Background & Bio
Amani Echols is a Policy Manager on the Health Systems Transformation team. Amani recently completed her MPH in Health Management and Policy from the University of Michigan, where she also received her bachelor’s degree in Community and Global Public Health. Amani has rich experience in maternal and child health, with past positions in the University of Michigan’s hospital-based doula program, the Michigan region nine Perinatal Quality Collaborative, and the Michigan Department of Health’s Maternal Mortality Surveillance Program. Amani also has a strong background in health equity and reproductive justice. Her policy op-ed, The Health Equity Case for Reparations, was recently published in the Michigan Journal of Public Affairs, and as an ACLU intern, Amani authored The Challenges of Breastfeeding as a Black Person. Additionally, Amani completed a pregnancy loss and termination doula training and is a Volunteer Case Manager at the DC Abortion Fund.

My Current Work
Amani works on the PRISM (Promoting Innovation in State MCH Policymaking) grant through HRSA. PRISM is a capacity-building project to empower Title V leaders and their state and local partners to advance policy that supports the needs of women of reproductive age with mental health and substance use disorders. Under the PRISM project, she advances discussion and education on women of reproductive age with mental health and substance use disorders by writing issue briefs, providing policy technical assistance to states, and chairing the internal AMCHP mental health committee.

Ask Me About
The PRISM Project, Health Systems Transformation, behavioral health, Black maternal and infant health, birth doulas, pregnancy loss and termination doula care, reproductive rights law, cooking and baking