15 - EMBRACE: Perinatal Intervention and Community Support

Ms. Mays is Clinical Social Worker and Clinical Supervisor on staff at the UCSF/SFGH Child Trauma Research Program. She provides clinical services to children and families, supervision to clinicians in training, and is a national trainer for the dissemination of Child-Parent Psychotherapy. Markita earned her BA in Human Biology at Brown University, with an emphasis on African Studies, and her Master's degree in Social Work, focusing on Children, Youth, and Families from California State University, East Bay. In 2018, Ms. Mays co-developed EMBRACE, an integrated behavior group perinatal care model for Black Families at UCSF in partnership with reproductive medical providers from the National Center of Excellence in Women's Health. Ms. Mays is committed to understanding the intersection and intergenerational patterns of race and trauma for African American families and communities and has a special interest in healing interventions rooted in spiritual/indigenous practices and traditions.

In addition to direct service and clinical training, Markita has pursued advocacy on behalf of children of incarcerated parents. She is the co-Founder of the Alameda County Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership (ACCIPP), which is a regional coalition focused on those who work with or are concerned about children of incarcerated parents. In her work with ACCIPP, she served as a consultant with Sesame Street on the development and implementation of their toolkit, Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration.

Dr. Bohlander has also been a practicing clinician in a variety of settings for over a decade, partnering with parents to understand the behavior and development of their young children to support infant and early childhood mental health. Immediately prior to joining the National Infant-Toddler Court Program Dr. Bohlander was a member of the professional development and workforce innovations team at ZERO TO THREE leading the development of the Growing Brain curriculum and providing professional development opportunities nationally and internationally on topics related to infant and early childhood mental health. Ms. Bohlander is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work with a concentration in Interpersonal Practice with Children, Youth, and Families. She completed a Ph.D. in social work at the National Catholic School of Social Service at the Catholic University of America, where she studied the long-term effects of early parenting practices on self-regulation and overall child well-being. Ms. Bohlander’s dissertation research was presented at the 2016 World Infant Mental Health Association meeting in Prague.