Barbara George Johnson and New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Kaitlan Baston were named to serve as the chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority board. The two currently serve as members of the board and will be elevated to their leadership roles effective immediately.
“Beyond her decades-long career and service to the people of our state, Barbara George Johnson has played a crucial role on the ground with the Trenton community for years working to ensure that our Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center is rooted in what the community wants and needs,” first lady Tammy Murphy said.
“Commissioner Baston has spent her career protecting the health of mothers and babies, promoting healthy families and improving the quality of health care for all New Jerseyans. Their collective experiences, both professionally and personally, have prepared them well for these positions.”
The two will continue the work alongside MIHIA CEO and President Lisa Asare and the entire MIHIA Board.
“On the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority board, both Ms. George Johnson and Commissioner Baston are playing instrumental roles in the early stages of building the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center in our state’s capital,” Asare said. “Having witnessed firsthand their dedication to this work and the mothers, babies and families of this community and our state, I know New Jersey will benefit by having them serve in these key posts within the authority board. I look forward to continuing to work with them in their new capacities.”
“This role offers an invaluable opportunity to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. I look forward to collaborating with the MIHIA board, a team of dedicated professionals and stakeholders, to implement innovative solutions to ensure that every mother and infant receives the highest standard of care. Together, we will strive to make a significant and lasting impact on the health and well-being of families throughout our state,” George Johnson said.
“I am honored to serve as vice chair as we continue the important work of the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority to help improve outcomes for parents and children and reduce inequities in our state,” Baston said. “Together, we are working to achieve a collective vision of making New Jersey the safest, in the nation to deliver and raise a baby. I look forward to supporting the impactful, groundbreaking work ahead.”
George Johnson serves in dual roles at Kean University as the vice president of external affairs and urban policy and research and the executive director of the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research. She has more than 30 years of experience as a public policy professional in New Jersey with an extensive background in health care, public health and public policy.
Baston previously served as the division head of addiction medicine and medical director of the Center for Healing at Cooper University Health Care. She founded the center, which includes integrated pain, addiction and behavioral health care; an inpatient addiction consult service; outpatient specialty clinics; a wrap-around perinatal substance use disorder program; and undergraduate and graduate medical education in addiction medicine and research.
