Hannabah Blue Selected for National Committee Advising HHS on Maternal and Infant Health

Hannabah Blue, right, with her spouse, Bean Yazzie, holding their daughter at home in New Mexico. Photo: Amy Lanteigne

Hannabah Blue was recently selected to join the Federal Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality. This committee advises the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on policies, programs, and partnerships directed at reducing infant and maternal mortality and improving the health of women and infants.

“This work means so much to me both personally and professionally,” said Blue, “I am truly honored to serve on this committee and contribute to its important work.”

Originally from New Mexico, Blue is Diné (Navajo) and has extensive experience working with Native communities, youth, and Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ populations. Blue brings valuable perspectives to the committee, which also advises the HHS secretary on coordinating federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial government efforts, including the Healthy Start program and Healthy People 2030.

Blue noted that Native people have some of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the United States. “I was born premature, weighing less than three pounds,” she shared, “and I lost my mother when I was five years old, from a health condition that was exacerbated by complications during pregnancy and childbirth.” A new mother herself, Blue said that having her daughter “made everything more real,” including “the experience of being a Native Two-Spirit woman with a nonbinary spouse accessing care in a rural area.”

At JSI, Blue is a senior associate and co-director of the Center for Health Equity. She helped the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona’s Maternal and Health Innovation Program create a strategic plan to reduce overall maternal morbidity and mortality in 22 Arizona Tribal Nations, and she has provided training and technical assistance for the Reproductive Health National Training Center. Blue has worked on more than 30 infant and maternal mortality initiatives, many focused on Native Americans. Her work has included projects focused on behavioral health, substance use, HIV, sexual and reproductive health, sex trafficking, chronic disease, and racial and social justice.

Blue’s four-year term on the advisory committee began June 16, 2024.