Meet Me
I am a queer, Black, nonbinary person currently serving folx in Middle Tennessee and online, offering education, support, and guidance for folx all around the world.
I am a chef, herbalist, full-spectrum doula, educator, healing guide, and reproductive justice advocate.
I center my work through the lens of reproductive justice, trauma-informed care, and ancestral knowledge.
I support my clients through reproductive and rebirth transitions, focusing on the whole person's wellbeing as well as their lived experiences.
I aim to be a guide for folx to decolonize their mind, bodies, and spirits, aiding in humanity's return back to ourselves, each other, and the planet to heal and grow.
I came to birth work from a place of trauma.
2019 - I was working in the culinary industry, specifically as the Executive Chef of a non-profit. I had left the restaurant world, which took a major toll on my physical and mental health and moved to work in research and development, which took a bigger toll on my health.
Then I was in a car accident.
The physical injuries and trauma were intense, and it took a full year and 4 surgeries to recover from the event enough to be cleared to work again. That was a full year of housing instability, mental turmoil, extreme levels of stress, and living in an unfamiliar and pain-filled body. I was forced to rely on others in ways I never had before, which led to most of my needs not being met. I couldn’t physically depend on my body, couldn’t care for myself, couldn’t digest food or eat much.
That year gave me the space and time to process through, work on, and release so much of my past traumas and conditioning. I was able to start the process of healing deep-seated intergenerational issues.
By the time I was cleared to start working again, the US went into quarantine from the virus.
That led me to reconnect back to what used to bring me joy as a kid - birth. I used to force my twin to play birth games with me (he was a good sport but my mother hated it). I started following birth workers on social media, watching (and crying over) birth videos, and obsessing over learning what I could about birth via social media. I was gifted a course by Sabia Wade from someone in one of my online spiritual groups, and that led to our friendship and the beginnings of my birth work journey.
I know what it’s like to experience a major life transition and not have the support and care you need. I never want anyone to experience that.
Education
For those of you who want to know, here is my (constantly updated) list of studies.
The Art Institute of Tennessee - Bachelor's of Science in Culinary Arts, 2017
Professional Nutritionist Diploma - 2020
Professional Life Coach Certification - 2020
Community Herbalist Program - Commonwealth Herbs - 2020
CERTIFIED Full Spectrum Doula - BADT - 2020
Abortion Doula CE - BADT - 2021
Gender-Affirming Practices in Birthwork - Love Over Fear Wellness - 2021 Grandma's Hands: Herbal Support for Pregnancy and Postpartum - Divine Birth Wisdom - 2021
Queer and Trans Reproductive Support CE - BADT - 2021
Birth and Disability CE - BADT - 2021
Crisis Response for Birthworkers - BADT - 2021
Postpartum Doula Training - BADT - 2021
First Aid + CPR - Heartsaver CPR AED - 2021
I center decolonization and returning back to ancestral ways in all of the work I do.
We as humans are community-oriented creatures, we are interdependent. One of the most harmful developments in society (in my opinion) is the mindset and conditioning of individualism - it’s a very white supremacy conditioning meant to keep us separate.
That’s not what I do, who I am, or what I stand for.
Of course, it’s something that was ingrained into me by well-meaning people and harm-meaning systems. I work to undo that at the individual level, bringing us back to ourselves, each other, and the planet.
I want (and work) to decolonize the way we approach knowledge-sharing, to remove the idea that only folx with a specific level of education should teach on particular subjects. I aim to make my work and information as accessible as I can to those who need it the most.
I challenge my clients to think of their wellbeing in a holistic way, to challenge what they consume (into their minds, bodies, and spirits), to evaluate the way they think about themselves and their lives. I guide them to do the decolonization work on their inner world, so they can ask for and receive the care and support they need in their outer world.
My clients are People of the Global Majority (PGM; coined by king yaa) - aka queer, trans, nonbinary, and BIPOC folx - who are ready to put their care, support, and nourishment higher on their priority lists and are ready to work with someone who puts their wellbeing first.