HealthConnect One Taps New COO to Operationalize a 40-Year Mission

CHICAGO, IL – June 30, 2026 – In the world of non-profits, mission statements are ubiquitous, but the operational architecture required to execute that mission at scale is often the unsung hero. HealthConnect One (HC One), a national leader in birth equity, is bringing its hero into the spotlight. On its 40th anniversary, the organization has appointed Janessa Mondestin as its new Chief Operating Officer, a move that signals a profound strategic shift from being a long-standing advocate to a scaled, global operator.

This isn't merely a leadership shuffle; it's a declaration of intent. As HC One plans its most ambitious expansion across two continents, the choice of a COO with a philosophy of “operations-as-liberation” is a critical insight into how social progress is being engineered in the 21st century. The organization is betting that the path to improving maternal health outcomes lies not just in passion, but in process.

The Architect of Liberation

Janessa Mondestin’s appointment formalizes a role she has effectively been building for some time, steering HC One through a period of intense modernization. Her mandate covers the core engine of the organization: people, finance, fundraising, partnerships, and communications. The goal is to build an infrastructure robust enough to support not only HC One’s own growth but also that of the dozens of smaller, grassroots doula organizations it partners with.

This is the essence of what President & CEO Dr. Twylla Dillion calls Mondestin’s “operations-as-liberation frame.” It’s a recognition that for community-based organizations on the front lines, true empowerment comes from having sustainable systems, reliable resources, and scalable infrastructure. Mondestin herself puts it succinctly: “Operations is how we honor the mission,” she stated. “Every system we build, every partnership we structure, every grassroots organization we resource—it exists so that the doulas, the families, and the communities we serve have the infrastructure they deserve behind them.”

This philosophy is particularly crucial as HC One deepens its presence in the South and South-Central corridor of the United States—a region with some of the nation's most significant unmet needs in maternal and infant health. Mondestin brings strategic relationships spanning North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and beyond, transforming relational capital into an organizational asset for targeted, high-impact expansion.

Forty Years of Building a Foundation

To understand the significance of this operational pivot, one must look at HealthConnect One’s four-decade history. Founded in 1986 as a volunteer lactation support group in Chicago, the organization has consistently evolved to meet the most pressing needs of birthing families. It pioneered the first formal community-based doula training model in the U.S., a model that has since been replicated in over 100 communities.

The results of this long-term investment are tangible and backed by data. In programs utilizing HC One’s model, participants have seen a C-section rate of 24%, well below the national average of 30%. Among Black mothers served by their trained doulas, 75% were still breastfeeding at six weeks. These are not just statistics; they are indicators of a system that is successfully reducing medical interventions, improving infant health, and directly combating the stark racial inequities that plague America's healthcare system.

Now, the organization is maturing its DoulaREADI initiative, a replicable hospital integration model designed to embed its evidence-based, culturally responsive doula support directly into clinical settings. It provides hospitals with a clear roadmap to transform maternal care, moving from isolated success stories to systemic change. This evolution from a community-based advocate to a systems-level partner is a strategic masterstroke, and Mondestin’s operational expertise is the key to ensuring it scales effectively.

From Local Roots to a Global Vision

HC One's FY2027 strategic priorities reflect a vision that is both deeply rooted and globally ambitious. The plan includes expanding its flagship “Doulas Are for Every Body” campaign, reactivating its foundational lactation support programs, and maturing the DoulaREADI model. Critically, it also involves a deliberate global expansion, building on an inaugural doula training cohort in Ghana and an intergenerational pilot in Puerto Rico.

This is not expansion for expansion's sake. It is a targeted deployment of a proven model to areas where maternal and infant health disparities are acute. In the U.S., where maternal mortality rates are abysmal compared to other developed nations—with Black and Indigenous communities facing disproportionately high risks—the focus on the Southern corridor is a direct response to a public health crisis. Globally, the pilots in Ghana and Puerto Rico represent an understanding that the principles of community-rooted care are universal, even if the application must be locally attuned.

The Strategic Imperative: Funding and Sustaining the Front Lines

This ambitious vision confronts a familiar hurdle: funding. While HC One has secured significant grants, including $1.5 million from the Elevance Health Foundation, the organization’s leadership understands that sustainable impact requires more than one-off infusions of cash. A core part of Mondestin’s operational focus is building capacity for grassroots partners, who often operate on shoestring budgets.

The challenge is systemic. While states are increasingly moving toward Medicaid reimbursement for doula services—a major advocacy win—the reimbursement rates are often insufficient to provide a living wage, leading to burnout among the very community health workers the system needs most. HC One’s strategy, therefore, involves a two-pronged approach: building efficient internal systems while advocating for external policy changes that ensure fair pay and sustainable careers for doulas.

By placing an operational expert at the helm, HealthConnect One is making a powerful statement about the future of social change. It's acknowledging that to solve a problem as complex and deeply entrenched as birth inequity, a powerful mission must be paired with an equally powerful, and liberated, operational machine.