Picture of Ama in a park. Ama is a young white non-binary femme with shoulder-length brown hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and red lipstick. Ama is smiling. They are wearing a short-sleeved denim shirt and green pants. Her hand is in her pocket.

Ama (they/she) lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

Ama trained to become a doula as part of the Black Tulips Doula Project in 2019, a collective of Black and queer doulas. Their training focused on reproductive justice, the history of birth inequity in the US, and facilitating positive birth outcomes for Black pregnant people. It focused heavily on amplifying the voices of birthing people throughout labor and delivery and on protecting clients from racism in healthcare and obstetric violence. They are in the process of certifying as a Full Spectrum Doula and Childbirth Educator through Birth Advocacy Doula Trainings (BADT). She has also trained extensively in legal rights in birth, support for queer and trans birthing people, providing abortion support, and racism and privilege in birth work through Know Your Rights and BADT. She is a member of the Birth Justice Mentorship Program with the Kuluntu Reproductive Justice Center. 

Since then, Ama has served as a labor and postpartum doula in Indiana, New York, and Maryland. They have worked with numerous clients throughout their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journeys both virtually and in person. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she volunteered as a virtual doula for a major hospital system in NYC and assisted over 30 pregnant people in navigating their pregnancy journeys in light of the coronavirus. 

Ama has been passionate about reproductive health since she was an undergraduate at Purdue University, where they double-majored in Political Science and Human Development & Family Science. She went on to graduate from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University with a Masters of Public Health in 2021, where they concentrated in Population & Family Health. Throughout graduate school, she worked as a sexual & reproductive health counselor. She was trained through the Gay Health Advocacy Project & Women’s Health Advocacy Project in NYC, where she counseled countless clients. 

Outside of providing doula services, Ama enjoys embroidering, crocheting, weaving, learning about crafts, and snuggling with her dog. Ama lives with their fiancée, Julie.

Picture of Ama, her partner, and their dog in a park. Ama is a young white non-binary femme with shoulder-length brown hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and red lipstick. Ama is sitting and smiling. Ama's partner is a young white woman with long brown hair. She has her arm around Ama and is also smiling. Ama is wearing a short-sleeved denim shirt and green pants. Her partner is wearing a purple T shirt, black jeans, and Vans shoes. Their dog is a small tan Chihuahua/terrier mix.

Photos by Jenna Bell