bmiller11

I was a children's rights attorney in Brooklyn Family Court and I represented children in child protective and delinquency proceedings during the late 1990s. I was struck by the number of young mothers in foster care whose children were removed due to allegations of child neglect and/or abuse. I felt strongly that there needed to be a community-based program designed to support young mothers in order to avoid the removal of their own children and to curb episodes of generational foster care placements. As a result of engaging young mothers in foster care, I learned about the discrimination young mothers experience when attempting to complete their education as well as the judgment they experience when engaged by social services providers. My goal was to develop an organization that focused on young mothers and their development - because healthy mothers nurture healthy children.

I grew up on Detroit's east side in a community that provided my family and me with ongoing love and support. My community was not wealthy or affluent but I was taught to support and love my neighbors. This connectedness to others is what I bring to my work every, single day at The Brooklyn Young Mothers' Collective.

I know that young mothers are equipped and willing to make positive change in their lives as well as in their communities - my aim is to build a service delivery model that provides the necessary nurturing and material resources so that they can reach their full potential for themselves and their children.

I am the Founder and Executive Director of the Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective. We help young mothers move toward self-sufficiency through supportive services, leadership training and advocacy. I won the prestigious Union Square Award in 2005 for my work to develop my organization. I am a member of New York State’s Independent Review Board for juvenile detention facilities, a member of New York County Lawyer’s Association Taskforce on Family Court, and an advisory board member for Healthy Families at Brookdale Hospital. I am also a member of Health Connect One’s National Advisory Board for doula programs. Recently, I was honored by the New York Women’s Foundation with the Neighborhood Leadership Award and in early 2009 the Kings County District Attorney’s Office as an Extraordinary Woman for my contribution to help the borough’s teen parent population. I attended Wayne State University and was a Rosa Park Scholar at The Detroit News, and Syracuse University where I was a Teaching Fellow in the African-American Studies Department. While at Syracuse, I was also president of the Black Law Students Association and helped to establish a tutorial and support services for Haitian refugee children in 1996. I am a native of Detroit, MI and the daughter of teen parents. I live in Brooklyn, NY with my two children, Rush and Memphis.