Bridging holistic and conventional care through education, access, and community.
Materia Wellness Alliance is building a community-based model of care that addresses social determinants of health and systemic barriers to accessible, culturally competent healthcare. We support women, children, and families living with chronic conditions and navigating medical trauma, financial hardship, housing instability, and care coordination challenges in complex healthcare systems through education, care navigation, and integrative wellness programs that complement conventional medical care.
MWA is currently developing its organizational infrastructure under fiscal sponsorship with Know Agenda Foundation and is in the process of forming partnerships, programs, and governance to support future charitable and educational activities. This website serves as a temporary information page while a more comprehensive, community-focused platform is in development.
© 2025 Materia Wellness Alliance
A charitable project under fiscal sponsorship with Know Agenda Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
https://know-agenda.org
Our Vision
Materia Wellness Alliance was founded in August 2025 by Nina Poulshock in response to the growing need for more accessible, culturally competent, and integrative approaches to health and wellness. After many years working in conventional healthcare settings and community-based wellness spaces, the vision for MWA emerged from seeing firsthand the gaps that many women, children, and families experience when navigating chronic conditions, medical trauma, financial hardship, and complex healthcare systems.
MWA was created to help bridge those gaps by developing a community-centered model of care that honors both holistic traditions and conventional medicine. Our goal is to improve access to education, care navigation, nutrition support, herbal wellness, and preventive health resources while respecting personal autonomy, cultural practices, and the natural rhythms of family life.
At this stage, Materia Wellness Alliance is in the process of building its organizational structure under fiscal sponsorship with Know Agenda Foundation, forming a board of directors, and developing partnerships with clinicians, wellness practitioners, small businesses, and community organizations.
Looking ahead, MWA plans to grow into a coordinated community wellness model where families can access education, integrative health services, and care navigation support in one connected environment. Future plans include educational programming, community wellness events, herbal and nutrition workshops, collaborative care partnerships, and the development of the Apothecary Collective as a community-based space for learning, access, and support.
Our long-term vision is to create a sustainable, community-rooted system that improves access to both conventional and complementary care, strengthens collaboration between providers, and helps families feel more supported, informed, and empowered in their health decisions.
Why This Work Matters
Materia Wellness Alliance was created in response to the growing gap between the care people are told they need and the care they are actually able to access. Many women, children, and families face systemic barriers within healthcare systems, including financial limitations, housing instability, chronic illness, medical trauma, and the difficulty of navigating complex care plans in increasingly complex healthcare systems without adequate support.
The founder of MWA, Nina Poulshock, brings more than 20 years of experience working in healthcare as a medical assistant in both primary care and specialty settings. Through this work, she developed extensive knowledge of healthcare navigation, clinical workflow, and the everyday challenges patients face when trying to follow treatment plans in real-life circumstances. In addition to professional experience, the vision for MWA is informed by personal experience navigating barriers to care and understanding how social determinants of health directly affect outcomes.
In recent years, healthcare has also seen a growing trend toward concierge and membership-based models that offer more personalized and integrative services, but often at a cost that places them out of reach for many families. While these models can provide valuable support, they may unintentionally widen the gap for those already facing financial, cultural, or systemic barriers to care.
Materia Wellness Alliance was created to help close this gap by developing a community-based, multi-modal approach to wellness that combines education, care navigation, holistic practices, and conventional medical care in a way that is more accessible. Our goal is to reduce barriers to services that are often considered luxury or specialty care, and to make integrative health support available to families who would not otherwise be able to afford or access it.
By improving access to information, supportive services, and collaborative care, MWA aims to create a more coordinated, culturally responsive model of health that helps families feel informed, supported, and empowered in their healthcare decisions.
Fiscal Sponsorship
Materia Wellness Alliance operates under fiscal sponsorship with Know Agenda Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides fiscal sponsorship, administrative support, and oversight for charitable and educational projects.
Know Agenda Foundation supports community-based initiatives by providing a structure that allows emerging projects to receive tax-deductible donations, apply for grants, and carry out nonprofit activities while developing their own organizational capacity.
Learn more about Know Agenda Foundation:
https://know-agenda.org
Through this fiscal sponsorship, Materia Wellness Alliance is able to conduct charitable and educational programming focused on improving access to integrative, culturally responsive, and community-based health resources while building the governance and infrastructure needed for long-term sustainability.
All donations made in support of Materia Wellness Alliance are processed through Know Agenda Foundation and are subject to their policies and financial oversight. Contributions may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Donate to Materia Wellness Alliance
Online Donations
Online donations are processed through Know Agenda Foundation using Stripe.
Stripe charges a nonprofit processing fee of 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction.
If you are able, please consider adding a small amount to help cover this cost so that the full donation supports Materia Wellness Alliance programs.
Example:
$10.00 donation + processing fee = $10.52 total
Donate online here:
www.powr.io/checkout_screen?unique_label=863d7484_1632524213
Donate by Mail
If you prefer to donate by check:
Complete the Know Agenda Foundation donation form
Make checks payable to Know Agenda Foundation
Mail to:
Materia Wellness Alliance
c/o Know Agenda Foundation
1319 Military Cutoff Road, Suite CC #306
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
Donation forms may also be emailed to:
info@know-agenda.org
Why Fiscal Sponsorship
Fiscal sponsorship allows Materia Wellness Alliance to begin charitable and educational work while developing its board of directors, operational systems, and long-term nonprofit structure. This partnership ensures proper financial oversight while supporting programs focused on health education, care navigation, integrative wellness, and community access to care.
Founder
Nina Poulshock is the founder of Materia Wellness Alliance and Materia LLC, a community-based herbal and wellness practice focused on integrative, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive approaches to health. She brings more than 20 years of experience working in healthcare as a medical assistant in both primary care and specialty settings, with extensive experience in patient education, care coordination, and navigating complex healthcare systems.
Through her clinical work and community wellness practice, she has developed a strong understanding of the challenges many women, children, and families face when living with chronic conditions, financial barriers, medical trauma, and limited access to supportive care. Her work combines conventional healthcare knowledge with training in herbal wellness, nutrition support, and holistic health education, with the goal of helping individuals better understand their care options and participate more confidently in their health decisions.
Materia Wellness Alliance was founded to expand this work into a broader community model focused on improving access to education, integrative wellness resources, and care navigation support for families who often fall through the gaps of traditional healthcare systems.
Connect and learn more:
https://linktr.ee/materia.medela