It Takes a Village: A Birth Justice Zine

Created in 2026 by the National Birth Justice Fellows, It Takes a Village: A Birth Justice Zine serves as both a love letter to the field of birthwork and a call to action to advance birth justice across the country.

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About The Fellowship

The fellowship has two primary goals: first, for each participant to make significant progress on a key birth justice project through tailored support and by applying the skills and insights gained throughout the program; and second, for fellows to work collaboratively to co-create a resource that will advance the birth justice field as a whole.

This fellowship is suited for community changemakers who are:

• Committed to advancing community power to address birth equity.
• Engaged in strong, existing partnerships supporting birth justice initiatives.
• Experienced in birth justice work or service focused on addressing structural and social injustices affecting historically marginalized populations (BIPOC, immigrant, LGBTQ+ communities, and people with disabilities).
• Eager to learn new approaches and explore frameworks that foster sustainable, collective action for birth justice.
• Ready to engage deeply in an intensive fellowship to advance a key birth justice project they are leading and collaborate with peers to co-create a resource for the field.

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National Advisory Committee

The design of this fellowship program has been stewarded by advisors from across the nation, who bring diverse perspectives and deep expertise in birth equity, community advocacy, narrative change, participatory research, and health justice:

Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Tufts University Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice

Michelle Browder, Mothers of Gynecology

Femeika Elliott, The Lotus Program and Knoxville Black Maternal Health

Raena Granberry, California Black Women’s Health Project

Oluwatosin Goje, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University Women's Health Institute

Alisha Julien-Reid, National Council of Indigenous Midwives

Priya Iyer, Our Roots

Sheela Maru, Mount Sinai, NYC Health and Hospitals-Elmhurst, HoPE Doula Program

Ayesha McAdams-Mahmoud, Storied Light Consulting, Salesforce

Rose Molina, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Ariadne Labs

April Wallace, American Heart Association-Voices for Healthy Kids

Jessica Houseman-Whitehawk, Ttawaxt Birth Justice Center

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Contact Information

Please contact us at birthingjustice@bmc.org with any questions.

This fellowship is supported by a grant from The Wagner Foundation

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