In July 2011 Debbie’s daughter, Autumn Joy, was stillborn. Since then Debbie has become a powerful advocate for stillbirth awareness and education. She has presented at two major maternal child health conferences, has had articles published in both the NJ Star Ledger and The Times of Trenton, and co-founded the Action for Stillbirth Awareness and Prevention (ASAP) Coalition. ASAP’s goals are to raise awareness and improve stillbirth outcomes in the United States. (www.stopstillbirthasap.org). While ASAP’s focus is at the national level, Debbie wanted to see change happen in her own backyard as well. She worked with New Jersey’s Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg’s office to get the state’s first ever stillbirth legislation passed. On January 21, 2014, the Autumn Joy Stillbirth Research and Dignity Act was signed into law. Debbie established The 2 Degrees Foundation to ensure that every NJ family who could benefit from the Autumn Joy Stillbirth Research and Dignity Act does so. Debbie is committed towards the ultimate goal of improving stillbirth outcomes so that others never need to know the pain of stillbirth. Debbie lives in Maplewood with her husband, Chetan, and their two children, Maya and Gavin.
Stacey Matarazzo Dinburg
As a mother of a stillborn daughter Stacey has felt the need to turn her tragedy into a purpose. "Helping others and giving back has really helped me with my own personal healing", Stacey states. Stacey and Sean Dinburg's first born daughter, Rhyan Ava was born sleeping on January 30, 2014 at 37 weeks gestational age. As an educator and behaviorist by trade, Stacey hopes to help raise stillbirth awareness through research and education. She has supported the creation of The 2 Degrees Foundation and is dedicated to improving how society views and deals with stillbirth. Stacey is originally from Nutley and currently resides in Bergen county with her husband and two rainbow’s. Stacey recently earned her birth and bereavement doula certification and will continue to support women and families during the loss of a child due to pregnancy and/or infant loss. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtg-5-nhEKc&feature=youtu.be