Sheila Ater Capestany’s role as Chair of the Start Early Washington Community Advisory Committee is guiding the organization’s strategy to address the need for more equitable and just systems for Washington’s children, particularly those from underserved communities.
Sheila Ater Capestany: Maternal Health Trailblazer Leads SEWA’s Community Advisory Committee
Sheila Ater Capestany’s career reflects a deep commitment to equity, community-partnership, and parent and child health. Her contributions include founding Open Arms Perinatal Services, advancing Best Starts for Kids, and board leadership with Start Early. Her dedication to comprehensive, culturally responsive care has set a standard for creating equitable support systems for children, families, and communities.
Background: Founding Open Arms Perinatal Services and Pioneering Maternal Health Equity
Sheila’s journey as a social justice advocate began with her experiences as a doula, where she provided compassionate support to families throughout the childbirth and early parenting process. This work revealed to her the critical gaps in care for low-income families and families of color. Driven by the belief that every parent deserves access to a safe, supported birthing experience, she helped found Open Arms Perinatal Services in 1997. Open Arms offers free to low-cost perinatal and early parenting support services to meet the needs of each family through highly qualified, culturally matched doulas, lactation support peer counselors, childbirth educators, and resource navigators, helping thousands of families receive culturally relevant care and empowering them to have healthy birthing experiences.
Open Arms has become a model for perinatal support, addressing social and cultural factors impacting maternal health outcomes and reducing disparities in maternal and infant mortality. The organization’s impact has extended far beyond the Pacific Northwest, inspiring similar initiatives across the country and proving the significant effect of culturally responsive care on parent and child health.
Best Starts for Kids: Shaping a Promotion Approach to Community Health
When King County, Washington voters approved the original Best Starts for Kids Levy in 2015, Sheila took the helm to help lead the cutting-edge initiative. Grounded in the idea that when communities invest in a future where all children, youth and young adults are happy, healthy, safe, and thriving, these strong starts in a child’s earliest years can be sustained through adulthood. By investing in early childhood development and youth resilience, focusing on promotion and prevention rather than just reactive responses, Best Starts for Kids is focused on more equitable allocation of resources to improve health, education, and socio-emotional outcomes for children and families facing systemic inequities, providing a pathway to long-term stability and well-being. Her work with Best Starts for Kids has not only improved lives but has also become a nationally recognized model for addressing the social determinants of health and supporting family resilience.
In 2019, Sheila helped establish King County’s first Children, Youth, and Young Adults Division and became it’s first Director, where she continues her work toward social and health equity.
Collaborating with Start Early and the Start Early Washington Community Advisory Committee
Furthering her advocacy for equitable early childhood education and development for children and families of color, Sheila joined Start Early Washington’s inaugural efforts in 2020 providing leadership as a member of Start Early’s national Board of Directors. As Chair of the Start Early Washington Community Advisory Committee, she has been instrumental in guiding the organization’s strategy to address the need for more equitable and just systems for Washington’s children, particularly those from underserved communities.
When the advisory committee launches in early 2025, it will bring together community leaders, parents, and advocates to provide insights that shape Start Early’s programs and initiatives. Sheila’s contributions emphasize the importance of culturally relevant, community-based approaches that acknowledge and address the unique challenges faced by families from diverse communities.
I believe deeply in the concept that disability rights organizers gave us - ’nothing about us without us’. It is critical for programs, initiatives, and policies to be shaped and defined by and with the communities who are impacted by those efforts. I am excited for the work of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to shape and guide how Start Early moves forward with our work.
Sheila Ater Capestany, Chair of the Start Early Washington Community Advisory Committee
Commitment to Systems Change in Public Health and Education
Sheila’s holistic approach across maternal health, early childhood education, and community advocacy has made her an influential voice for systems change, challenging institutions to better serve all members of the community.
Throughout her career, she has consistently advocated for systemic changes to support equitable social, health and early education outcomes. Sheila understands that policy changes and resource reallocation are necessary to tackle the root causes of inequity, especially for women, families, and children from marginalized communities. Her leadership has helped reshape community approaches to health and early education, making them more inclusive and equitable, and she has inspired policies that incorporate trauma-informed and culturally competent care.
Inspiring Future Leaders and Advocates
By focusing on the needs of marginalized communities and building support systems rooted in equity and compassion Sheila’s pioneering work has transformed maternal health support, early childhood education, and public health policies, setting new standards for equity and justice. As we launch our Community Advisory Committee, we look forward to Sheila’s partnership in our efforts to understand how we can best help families feel more empowered and a part of the process to create more equitable systems and support for children and families.
Learn more here about Best Starts for Kids and Open Arms Perinatal Services.
About the Author
Sheila Ater Capestany
Start Early National Board Member and Start Early Washington Community Advisory Committee Chair
More About Sheila
