The NEC Society is honored to welcome Jacynta Brewton to the Board of Directors. Jacynta is a major gifts fundraiser at Emory University, and the Editor-in-Chief and Chief Operations Officer for Emerge Woman Magazine. She has served as National President of the University of Florida Association of Black Alumni and Chair of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s Minority Advancement Professionals. Jacynta completed her undergraduate studies at Florida Atlantic University and earned her Master’s in Leadership from Shorter University.  

Jacynta has a deep and personal understanding of the devastation caused by necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), an intestinal disease that affects vulnerable infants during their first weeks and months of life. In 2018, Jacynta and her husband lost their son Graceson to the disease. 

Jennifer Canvasser, founder and director of the NEC Society, shares, “Our global movement to build a world without NEC is propelled by patient-families like Jacynta. We are compelled to honor the memory of children by doing all that we can to prevent other families from experiencing this devastating disease. We are incredibly honored to welcome Jacynta to our team.” 

Jacynta learned about the NEC Society through the organization’s partnership with Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Dr. Ravi Patel, a neonatologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Scientific Advisor for the NEC Society will co-lead a research capacity building project with Jennifer. As a Board member, Jacynta will work closely with Dr. Patel and Jennifer on the implementation of this capacity building project. The project, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, will advance the NEC Society’s ability to conduct research that is meaningful to patient-families. 

The NEC Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to building a world without necrotizing enterocolitis. The NEC Society brings together diverse patient-families, clinicians, scientists, and other stakeholders who are committed to improving outcomes for our most vulnerable infants. Learn more at NECsociety.org