Midwives working group elects three co-chairs after members choose to broaden leadership

Members of the Connecticut Department of Public Health Midwives Working Group voted on how many co-chairs the group should have and then elected three co-chairs during a regular meeting. The group first voted 7–5 to permit three co-chairs and then used chat voting to pick which members would serve.

The vote to allow three co-chairs was taken by voice and roll call after the group’s facilitator laid out options for one, two or three co-chairs. Dante, a staff member facilitating the meeting, explained the plan for nominations and roll-call voting and asked members whether they preferred two or three co-chairs.

Members said the group wanted to ensure leadership that included midwives who practice outside hospitals; speakers repeatedly emphasized protecting space for home-birth and community midwives in leadership. After discussion, the facilitator ran a roll call for members’ preference on co-chair number. The tally was seven votes for three co-chairs and five votes for two co-chairs. Veil, a staff member who recorded the chat votes, then read the final individual tallies: “Cara with 9 votes, Sianor with 8 votes, Genji with 8 votes,” and announced those three as the co-chairs.

Members nominated several candidates before the chat vote, including Genji, Cara and Sianor, and discussed workload and the reason for choosing three chairs — several participants said three chairs would let members share responsibilities given heavy workloads. Multiple members expressed reluctance to assume leadership but supported three co-chairs so duties could be divided.

The new co-chairs were named at the meeting and members were told the vote counts would be recorded in the minutes. Staff said DPH would continue to support the chairs with logistics, speaker outreach and agenda-setting.

The meeting also included routine housekeeping: the group approved minutes from the June 27 meeting on a motion from Kara, seconded by Don. The chair election and minutes approval will be reflected in the meeting record and minutes.

Members who raised concerns about leadership composition asked that at least one co-chair represent home-birth or community midwifery in any two- or three-chair configuration; the group agreed that protecting a voice for midwives who practice outside hospitals was important. Staff said DPH would support the chairs and that the chairs would steer agendas going forward.

Looking ahead, staff asked the new chairs to help set agendas for coming meetings and encouraged them to reach out to DPH staff for logistical support.