I humbly submit my candidacy for a position on the board of ISPID as an organizational member, representing the Isabel Davis Center for Safe Children (IDCSC) in Houston, Texas. The IDCSC is a joint initiative between Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, pioneering a comprehensive program dedicated to developing innovative approaches to supporting families and addressing sudden unexplained deaths in pediatrics (SUDP). Our mission embodies a forward-thinking perspective that challenges convention and seeks to overturn outdated dogmas.

At IDCSC, we are committed to breaking down the barriers that have hindered progress across the various dimensions of SUDP. Our foremost focus is to provide compassionate support to parents, families, and friends in their time of loss. Through my interactions with so many parents and family members who have endured the unimaginable, it has become ev

ident that greater resources are urgently needed. Although IDCSC is a relatively young organization, we have prioritized dedicating a significant portion of our resources to supporting families. We are not merely a research institution; our mission is to empower families, providing them with answers, amplifying their voices, and enabling them to become agents of change. In honor of that mission, we have memorialized Isabel Davis, a child lost to SIDS, whose grandmother, Jenny Elkins, has been instrumental in making this center a reality.

Another critical focus of our center is public outreach and prevention. We employ unconventional methods of community engagement, including underutilized avenues such as law enforcement. Dr. Savannah Lusk, my partner in establishing the Center, has spearheaded efforts to involve law enforcement as key collaborators in community outreach. She has worked tirelessly to improve their interactions with families during the loss of a child and to enhance data collection for future research. Dr. Lusk is also running for a position on the board, and I encourage you to consider her candidacy above my own, especially as a representative of the youngest generation.

Lastly, our center is dedicated to advancing technological innovation to provide families with the answers they deserve while paving the way for groundbreaking diagnostics and therapeutics. We are investigating every factor that may contribute to SUDP outcomes, striving to identify those most at risk and offering interventions to prevent these tragedies. Our efforts include building a network of collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, including parents, medical examiners, community leaders, law enforcement, clinical researchers, and scientists.

Through innovative research programs that leverage robotics and artificial intelligence in physiology, molecular pathology, and epidemiology, we aim to uncover the underlying causes of SUDP. These discoveries will enable the development of biomarkers for identifying vulnerable individuals and screening for protective drugs and therapies. The IDCSC embodies a transformative approach to addressing sudden unexplained losses in pediatrics. As Director, I have drawn upon more than 16 years of SIDS/SUID research experience—beginning in the Dymecki lab at Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow, in collaboration with Dr. Hannah Kinney and the precursor of the Robert’s Program at Boston Children’s Hospital—to create an environment that fosters innovation and collaboration at Baylor College of Medicine.

As a board member, I will champion the spirit of the IDCSC by promoting programs and agendas that support families, amplify their voices, and build collaborative communities of families, advocates, and researchers. Together, we can address all facets of SUDP and create a brighter future.

Biography: Stacy Scott, Ph.D., MPA, Executive Director, Baby 1st Network, and founder of the Global Infant Safe Sleep (GISS) Center

A Toledo, Ohio native, Stacy Scott, Ph.D., MPA, Executive Director, Baby 1st Network, and founder of the Global Infant Safe Sleep Center, is a 30-year public health advocate and infant safe sleep expert who’s worked from the government agency level to ground zero spearheading numerous community outreach programs nationwide to end health disparities and reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant deaths.

Scott serves as the executive director for Baby 1st Network. Baby 1st Network is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to uniting families, caregivers, and researchers with government, business, and community service groups to reduce infant mortality to the lowest level possible in Ohio and support families who have lost a child from sudden unexpected infant death. In her role, she has facilitated a series of community forums and implemented a community-based mini-grant program designed to fund outreach activities promoting safe infant sleep messaging and practices in urban and rural areas. Scott also serves as a state of Ohio spokesperson for the “ABC of Safe Sleep” campaign.

In July 2018, Scott was elected to co-chair the Ohio Collaborative to Prevent Infant Mortality (OCPIM), a statewide partnership formed to eliminate infant mortality and advocate for equity in birth outcomes. OCPIM’s mission is to eliminate preventable infant mortality and improve the health of all women of childbearing years throughout Ohio by sharing data and best practices, community engagement, and advocacy.

Caring about families around the country, over the years, Scott has leveraged her expertise in developing culturally appropriate materials, programming, and campaigns to eliminate health disparities and achieve health equity for all communities. As a project manager for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Scott was instrumental in establishing the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated’s Infant Safe to Sleep Initiative with NICHD.

Scott has worked collaboratively with the fraternity’s Health and Wellness Committee and sub-committees sponsoring activities in every country region. An African American fraternity with 125,000 members worldwide, this national initiative engages men of all ages, trains them to become infant safe sleep advocates, and spreads the message to communities nationwide, including Ohio, through workshops, forums, and other events. Since its inception, more than 5,000 men have been trained in infant-safe sleep practices.

After 20 years of working with NICHD, Scott ended her federal government consulting career in October 2017; Scott founded the Global Infant Safe Sleep (GISS) Center in 2016, an organization with a mission to support vulnerable and marginalized global communities to reduce sudden unexpected infant death (SUID). Its latest campaign, “Changing a Tradition, Changing a Position,” targets grandparents and other caregivers, and the Community of Committed Men offers events and forums for men in the community. Working with various companies and nonprofit organizations, including Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, nearly 1,000 people have received training, and more than 500 cribs have been distributed to families in need. In 2017, Scott also spearheaded Kappa and NICHD’s first Safe Sleep Mini-grant program, providing mini-grants to fraternity chapters to arrange community infant-safe sleep events around the country.

In January 2018, Scott was appointed chairman of the Wisdom Council of the National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep serving as faculty for the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ), a nonprofit dedicated to driving dramatic and sustainable improvements in the complex issues facing children’s health. Dr. Scott has since the organization and now serves as the vice president of Health Equity Innovation.

Scott is a member International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death. She received her undergraduate degree from Spelman College, a master’s degree in Public Administration at Bowling Green State University, and a doctoral degree in Urban Higher Education from Jackson State University. She also holds a certificate in Social Justice from Harvard University.

Dr. Anat Shatz is a senior pediatric Ear Nose and Throat Surgeon at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, where she established and leads the Pediatric Airways and Sleep Multidisciplinary Service a treating infant with breathing and sleep disorders, infant apneas and infants at risk for Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Dr. Shatz conducted research on t laryngeal changes in infants who succumbed to SIDS in 1988. It was one of the first to encourage pathologists to include larynx examination as part of the standardized autopsy protocol. Since then, Dr. Shatz has devoted her time and energy to furthering SIDS risk reduction strategies and promoting infants’ safe sleep environment.

Since joining the Global Strategy Task Force (GSTF) in 1991, Dr. Shatz has been working in Israel on raising awareness of SIDS and the risk factors related to it. She also began serving as the Israeli representative to the ESPID organization and, in 1999, organized and chaired the 8th ESPID international conference held in Jerusalem. 

She has also been active in various global organizations, including OLD ISPID and the NEW ISPID where she serves as a board member and chair of its Health Education Working Group. 

Dr. Shatz was the recipient of the ISPID Distinguished Educator award 2018.

Dr. Shatz founded ATID - the Israeli Foundation for the Study and Prevention of Sudden Infant Death (www.atidbaby.com) in 1999 and continues to serve as its chairperson. It is a non-profit organization, staffed solely by volunteers, aiming to reduce the incidents of SUID/SIDS in Israel by educating healthcare professionals, parents and caregivers on risk reduction practices. Among its activities, ATID leads an accreditation program for hospitals in Israel as the international branch of Cribs for Kids (USA), runs an E-learning program for nurses, spearheads a project whereby materials covering SIDS risk reduction strategies and safe sleep practices are provided to all maternity ward mothers and specialized SIDS-related training is given to maternity ward nurses in all Israeli hospitals and community health centers. 

ATID encourages parents and caregivers to enroll in infant resuscitation courses, provides emotional support to families bereaved by SIDS and is involved in developing research in the field. ATID serves all communities and ethnic groups in Israel and has responded to requests for support and information from the Palestinian community and other Middle Eastern countries that lack similar organizations. 

In conjunction with her work with ATID and ISPID, Dr. Shatz continues her clinical work as a pediatric ENT surgeon and a researcher. She is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, the American Broncho-esophageal Association, and other professional societies. Dr. Shatz has published articles on various topics within pediatric otolaryngology, sleep-disordered breathing and SIDS. 

Dr. Shatz ‘s diverse background is relevant in the SUID context as it encompasses clinical work, research, community activities and health education. If re-elected, she will bring significant knowledge and experience to the ISPID Board and will continue to contribute to the development of ISPID in its role as the world’s leading SUID /SIDS organization.

Betty McEntire, PhD,

Chief Executive Officer American SIDS Institute

I’ve worked with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome for over 40 years, first as the Director of the Florida SIDS Counseling & Information Project and then as the Director and CEO of the American SIDS Institute. I’ve been blessed to have also served on the boards of AASPP (American Association of SIDS Prevention Physicians) and ISPID (International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death). For the last 4 years I’ve served as the Chair of ISPID.

The highest reward from my time as a member of ISPID is the incredible friendships I’ve made across the globe as we work to reduce the number of SIDS and Stillbirths internationally. This year I’m proud that we’ve added SUDC as a focus of ISPID.

My term as Chair of ISPID ends at the end of the year. However, I would be willing to serve another term on the board. If elected, I will be active and responsive to the needs of members. I’ll help promote the mission of ISPID and its international efforts to reduce SIDS/SUID, SUDC and stillbirths and to learn how best to serve bereaved parents.

Association of Parents of Cot Death

Representative: Dr Monique L’Hoir, member of the board of the Dutch cot death parent association, member of the Expertise group SUDI of the Dutch Pediatrician Association and member of the Dutch cot death Advisory committee, senior researcher at the Wageningen University & Research and co-promotor of Dr. Ir. Floortje Kanits, 2023. Monique and Floortje are involved in a SUDI project in Lusaka, Zambia.

Parents for parents

When cot death occurs, contact with peers via the Association of Parents of Cot Death Children can be very helpful and supportive (www.wiegedood.org). Parents can be a great support to parents in times of need; grief and sorrow require understanding and empathy and recognition above all. Parents can offer each other this like no other. It is an association for and by fellow sufferers. In the Netherlands de parent group is a strong association, which has been set up in 1981 by Prof. Dr. Guus de Jonge. The parent association organizes a national fellow sufferers days, has a website (currently under review), makes information leaflets, works together with scientist and doctors on podcasts, webinars, television programs and books. Parents find recognition in each other, and during the national cot death day pediatricians provide explanations, healthcare professionals offer help and support and they introduce a specific care program when a family receives a next child. (Care of Next Infants). This program involves a network formed by the General Practitioner, pediatrician and youth healthcare to support parents. Furthermore, the association had an active facebook group.

Parents for prevention

The parent association is responsible for an internet platform, which is positioned between our national Safety.nl (Veiligheid.NL) Veilig Slapen | Veiligheid. NL and the National Consumer Association Veilig slapen voor baby’s | Consumentenbond, with the aim of providing parents with correct and reliable information about the prevention of cot death Seef .

Parents for research

The associations initiates and helps with Regular surveys of Dutch baby care habits. The aim of the surveys is to target prevention. Surveys were held in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2002-2003 and 2005 and 2011 and 2017 and 2022/2023. The chairman took the initiative to update our national scientific book about cot death. The book was edited by the chairman, Ir. Dirk Ploegmaker, father of Sven, Dr Magda Boere Boonekamp, youth healthcare doctor, Dr Adèle Engelberts, pediatrician, Dr Ir Floortje Kantis, epidemiologist and Dr Monique L’Hoir. Many scientific and practical publications could not have been written if parents, stimulated by the association, did not give their consent to use the data of their deceased child. Furthermore, the parents association helped intensely to organize the ISPID conference in Amsterdam. The board visits the conferences when possible, to share the Dutch approach.

Monique has been an assessor of the association’s board for many years and acts as a bridge between parents and other professionals. There is no condition/disease where parents, in collaboration with doctors, have achieved as much in the prevention as in the case of cot death.

Karl is the Operations Manager and co-founder of River’s Gift. Following the loss of his healthy baby boy, River, at just 128 days of age in November 2011, River’s Gift was formed, with an impassioned drive to fundraise and advocate for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The organisation is a leading authority on SIDS, driving world-class scientific research and evidence-based safe sleep education.

With a professional background in healthcare recruitment in both Australia and the UK, Karl has an unwavering passion and drive to create a significant footprint in the world of SIDS research and infant safe sleep education. Karl is the proud father of his daughter, Shiloh (born September, 2012) and son, Bodhi (born May, 2015). Shiloh and Bodhi are River’s younger siblings.

Supported by a highly credentialed and experienced Board of Directors, Advisory Committees and team of employees, Karl is excited for the strategic focus, future direction and supporting structure of the organisation, as he steers the powerful mission of Stamping Out SIDS.

Karl regularly represents River’s Gift and provides keynote deliveries at health industry seminars, corporate events and community fundraisers, representing his family’s story and the pursuits of the organisation.

Karl is excited at the prospect of joining the ISPID Board and contributing to the positive footprint, future direction and impact of the organisation at a global level.

Nomination Submitted by Michael Goodstein, MD, FAAP

For Cribs for Kids Organization Member, Devon George, MSN RN

It is an honor and a pleasure to respectfully submit Devon George, Chief Program Officer of Cribs for Kids, as an Organization Member for the ISPID Board.

Devon is a masters-prepared nurse with her a unique professional background in academic nursing, education development, and program expansion. . Devon brought her experience to Cribs for Kids and the Infant Safe Sleep Community over five years ago. In this brief time, she has proven herself an impactful voice of support and advocacy for families, caregivers, nurses, home visitors, childcare professionals, and first responders. She is a highly collaborative and creative professional.

Through her work at Cribs for Kids under the leadership of Judith Bannon, Devon has made significant contributions to the Infant Safe Sleep community by developing and producing a wide variety of education and programs. It is her ability to create meaningful education and develop rigorous programs for a variety of audiences that makes her an excellent candidate for the organizational ISPID board member. Below are examples of Devon’s recent work that demonstrates her commitment and true deliverables as she and her team work to change the culture around infant safe sleep.

• Expansion of the National Infant Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program to over 500 hospitals in the US, along with hospitals in Canada and Israel, and international military bases. This program now reaches over 25% of the births in the United States. With over 2,000 views each month, its e-newsletter promotes the unique work being done by safe sleep certified hospitals. (www.cribsforkids.org/hospitalcertification)

• With the release of the 2022 recommendations, worked with colleagues to develop a 12 Steps for 12 Months of infant safe sleep education curriculum focusing on positive, actionable safe sleep behaviors written in accessible language using simple icons.

• Collaborating with Song Finch, wrote and produced the Just Baby: A Safe Sleep Lullaby, the first song dedicated to promoting infant safe sleep, available in both English and Spanish.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP-iip0p3gI)

• Writes and hosts Cribs for Kids Safe Sleep Champions Webinar series bringing the work of safe sleep advocates and experts from across the country to share their experiences and expertise in this free, live and on-demand forum. Across its 13 episodes, this series boasts nearly 10,000 views. (https://cribsforkids.org/webinar/) working to change the culture around infant safe sleep.

• Most recently she has collaborated with a children’s hospital to implement a safe sleep training for child welfare professionals being implemented across the state of Pennsylvania, and soon to be a module available nationwide, for those working the most vulnerable of babies.(https://www.pacwrc.pitt.edu/Webinars/Webinars_SafeSleep.htm)

• In October 2024, and in collaboration with the newly formed Program Advisory Board and CDC Intern program, she developed and launched the “Safe or Not Safe” photo module. This flexible education unit can be used in a variety of ways, both individually and in a group setting, fostering open dialogue and real-world application of infant safe sleep recommendations. It will soon be available in other languages. https://cribsforkids.org/safe-or-not-safe/

Devon has an incredible work ethic, as seen by her cited body of work. She demonstrates consistent dedication, high levels of responsibility, takes the initiative and exceeds expectations. Her work is of the highest caliber with a commitment to quality and continuous improvement, often going above and beyond the assigned task to achieve outstanding results. Her always positive attitude raises up those around her.

Thank you for giving consideration to my nomination of Devon George MSN RN as an Organizational

ISPID Board member.

It is with great enthusiasm that I nominate Richard (Rick) Goldstein, MD from Robert’s Program as an organizational member for the ISPID Board of Directors.

Rick is a pediatrician with a great depth and breadth of experience. He has been a palliative care pediatrician for the past 15 years, before which he was a primary care pediatrician for 15 years.  He has made so many important contributions to the field, a few of which are listed here: 

• He is the Director and co-founder (2011) of Robert’s Program on Sudden Unexpected Death in Pediatrics, a translational program that evaluates SUID and SUDC deaths using enhanced phenotyping and genomics, with a direct interface and discussion of results with families.

• He has authored or co-authored many substantial publications about the underlying neuropathology, genetics, epidemiology, case determination, and family treatment after SUID and SUDC. Additionally, he has co-authored several publications with data from large cohorts of bereaved mothers after SUID, examining grief responses after loss, risk factors for worsened grief and their effects, and “normal” coping after SUID and SUDC loss.

• He is a frequent lecturer on the topic of SUID and SUDC and can speak knowledgeably and eloquently about both the science of SUID/SUDC and the parental experience of bereavement

• He has led and continues to lead the effort to reform the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) system to standardize coding for sudden and unexpected deaths, to bring the nomenclature more in line with diagnostic and clinical realities, and to include SUDC.

 With regards to ISPID, Rick is a current member of the Board and also currently serves as Treasurer. As Treasurer, provides regular financial reports to the Board and membership, provides receipts for dues and donations and advises the Board on money-related issues.

Importantly, Rick has led the development of the ISPID-associated Peer Support Bereavement Training course, which was first offered at the 2023 Florence conference and will be offered again at the 2025 San Diego conference. This course offers a centralized training for members of organizations that offer support for bereaved parents after infant and child death.

While most ISPID members identify with one or two of the ISPID working groups (Epidemiology, Education/Prevention, Pathology, Physiology, Child Death Review, Bereavement), there are few who have expertise in all of them. Rick is one of those unusual people.

In the past several years of working together with Rick Goldstein on the ISPID Board, I have been impressed with his thoughtful and innovative suggestions and his commitment to the mission of ISPID. I have also confirmed with him his commitment to serve the 4-year term as an ISPID Board member.

In summary, I enthusiastically support Rick Goldstein’s candidacy for the ISPID Board. He brings an important, unique skillset and perspective to the Board.

Respectfully,

Rachel Y. Moon, MD

Nomination for ISPID Board, Organisational Member

Dr Joanna Garstang, MBChB, MRCPCH, PhD 

Paediatrician and Child Death Researcher 

Proposer Professor Pete Blair, University of Bristol, UK 

Current roles:  

Clinical Associate Professor, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham 

Consultant Paediatrician and Designated Doctor for Child Death, Birmingham and Solihull 

Clinical Advisor to National Child Mortality Database 

Scientific Advisor to Lullaby Trust and SUDC-UK 

Chair, Association of Child Death Review Professionals, UK Chair, ISPID Child Death Review Working Group

Background in Sudden Infant and Child Death: 

I have worked in sudden infant and child death since 2006, helping to establish and run the joint  sudden child death training course for police officers, paediatricians, nurses, social workers and coroners; led by Prof Peter Fleming and Prof Peter Sidebotham. As a paediatric resident  doctor, I joined the on-call rota for investigating sudden deaths, working with police and other  agencies, conducting home visits and supporting families. This led to my PhD, awarded in 2015,  which was an evaluation of the UK multiagency investigation of sudden infant death, including  both parents’ and professionals’ experiences. The findings of my PhD were used to inform the  2016 revision of the UK multiagency guidelines for investigating sudden child deaths. 

In 2017 became the Designated Doctor for Child Death for Birmingham, and lead for sudden  child death investigation. Most of my work now involves child death, ensuring families have  high-quality investigations, their questions are answered, and they have access to bereavement  support. As a national leader in child death, I have been a vocal advocate for improved training on child death for paediatricians, and greater accountability for the child death review process. I  sit on national police child death committees to ensure effective evidence-based joint working. 

I have continued child death research following my PhD. In my recent research I worked with  bereaved families to co-design a toolkit to support parental involvement in Child Death Review,  ensuring their views are heard and their questions answered. I’m now working on other projects  looking to improve bereavement support and am currently leading a study on vaping and infant  death. 

What would I add to the board? 

I will promote ISPID across the UK through my national leadership role in child death, increasing  its reach and impact, helping translate research findings to clinical practice and promoting the  next generation of researchers. I am a pragmatist by nature, hoping to find practical, effective  and acceptable solutions. I will bring my clinical experience of investigating deaths, supporting  families and research into sudden infant and child death to the board, to ensure we keep our  focus on improving families’ experiences and preventing deaths. As lead paediatrician for the  UK 2027 ISPID conference, I will be able to work closely with the board to ensure a great  conference for families, researchers and healthcare professionals.