Chicago Beyond’s Leader in Residence program provides a multiyear fellowship for extraordinary leaders making significant impact in their communities and beyond.
Since 2018, Chicago Beyond has had two Leaders in Residence leading work that has spanned the justice and health systems. By providing catalytic funding, tailored supports, and space to leaders with ingeniously crafted solutions, the Leader in Residence program promotes innovation within systems that impact everyday people.
Our current Leader in Residence, Jeanine Valrie Logan, is a birth equity champion who works to address inequities in Black maternal health. In August of 2021, Jeanine’s work was influential in pushing through Illinois House Bill 738, which expanded access to birth centers across Chicago. Jeanine is currently working on the development of the Chicago South Side Birth Center, a nonprofit, Black midwife-led, community-focused birth center.
Chicago Beyond has supported two Leaders in Residence since program inception.
The Chicago South Side Birth Center will support the delivery of 225 healthy babies each year, following its opening in 2025.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recognized Leader in Residence Jeanine Valrie Logan during the 2024 State of the State Address, while advocating for a $23 million statewide investment in birth equity.
“I’m so honored to be partnering with Chicago Beyond to make Black maternal health a priority on the South Side and across the city of Chicago. It’s empowering to feel trusted with my vision and ideas so that I can support the community that I love.”
Jeanine Valrie Logan
Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker visited the Chicago South Side Birthing Center to celebrate the planned opening of a new freestanding birth center on Chicago’s South Side while emphasizing proposed maternal health spending increases in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget.
Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia became our first-ever Leader in Residence in 2018. As a clinical psychologist and the former warden of Cook County Department of Corrections, Dr. Tapia utilized her fellowship to develop Holistic Safety, which she is now advancing to jails and prisons around the country.
Jeanine Valrie Logan is our current Leader in Residence. She is working to open the Chicago South Side Birth Center to address the current lack of care options on Chicago’s South Side and to provide a solution to the disparate maternal and child health rates among Black birthing people and children.
July 15, 2024
By Lisa Schencke Jeanine Valrie Logan sat in traffic for nearly two hours while she was in labor with her third child. Logan was determined to have her dau
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October 30, 2023
USA Today The fight for birth equity is crucial, especially for Black women. In Chicago, data shows they're six times more likely to die from pregnancy-rel
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December 12, 2022
Vocalo Through her work at Chicago South Side Birth Center, founder, activist, certified midwife and Chicago Beyond Leader in Residence, Jeanine Valrie Log
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