Black Ties for Babies Atlanta

Please join us for the March of Dimes GA second annual Black Ties for Babies Gala on Friday, November 6th at the Stave Room. This very special event includes a cocktail hour and silent auction, a delectable seated dinner with and program honoring our sponsors, local mission work, and Ambassador families, a live auction with many exciting prizes, and a Fund the Mission portion where you can raise your paddle to fund the fight for moms and babies everywhere.

March of Dimes Atlanta will welcome over 250 philanthropically-driven leaders in the Metro Atlanta area to raise funds in support of March of Dimes' infant and maternal health initiatives. The U.S. faces an urgent maternal and infant health crisis - but together with our partners and supporters we can end preventable maternal health risks and death, end preventable preterm birth and infant death, and close the heath equity gap for every family. 

If interested, please take a look at our sponsorship packages and register today!

Thanks to the leadership of our volunteer chairs and committee members, we are honored to present this year's event. After months of hard work, these volunteers have taken the event to new heights. The March of Dimes and the families we support are grateful for the generosity and effort of the team that made this evening possible.

2026 Atlanta Black Ties for Babies Co-Chairs:
Christian Bromley and Kristen Cranmer MSN, RN, CPNP, PCS-BC, NEA-BC
Christian is a Partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, while also serving as the Co-Chair of Environmental & Toxic Tort Practice. Kristen, with her countless certifications, works as the Director of Neonatology at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

This mission is deeply personal to our chairs. Christian became a NICU dad in 2024 with the birth of his twins and discovered March of Dimes after a multi-month NICU stay and an emergency cadiothoracic surgery for his now healthy and thriving 1.5 year old son. Kristen is also a twin mom, a pediatric nurse practitioner, and the Director of Neonatology for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Level IV NICU, where the mission to give every baby the best possible start rings true every day. Their experiences are different, but their commitment is the same: healthier beginnings for all.

2026 Black Ties for Babies Executive Leadership Team
Kris Delaney, Auction Committee Chair
Traci Hornfeck, Guest Experience Committee Chair
Tiffany McKenzie, Honoree Committee Chair
Chris Beall
Diane Brown
Simone R. Cambridge MSN, RN
Matthew Caplan
Dr. Ursula Carter
Natalie Dale
Kristen Plybon Lance
Katharine Pfeiffer
Dr. James A. Richardson
Kanika Sloan
Allison White

We are excited to announce that Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice has accepted her nomination to be this year's March of Dimes Georgia Honoree!

As a physician, prominent infertility specialist, and researcher with experience at the highest levels of patient care, organizational management, and public health policy, Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG, brings an invaluable combination of skills and experience. As a transformational leader, she combines strategic thinking with transformational leadership to address challenging management issues. She has reinvented the infrastructure of complex organizations to adapt to evolving strategic environments, positioning them for success through sustainability initiatives.

As the sixth president and chief executive officer of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Montgomery Rice is the first woman in history to lead a freestanding medical institution. Between 2014 and 2021, she served as the institution's dean and president. Her tenure began at Morehouse School of Medicine in 2011, when she was appointed Dean and Executive Vice President.

Besides her work at MSM, Montgomery Rice has served as a faculty member and leader at various health centers, including academic health centers. As one of the nation's first centers dedicated to studying diseases that disproportionately affect women of color, she founded the Center for Women's Health Research at Meharry Medical College. A passionate advocate for health equity, Montgomery Rice is dedicated to increasing pipeline opportunities for academically diverse learners, diversifying the physician and scientific workforce, and promoting equity in health outcomes and access to health care.

Among STAT's 46 influential and important people in health, medicine, and science, Montgomery Rice was listed on the 2023 STATUS List in academia. Georgia Trend Magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians from 2016-2018, and again in 2021 & 2022. She was also named to the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans and received the 2017 Horatio Alger Award.

A Georgia native, Montgomery Rice earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, an honorary degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree from Rush University. These accomplishments showcase her lifelong dedication to education, service, and promoting health equity. She completed her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine and her fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Hutzel Hospital.

Montgomery Rice has two children with her husband, Melvin Rice Jr., a fellow Georgia Tech graduate: Jayne, a vascular surgeon resident at the University of Pennsylvania, and Melvin III, an Environment Artist for Virtual Production.

We are honored to feature Dr. Rice as the recipient of this award. Thank you for all you have done in maternal and infant health sphere, especially in the state of Georgia!