AMCHP Honors the Life, Leadership, and Legacy of Amy St. Pierre
May 05, 2023

Washington, DC – We are shocked and saddened by the loss of our AMCHP friend and colleague, Amy St. Pierre, who was tragically murdered in a mass shooting on May 3, 2023.  AMCHP staff and members have worked with Amy for many years in her capacity as a leader in strengthening our nation’s capacity to address maternal mortality. We will remember her as a dedicated mother who devoted herself to saving the lives of other mothers and equipping others to do the same. Her contributions to this field are immeasurable, and we will strive to honor her memory by building upon the foundation she has laid in the pursuit of improved, more equitable pregnancy-related health outcomes. Our hearts go out to her family, her friends, and her colleagues.

AMCHP staff first met Amy St. Pierre on March 1, 2016, in Atlanta to kick off a new partnership for our organizations. Through an exciting public-private partnership model, Merck for Mothers was partnering with the CDC Foundation, CDC Division of Reproductive Health, and AMCHP to launch a new chapter of intensive support for state Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs). The day was an exciting mash-up of brainstorming, David Bowie references, and above all, optimism – that this partnership could set the foundation for a transformation in standard data collection for MMRCs and what we as a nation could learn from them. AMCHP could never have imagined how it would snowball: how the leadership of the CDC team, influenced tremendously by Amy’s steady hand, would transform years of in-person regional meetings, abstractor trainings, and developing and making available training manuals and best practices into a national movement. None of this would have been possible without Amy’s focus, her diligence, and her ability to see the forest for the trees.

“Amy was a truly dedicated public health leader,” said AMCHP Board President Belinda Pettiford. “Our paths crossed years ago during our early stages in North Carolina of developing the legislation and then implementation of our Maternal Mortality Review Committee. She was dedicated to elevating the issue of maternal mortality and its impact on our country. Several of our staff attended the recent MMRIA Users (MUM) meeting in Atlanta and were able to see her there. This is so very sad and beyond devastating for her family. Continuing to keep her family, friends, and colleagues in prayer.  It is yet another reason that gun violence continues to be a public health issue.”

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The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) is a national resource, partner, and advocate for state public health leaders and others working to improve the health of women, children, youth, families, and communities. AMCHP builds successful programs to serve its members by disseminating best practices; advocating on their behalf in Washington, DC; providing technical assistance; convening leaders to share experiences and ideas; and advising states about involving partners to reach our common goal of healthy children, healthy families, and healthy communities. For more information, visit www.amchp.org and follow AMCHP on TwitterLinkedIn, and Facebook.

Please contact Chery Manon Espinal (202-843-9304, cmanonespinal@amchp.org) for questions or media requests.