, FAAP

  • Kerri Machut, MD

  • Nicole Nyberg, MSN, APRN, NNP-BS

  • Tim Palmer, MD

  • Jochen Profit, MD

  • Aida Simonian, MSN, RNC-NIC, SCM, SRN

  • Dharshi Sivakumar, MD

  • Vincent Smith, MD, MPH

  • Robert White, MD

  • Emily Whitesel, MD

Organizational Partners

Family-Centered Care Taskforce Phase 3 work supported by a grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group & partially funded by Prolacta Bioscience Foundation. 2023 Gravens Conference luncheon supported by an independent educational grant by Chiesi USA, Inc.

Spotlight

Fabiana Bacchini!

Learn more about our esteemed
Family & Healthcare Partners!