Meet Dominique Lombard, AmeriCorps Team Member Serving Houston Moms

(L to R): AmeriCorps Maternal and Child Health Program Specialist Lena Elmubarak, AmeriCorps Program Director Ashley Harris-Land, and AmeriCorps Maternal and Child Health Program Specialist Dominique Lombard

 

Dominique Lombard became more interested in maternal health after listening to a college professor describe how alone she felt after giving birth. The story stuck with her, and the more Lombard learned, the more she realized how many mothers have experiences with childbirth that are not all positive, with others facing life-threatening outcomes.

Mothers in the United States die from pregnancy-related causes at higher rates than in most other developed countries, and Black women face those outcomes at even higher rates. That gap led Lombard from a bachelor’s degree in public policy into public health work.

AmeriCorps is a national service program that places members with nonprofits and public agencies for a year of paid, hands-on work in their communities. Legacy Community Health gave Lombard her start in the field as an AmeriCorps Maternal and Child Health Program Specialist during the 2025-2026 service year, all while she works toward her Master of Public Health.

A Week in the Life of an MCH Program Specialist

Lombard’s days rarely look the same. Doctors across Legacy refer patients into the program, and her job starts with the phone. She works through a list of referrals, calling expecting parents to introduce them to Legacy’s resources and invite them into the Becoming a Mom / Comenzando bien program, a prenatal education series developed by March of Dimes.

From there, her week fills up with the parts of the job that make the outreach worth it.

• Group classes, taught in English and Spanish, most often over video visits
• One-on-one sessions for patients who need more flexibility
• Car seat safety events, held a few times a month
• Baby showers, hosted every other month to celebrate the moms who complete the program

“There is something that every mother can gain from the classes,” Lombard said, whether it’s someone’s first baby or their third.

Inside a Becoming a Mom Class Inside a Becoming a Mom Class

The program runs through four sessions covering everything from prenatal nutrition to labor, delivery, and newborn care. Lombard says the class on labor and birth is often the one that gets the most questions and interaction.

“I know that’s a lot. How are we feeling?” Lombard remembers asking after one particularly emotional session. Some parents admitted it looked scary. Others said they finally understood what to expect.

The shift from fear to informed confidence is what Lombard wants every mother to feel by the end of her classes, whether it’s a parent telling her she never knew something before or a familiar face showing up in person months later.

Why the Baby Showers Matter So Much

Every other month, the baby showers double as a kind of graduation for moms who complete the classes, and the mood is festive. Parents dress up, play games, and win prizes, while partners like March of Dimes, Saint Joseph, and Molina Healthcare send families home with goodie bags full of practical items to help them through the months ahead.

For Lombard, the showers are also personally fulfilling because they’re a rare chance to meet, face-to-face, t e families she’s only known through a phone or a screen. “You see the patient that you called, you spoke to, you had all these classes with, and then you see them, and you’re able to celebrate with them,” she says.

Teaching Car Seat Safety

“All babies have to leave the hospital in a rear-facing car seat,” Lombard said. Knowing the rule is one thing. Figuring out how to actually install one is another. As Lombard put it, a parent can walk out with a car seat and still be left wondering, “How the heck does this go?”

Across Texas, an estimated 90 percent of children ride in improperly fitted car seats, according to TxDOT data reported by Legacy. In 2023 alone, dozens of young children died in Texas crashes where restraint issues played a role.

That’s why Legacy’s Certified Passenger Safety Technicians lead thirty-minute sessions where parents learn to install a seat properly before walking away with one, free of charge, through a partnership with the Texas Department of State Health Services. “Giving patients these resources that they need to be able to take their baby home is very important for us,” says Lombard.

Staying Close to the Work

Lombard’s AmeriCorps term wraps up on August 31, 2026. She knows she wants to stay close to patients and keep doing health education. “It’s really powerful to allow people to be informed of the choices that they make,” she said, “and have all that information in their own hands.”

The ongoing relationship that Lombard and her teammates have with mothers-to-be and new mothers is what Legacy means when it talks about Health Beyond Care. AmeriCorps’ work with the Becoming a Mom program is that idea in action, one connection at a time.

You Can Make a Difference, Too

Legacy’s AmeriCorps program accepts applications each summer for future cohorts. Members serve around 35 hours a week and receive a living stipend, an education award, health insurance, and professional development training along the way. If you’re looking for a way to serve Houston families while building a career in public health, this could be your starting point too.