meet the Winter 2022 PBP Team

Noelle Gorka (she/her)

PRESIDENT

Noelle is a senior majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, with a minor through the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. She plans to spend her career in clinical practice, research, and development of equitable healthcare policy. Her interest in Prison Birth Project is based on a commitment to transforming institutions with a history of systemic injustice. Outside of PBP, Noelle does research through Michigan Institute of Clinical and Health Research, where she works with community leaders in Flint, MI, to use lessons from the Water Crisis to prevent future disasters of its kind. Her focus with the workgroup includes broader initiatives relevant to COVID-19 and racism as a public health crisis. She also enjoys facilitating SLC study groups, working on political campaigns, and coaching speakers for TEDxUofM. In her free time Noelle likes to read, swim, and play piano.

Neha Gogineni (she/her)

President

Neha is a pre-medical senior majoring in Public Health Sciences through the School of Public Health with a minor in Business through the Ross School of Business. She has always been interested in the carceral system’s systemic injustice and passionate about reproductive healthcare, so PBP is the perfect way to blend her interests into reproductive justice advocacy. Through her involvement in PBP, she found a passion for widening access to high-quality healthcare, which is where she found her interest in public health. Through this work, Neha hopes to spread awareness of the disparities faced by incarcerated people and hopes to expand awareness of systemic injustice in other fields of study. Outside of PBP, Neha works with M-HEAL in interdisciplinary project teams to develop healthcare solutions with under-resourced areas in the form of education and medical device solutions. She also works as a bladder cancer research coordinator for the Michigan Medicine Department of Urology and as a caregiver for residents at Brookdale Senior Living. In her free time, you’d find Neha at an Ann Arbor coffee shop, working out, or baking cookies.

Kaveri Krishnamoorthy (she/her)

Director of internal communications

Kaveri is a senior majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience with a minor in Gender and Health, on a pre-dental track. She joined PBP during her sophomore year and grew passionate about the organization’s initiative to promote proper reproductive healthcare in the carceral system. Apart from PBP, she was previously involved in the Jonides Psychology Lab at the University of Michigan. She spent this past summer assisting in an orthodontist office and volunteering at a local Montessori school and food pantry in her community. Kaveri is excited to continue learning about reproductive justice and to continue to advocate for underrepresented, vulnerable populations through her work with Prison Birth Project.

Lauren Walton (she/her)

Director of Finance & Grant-Writing

Lauren is a senior majoring in Information with a focus on Information Analysis. In the future, she plans to pursue a career in strategic consulting. She is passionate about women’s health and reproductive justice, but also enjoys finance and grant-writing. Over her past two years in Prison Birth Project, she has loved combining all of these interests. Outside of Prison Birth Project, Lauren was previously involved in cancer immunology research through the University of Michigan Cancer Center. She also is a web designer for a consulting club on campus and has experience with several coding languages and data analysis platforms. She is excited to carry on Prison Birth Project’s mission by funding events on campus and raising money for the club’s initiatives. Lauren is enthusiastic about raising awareness about access to high-quality healthcare, especially for those incarcerated.

Miranda Manzo (she/her)

Director of Research

Miranda is a senior majoring in Biology, Health, and Society with a minor in Gender and Health. She plans to pursue a career in the medical field as a physician. She joined PBP her sophomore year and has spent the past two years as a member of the research committee. She enjoyed working with the committee to complete a campus climate analysis paper and a needs assessment. She has a passion for women’s health as she plans to one day be a practicing OB/GYN. Outside of PBP, Miranda works in a cardiology research lab, as a patient care technician at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, on the E-board for the generation mental health chapter at Umich, and is an active member in her sorority on campus. In her free time, she enjoys going for walks in the Arboretum, hanging out with her friends, and writing.

Emma Donnelly- Sironen (she/her)

Director of Member education

Emma is a senior majoring in Psychology with a focus in criminal justice. She joined the Prison Birth Project winter semester of her sophomore year. Outside of PBP, Emma is a research assistant for the Methods, Sex Differences, and Development lab in the university’s psychology department. Through the Prison Birth Project, Emma hopes to positively contribute to the fight for improved reproductive care and humane treatment of inmates within the Carceral System. She is passionate about using her place of privilege to educate and advocate for those who may not be able to do so themselves.

Avani Samandur (she/her)

Director of Community Outreach & Activism

Avani is a senior majoring in Public Health Sciences. She is very interested in reproductive justice, restorative justice, and how they intersect in the healthcare of incarcerated people. After joining Prison Birth Project her freshman year, she recognized that there is a drastic need for better systems of justice, advocacy and care in the United States. Outside of the Prison Birth Project, she does research at the Michigan Medicine Department of General Pediatrics on the safe sleeping habits in infants. This past summer, she volunteered at the front office of the Hope Medical Clinic, a clinic that provides free primary care and specialty services to the uninsured and underinsured. In addition, she works at the Michigan Medicine Urology Clinic as a medical assistant. She is excited to uplift Prison Birth Project’s mission through advocacy and community based solutions to incarceration.

Katherine Lee (she/her)

Director of PR & Marketing

Katherine is a sophomore neuroscience major and CS minor, on the pre-medical track. She joined PBP her freshman year, while looking for ways to expand her understanding of social and reproductive justice. She hopes to continue bringing awareness to those often overlooked and ostracized from mainstream concepts of inequality. Outside of PBP, she works with a team to design and manufacture open-source 3D printed prosthetic arms for children worldwide. She also studies epileptogenesis through cerebral organoids at the Neurodevelopment and Regeneration Laboratory. In her free time, she likes to paint, drink coffee excessively, and play volleyball with friends.

Olivia Brown (she/her)

Director of Research

Olivia is a junior majoring in Secondary Education. She plans to teach Latin and English at the High School level. She joined Prison Birth Project during her sophomore year, when she was a Nursing major. While her major eventually changed, her passion for prison reform and reproductive justice did not. She hopes to use the projects on the Research Committee to spread the stories of those incarcerated and spread awareness about the inequalities that incarcerated people face. Outside of PBP, Olivia is spending this semester observing local high school Latin classrooms and tutoring elementary Latin students on campus. In her free time, Olivia enjoys reading, doing puzzles, and drinking lots of coffee.