Our Team

The Teen Health Mississippi team is a group of dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to promote the vision of Teen Health MS.

Current Staff

Hope directly interacts with all stakeholders, donors, partner organizations, and other policymakers interested in supporting the work of Teen Health Mississippi. She works with the Board of Directors to ensure Teen Health Mississippi is functioning according to its mission and goals and operating within its budget and funding restrictions. Hope is also responsible for overseeing all Teen Health Mississippi programming and growth and supporting the Teen Health Mississippi staff. Hope is based in the Jackson, Mississippi, office.

Josh provides issue education and advocacy for local- and state-level policies related to teen sexual and reproductive health. He provides district advocacy for the CHART abstinence-plus policy in addition to providing teacher trainings on the CHART sex education curricula, grades K-5 human growth and development education curricula, and other professional development opportunities. He also works with local communities to improve teens’ access to general health services. Josh is based in the Jackson, Mississippi, office.

Amber Helsel is the Director of Communications for Teen Health Mississippi. In her role, she is the keeper of branding and voice for the organization. She handles social media, communications strategy, marketing, and public relations. She also serves as a thought partner to program coordinators and other staff members. She is based in the Jackson, Mississippi, office.

Whitney works to help improve access to and quality of youth-friendly healthcare services for teens across the state of Mississippi.  Whitney engages with healthcare providers, clinical systems, and school-based health centers to provide training and technical assistance. Teen Health Mississippi’s Choose Your Method and LinkedUp, along with Texas A&M University’s Comprehensive Healthcare for Adolescents Initiative (CHAI) are the primary programs that Whitney works with.  She is based in the Clarksdale, Mississippi office.  

Alexis engages and partners with youth across Mississippi to inform and support Teen Health Mississippi’s sexual and reproductive health and rights work. She recruits, trains, and mobilizes Mississippi teens, helping them to become activists and leaders in their communities and on their school campuses through their work in the following youth projects: Mind Elevation, Mississippi Youth Council, and Mississippi Youth Voice. She is also responsible for coordinating the Mobilizing Youth Summit, an annual convening of youth across the state that equips them with the skills, knowledge, and resources to build sustainable, community-level advocacy campaigns. Alexis is based in the Jackson, MS office.

Patrina Williams, BA, is the Director of Education and Training at Teen Health Mississippi. She has spent 15 years working in the consumer-centric healthcare marketplace. Patrina specializes in youth-friendly healthcare and ensuring health centers offer the range of contraceptive health options to youth, that youth have youth-friendly spaces within clinical settings, and that clinical systems develop proper protocols to ensure minors’ rights and confidentiality. Her efforts supported sustained relationships between federally qualified health center staff and community members across three counties in north Mississippi. She is based in the Jackson, Mississippi, office.

Kimberly Massey is the Director of Operations for Teen Health Mississippi. She manages the agency’s “back-end” activities, including fiscal management, human resources, and resource coordination. After serving as start-up consultant for THMS in 2019, Kimberly joined the team full-time in 2021. She is based in Jackson, Mississippi.

Mariaha Amos, MPH, is Project Coordinator for Project Mind Elevation, where she works with youth partners and community stakeholders to leverage resources to support mental and reproductive health for young people. Her work engages youth in healthcare via social media and on-the-ground campaigns and supports partnership with schools and community organizations. Working as a Community Training and Technical Assistance Provider solidified her passion to get resources to young people which later led her to her current role. Mariaha traveled throughout the MS Delta to facilitate youth-friendly training to teachers, coordinators and other trusted adults. She is based in the Clarksdale, MS office.

Triuna Taylor

Program and Training Coordinator
triuna2@teenhealthms.org

Triuna Taylor is the Program and Training Coordinator for Teen Health Mississippi. She delivers trainings, both virtual and in-person, from our extensive catalogue of youth-centered trainings to our community partners. After spending the last three years as a Board Member, Triuna became a full-time team member in 2022. She is based in the Jackson, Mississippi office.

Board of Directors

Jacqueline Smith, Board Chair
Marni von Wilpert, Board Member
Kathryn Carroll, Board Member
Sanford Johnson, Board Member
Holly Smith, Board Member
Jamie Sproles,  Board Member
Clay Morris, Board Member
Jermany Gray,  Board Member
Melanie Powell, Board Member