UPDATE 10/27/23 We have made multiple requests for information from MANA, but they have not given any helpful responses. This petition calls for global transparency from the MANA board, as there has been a lack of ongoing information to ANYONE. There have been no newsletters, conferences, or maintenance and updates on the website, especially considering MANA's 40th anniversary. The only actions taken by MANA in the past two years were to take FAM's funds for a third party and send people to Bali.

Original Pettiton:

The Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery (FAM) was established as the charitable auxiliary of the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) with no requirement to prioritize MANA grant applications for funding over other applications. Trust between the two organizations has been broken by recent interactions concerning the use of FAM monies by MANA and the MANA Board’s action of removing all FAM board members without following due process in response to being denied unrestricted access to the monies donated to FAM from the Jacquelyn M. Smiley estate.

Transparency is required to rebuild the trust that has been destroyed by this public conflict. We, the undersigned, insist that the MANA board members: Becky Coolidge, President, Elizabeth Baer, Vice-President, Laurie Vance, Secretary, Debbie Sahlstrom, Treasurer, Wendi Cleckner, Director of Health Policy and Advocacy and the FAM board members: Samsarah Morgan , President, D’Anne Graham, Vice-President, Jessalyn Ballerano, Secretary, Morgan White, Policy Lead, Jinny Pagle, Education Lead, removed without cause agree to meet for mediation with a skilled facilitator. This is a necessary first step towards resolving the current conflict in an equitable way

Creating a safe environment for mediation is essential. We request that the presidents of MANA and FAM meet not later than 48 hours after the close of this petition on August 31, 2023 to enter into a contract with an objective facilitator who will then lead the mediation process. We expect all board members to participate. Clear communication will be required.

Funding for this process will be supported by the FAM funds which are currently controlled by the MANA Board.

The conflict resolution process will be completed no later than September 22, 2023 with a public report available no later than o 3, 2023.

All communication to this point is available on the FAM Facebook page