Meet Our Team
Our team is here to help give every last woman who suffers from cervical insufficiency a voice.
Board Members & Advocates
Jessica
Chair, Director of the Board
IC Mama and Advocate & Founder of the Incompetent Cervix Awareness Campaign
My Name is Jessica, I’m a 36 year old mother of 3 rainbow babies and 3 angel babies. My incompetent cervix started when I was only 19 years old. Though I was placed on bedrest with my first child. I had an emergency cerclage placed at 19 weeks after an anatomy scan showed funneling of cervix with my second full term pregnancy. Between my 3 successful pregnancies I was on bedrest for a total of 10 months, underwent both an emergent and preventative transvaginal cerclage. If it hadn’t been for a dear friend who had unfortunately lost her son due to incompetent cervix, I would have felt even more alone and confused by my diagnosis. This is why I fight for all the other IC warriors out there. Being diagnosed with an incompetent cervix doesn’t have to be as scary as it is. With the right amount of information and resources, not to mention, early detection, we can save the lives of so many. I see you. I hear you. We will not stop fighting for awareness and better policies.
Find Me On Instagram @ICAwareCampaign
Maddy
Co-Chair, Director of the Board
IC Mama and Advocate & Founder of @early_cervical_opening an inspiring campaign to eliminate shameful medical terminology especially in the IC community
My name is Maddy, and I have two children. My first pregnancy ended in unexplained premature birth at 25 weeks gestation following five days of hospital bed rest. I had worrisome symptoms that were ignored by my provider and remain troubled by the many women who share similar stories of silencing. During my second pregnancy, I had transvaginal ultrasounds bi-weekly during the second trimester, and I was diagnosed with an "Incompetent" Cervix when my cervical length shortened dramatically at 22 weeks gestation. I had an emergency cerclage placed and delivered full-term as a result.
I, like many others, experienced feelings of failure and guilt as a result of the diagnosis, and these feelings were exacerbated by the damaging medical terminology used to describe this diagnosis. I wrote my master's thesis on this topic and continue advocating for change in the language used in the medical community. I am very grateful to join those working towards early detection and prevention and thankful for the kind, supportive women that constantly seek to comfort and lift each other up.
Find Me On Instagram @early_cervical_opening
Ambassadors and Advocates
Darcy
IC Ambassador
IC Mama and Advocate for change in the incompetent cervix community.
My name is Darcy and I’m an entrepreneur and new mom. I was diagnosed with a short cervix at 20 weeks pregnant and just had my first miracle baby in June of 2021. After the diagnosis, I was immediately put on bedrest, weekly transvaginal ultrasounds and progesterone, but my cervix continued to shorten so I had to have an emergency cerclage at 23 weeks pregnant. Luckily the cerclage paired with continued bed rest (4 months in total), progesterone and weekly/bi-weekly transvaginal ultrasounds resulted in me carrying not only to term, but to 40 weeks plus 4 days. Although my story may be one of a successful, full term pregnancy, the reality is that many of those diagnosed with an incompetent cervix don’t have the same fate. Late term loss rates are high - higher than they should be due to a lack of awareness and resources. I was blindsided by the diagnosis and sadly didn’t learn much from my medical professionals. Most of what I learned was through my own research and connecting with others dealing with the same thing. I hope that by sharing my story, using my voice and advocating for better terminology, earlier cervical scans, and more information, we can increase chances for other women to carry their miracle babies to term too.
Find Me On Instagram @darcyboucher
Morgan
IC Advocate
IC Mama and Strong Supporter of IC Research and Awareness Efforts
My name is Morgan Allen. I am a wife, doggie mom of 6, and a mama to a beautiful baby girl, Hollyn in Heaven.
My history is a little different. My Mom and first cousin also have an incompetent cervix. We told doctors from the beginning of my pregnancy about this family history and it isn’t proven to be genetic, so we were told that I should not worry. I was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix at my 22-week routine appointment. I was placed on hospital bed rest for the remainder of our pregnancy. At 23 weeks & 4 days, Hollyn Rae was born on October 2 2019 weighing 1 pound 4oz. She lived a beautiful 8 hours before going to heaven.
My hope as Hollyn’s mama is to bring more awareness to the incompetent cervix. It is more common than people think. Together we can make a difference!
Foundational Expectations
Adhere to all state laws; including but not limited to privacy laws.
Agree to uphold necessary confidentiality of Incompetent Cervix Awareness Campaign’s internal issues; including but not limited to current and/or future projects
Disclose and navigate or eliminate any conflicts of interest with honesty and integrity
Attend a minimum of 4 monthly board meetings per year (done virtually)
Commit to investing up to 4 hours a month in campaign-related tasks (not including board meetings)
Board terms are 1 year with an opportunity for renewal
Sign and commit to the Board Agreement
Board Leadership Positions
Incompetent Cervix Awareness Campaign Board Members act as passionate advocates of our organization’s mission and resources. Board members play a crucial role in the vision, direction, and sustainability to support our mission of Awareness, Resources, and Support for the incompetent cervix community.
Chair
Presides at board meetings
Creates a purposeful agenda in collaboration with the executive director
Appoints people to committees and assigns committee chairs
Serves as the contact for board issues
Sets goals and objectives with the board and ensures they are met
Holds members accountable for attending meetings
May take on some executive director responsibilities if the nonprofit is an all-volunteer organization
Co-Chair
Prepares to assume the office of the board chair
Fulfills the board chair’s duties when the presiding officer is absent or if that office becomes vacant
Assists the board chair in the execution of his or her duties
Serves on committees as requested to learn the operations of the board
Works closely with the board chair to transfer knowledge and history to prepare for leadership
Board Secretary
Assures that an agenda has been prepared by the board president and/or CEO and that the agenda is distributed in advance of the meeting
Oversees the distribution of background information for agenda items to be discussed
Prepares the official minutes of the meeting and records motions, discussions, votes, and decisions
Prepares and provides the previous meeting’s written minutes to board members before the next meeting and records any changes or corrections
Assures that documents (bylaws, Form-990, a roster of board members) are are accessible to members (Pro Tip: Boardable’s Document Center feature is a big help here!)
Schedules and notifies board members of upcoming meetings
Holds members accountable for their tasks
Treasurer
Reconciles bank accounts and produces financial statements, which they present at board meetings
Ensures tax-related documents and legal forms are filed on time, such as the documents required to maintain the organization’s tax-exempt status
Serves as chair of the finance committee and financial officer of the organization
Manages, with the finance committee, the board’s review of and action on its financial responsibilities
Assists the chief executive or the chief financial officer in preparing the annual budget and presenting it to the board for approval
Reviews the annual audit and answers board members’ questions
Ambassadors (Always looking for more help)
Members should be committed to following through on promises and assisting the organization to the best of their abilities. This means:
Attending meetings and actively participating in committees
Communicating with the executive director and other board members as needed and in a timely manner.
Following through on assignments (when there are open projects available)
Supporting program initiatives including sharing on social media platforms
Simply sharing your story and connecting to others in this community
Advocates (Always looking for more help)
Members should be committed to following through on promises and assisting the organization to the best of their abilities. This means:
Supporting program initiatives including sharing on social media platforms
Simply sharing your story and connecting to others in this community
For more information on how to get involved, email us at icawarecampaign@gmail.com