Jessica Roach

Jessica Roach is the co-founder and executive director of Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT), a Black women-led reproductive justice nonprofit focused on maternal-child health and birthing justice in Columbus, Ohio. Her career has spanned more than 20 years as a former clinical nurse, public health advocate, and independent scholar. Ms. Roach brings a deeply experiential personal and professional perspective to her work. Her research includes structural racism and social determinants of health as well as the impact of intergenerational and historical trauma on African-American health. She has served as a full-spectrum doula, homebirth midwife and assistant, and consultant to various organizations. Ms. Roach is the mother of three young women, one of which was a preterm infant. You can find her on Twitter @jessicaroach01.