WEBVTT - Revolutionizing Maternal Health with Latham Thomas 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:05.520 Hey, ba fam, It's Mandy Money, and I'm really excited 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:08.479 to share today's episode with you. I know Friday's usually 0:00:08.560 --> 0:00:12.200 the day when we do our ba qa's, but this 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:16.160 coming week of April, it starts today, actually kicks off 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:20.000 Black Maternal Health Week in the US. Y'all have probably 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:23.720 read the same articles I have read, watched the same 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:29.640 disturbing news videos that share experiences of deep trauma with 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:34.120 life altering and in some cases, life ending consequences for 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:36.360 women of color in this country. You don't need me 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:38.280 to tell you that I'm right here with you. I 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:41.440 feel the same pain you do encountering these types of stories. 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:44.239 And at Brown Ambition, what are we here to do. 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.360 We are here to acknowledge and accept the reality of 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:49.720 what it's like to live in this brown skin, to 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.080 have ambition in this brown skin, to have families in 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:56.560 this brown skin. But we are also here to share 0:00:56.640 --> 0:01:00.000 stories about how we are overcoming and how we are 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:03.160 creating safe spaces for one another. And I have the 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:07.160 incredible opportunity to sit at the same dinner table with 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:10.240 this woman. Her name is Latham Thomas. Not only is 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:14.240 she exquisite and ethereal earth, Mama goddess. She has also 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:19.440 helped bring into the world so many A Lists celebrity babies. Now, 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.360 I know all babies are A Listers, right, especially mine 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:25.360 and especially any brown ambition babies we have out there. 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:29.920 But Latham has been by the side of celebrities like 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:35.600 Anne Hathaway, Alicia Keys, Ashley Graham. She is at the 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:38.679 top of her game and she was at a position 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:42.720 where she could create a business out of just helping 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:46.039 celebrities have these gorgeous humans and bring them into the 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:49.520 world a couple times a year. But of course, because 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:55.080 black women are everything, Latham turned around and said, I 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.680 could be one incredible doula, but what if I train 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:02.080 generations to come in the incredible work of being a 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:05.720 doula and helping bring these babies home and give them 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:10.160 an incredible birthing experience for their parents. And she launched 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:12.320 Mama Glow, which we're going to talk about today on 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:16.760 the podcast. She'll tell you how her own birthing experience 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:20.080 in New York City and the early two thousands drove 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.080 her and gave her this call to action. She's also 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:25.400 going to answer my dumb questions about what is the 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:28.640 difference between a doula and a midwife, and who makes 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:31.120 a good candidate for having a doula and a midwife 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:33.720 or having a home birth or a hospital birth. We'll 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:35.720 also get a little bit because it is Brown ambition, right, 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:37.760 we're here to talk about money, honey. We'll get a 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:41.520 little bit into the business strategies that have served Latham 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:44.800 well as she has had to pivot and take her 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:49.280 business from being fully in person trainings to online of 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:51.680 course during the pandemic, and we'll talk about how that 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:54.840 actually ended up being really beneficial for her business, that 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:56.920 she was able to pivot in that way. Now, if 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:59.600 y'all want to find out more about Mama Glow, if 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:02.000 you're thinking about getting trained as a doula through one 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:04.080 of their programs, you can head to the show notes Snap. 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:07.480 Whether you decide to become a parent or not, or 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:10.680 help bring life into the world in this way or not, 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.079 this is an episode where we can appreciate the beauty 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:18.280 of this really sacred moment in a person's life and 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:21.480 in a child's life. So thank y'all again for listening. 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:25.400 This is Nandy Money and here's my conversation with Latham Thomas. 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:34.280 All Right, v A fam I am genuinely just very thrilled. 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:36.840 I know I say that every time, but I have 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:40.160 wanted to get to know this woman better ever since 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.120 I happened to meet her at Afrotech in Houston. I 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.040 found out we both live in New York, very different 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.440 versions of New York, but still the same state. We'll say. 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.680 I have Laitham Thomas on the show today, y'all, and 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:55.080 I don't know if we have enough time for me 0:03:55.120 --> 0:03:59.120 to read her entire bio, but I'm gonna read a 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:01.080 little bit of it because I need to put some 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:03.920 respect on your name, okay. Latham is the founder of 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:09.720 Mama Glow, advancing reproductive justice and birth equity through education, advocacy, 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:14.760 the arts, research scholarship. But it also she trains doulas, y'all, 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:18.960 trains doulas across the country, across the world, really in 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:23.520 different continents. And beyond the business that she has created, 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:27.880 Latham is also a distinguished women's health expert, black maternal 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:32.880 health advocate, entrepreneur, one of Oprah's SuperSoul one hundred, which 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:34.719 is I don't know. If I were I would just 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:36.440 wear that on my neck every day. I would just 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:38.240 have that like hang on like a chain, just like 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:41.920 Oprah said my name out loud in her Super Soul 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:45.400 one hundred. Now, the global community for Mama Glow is 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:49.880 over three thousand. Mama Glow trained doulas across the USA 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.599 six continents. And what I love so much is that 0:04:52.640 --> 0:04:54.919 you're not just you know, I think about doulas and 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:57.320 I think about the birthing experience, but she y'all don't 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:01.760 just cover that. You cover the fertility period, the pregnancy, birth, 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:09.320 and postpartum offering handholding through bespoke doula services, and you 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:13.200 also work through hospitals through insurance companies, So you are 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.960 not just like for me, it's not just that you 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.039 care about black maternal health, but you know how to 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:21.239 work the system to get the resources to the people 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:24.400 that need them the most. And so welcome lay them 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:27.320 to the brand and vision podcast. 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:29.920 Much Mandy, It's such a pleasure and honor to be here. 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:34.120 I really appreciate you. I also fell in love fast 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:38.480 friends you know, we met, and so I'm just grateful. 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:43.320 Mama Goo is a global maternal health and education platform, 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:47.760 but really the goal is training doulas, nurse care managers 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:53.719 and providing doula matching services to families, hospital systems designing 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:58.279 doula benefits. And then really, you know, as we think 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:01.400 about it as not your anewer, which many people are 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.560 who do this work, we want doulos to thrive, and 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:07.039 so we also help to ensure that people get paid 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:10.360 and paid well for the work that they're doing and 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:13.800 ensure that we can make impact. And so like as 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.000 you said, the three thousand dulas that we've trained, are 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:19.480 you active in the world and been doing work. They 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:22.400 work with us because we have also a platform where 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:24.400 we can match do thos with families, but then they 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.719 also work out in the world and have their own businesses, right, 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:30.719 and so one of those really become a really powerful 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:36.960 platform for expanding opportunity. But then also the Foundation has 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:41.160 been a really wonderful opportunity for us to advance research 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:45.480 and scholarship as well as DOLA matching services for families 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:48.200 that are in need. And so we actually provide pro 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:53.719 bono doula services across the country and in New York 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:56.560 City we're the largest provider of pro bono doula services 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:58.800 for families in need. And so if you need a 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:01.680 doula and you're in the city of New York. You're 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.800 likely getting a doulah through Momo Glow if you're Medicaid eligible, 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:08.960 and so we're really excited to be able to offer 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:12.160 that as well. Yeah, I'm so proud of the work 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:15.600 that we do daily. But also I always had a 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:17.840 dream of being able to do that, right, Like, I've 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.600 had people reach out to me, some people reach out 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:23.080 to me on social or friends reach out and they're like, hey, 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:25.280 I have someone in my family who needs a service. 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:29.000 And because typically people would pay for this service, right, 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:33.240 you know, and it can be thousands, right depending on 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:37.520 how you won. Yeah, typically thousands of dollars. And so 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:39.880 to be able to say, like I asked, you know, 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:41.960 can they afford it? Or you know, what's their position 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:43.760 they're in, and they'll say yeah, you know, they're not 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:45.640 really the position. I'm like, okay, great, have them thought 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:47.880 this form and we can provide a doula. And so 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:50.920 just being able to do that and have a system 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:53.640 in place and have funding to cover it and then 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:56.440 sure that the dulos are paid well, is you know, 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:57.239 really a dream. 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.120 But I have to start with a basic question. Sure, 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.000 how did you start Mama Glow, Where did it come from? 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:04.680 What were you doing before? And then when did it? 0:08:05.040 --> 0:08:06.480 When did it become what it is today? 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:12.680 Is so I I started Mama Glow after my son 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:17.080 was born. I was living in New York City, which 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:21.760 I never really left, and I was a new mother, 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:26.760 and I had noticed along the pregnancy continuum that it 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:32.480 was really just challenging to navigate the care system here. Thankfully, 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.160 I connected with midwives, and so my son was born 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:37.839 in a birth center on Fourteenth Street, and I had 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:45.400 this amazing experience of feeling supported and just really like 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:49.040 everything I needed was there, Like the midwives, you know, 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:52.719 supported my autonomy, respected me in the in the practice 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.760 of delivering my son, and I had this like incredible 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:59.160 out of body spiritual experience that sort of led to 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:04.080 this vision, but also the sacred mandate and what I've 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:07.280 been really referring to as a calling, you know, to 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:10.800 do this work. And so my son's twenty one now, 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.000 So this is like twenty two years ago right that 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.240 I feel this inside of me surfacing, And so it 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:17.599 was really a matter of like, well, how do I 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:23.160 go about it? And I didn't have the business skills 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:25.680 or acumen, but I did have like a high business 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:27.800 IQ and what I mean by that is a lot 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:32.440 of us who you know, have the tenacity and the 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:38.080 sort of interest, but also the healthy dose of naivete 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:42.800 who will like go for something you know, can start things. 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:47.600 And I also have a stubborn quality being a tourist. 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.960 I don't quit stuff, and so if I start something, 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:52.320 I never quit. 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:54.000 I'm like a hippie. 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:56.319 So I was like, I want to have it at 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:58.640 home or I want to have it like I knew that. 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:01.000 So I couldn't have it at my my son's father's house. 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:02.840 His apartment was too small. I didn't want to do 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.440 it there. So I was like, I want to find 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:07.960 a place where you know I can do it. 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:09.400 But I did go to. 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:13.480 I won't say their name, but I did you know 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.520 before I found the birth center, I was supposed to 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:18.680 deliver in a hospital. And then I went to the 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:21.959 meetings and I was like, uh uh, I'm not something 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:25.400 they right, And I didn't even I didn't even really 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:29.120 question it. Once I had the feeling that this doesn't work, 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.480 I was like, we're moving forward and finding something new 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:35.000 that feels right, and this is me as like at 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:37.880 like twenty three right, I'm like somethingday right in the milk. 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:38.720 Let's figure it out. 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:43.320 And then so I found this birth center because we 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:45.400 were walking back and forth and because I knew it 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:47.320 from night life, I just would pass by it all 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:47.720 the time. 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:49.079 And we were like, let's go in. 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:52.800 And we went in and we had a great conversation 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:56.080 with the staff and they said, come in for like 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:57.280 an open house kind of thing. 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:00.320 Find out that they took my insurance. And here's another thing. 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:03.120 I didn't go there at first because I didn't think 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:06.400 I belonged, right. I didn't think that me as a 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:10.600 person who was basically underinsured because I was fresh out 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:14.000 of college. So my insurance ended a year after I 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:15.760 finished college. So by the time I was pregnant with 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:19.920 my son, like, I didn't have insurance coverage, right, and 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:23.199 so so then I was able to get on Medicaid 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:26.040 and they were like, yes, we take Medicaid. And so 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:29.040 my copays were like five dollars. My son costs six 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:33.200 dollars to take home. He was like a bargain baby deal. Okay, 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:35.480 my goodness, it was six dollars. 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:37.000 Wow. 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.679 Right, So this is the coverage that I got, and 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:44.560 it was amazing because again, you know, everyone treated me 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:49.360 with autonomy, with respect with love. They didn't say, oh, 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:52.000 this is this type of patient, you know, because we 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:56.760 understand that good insurance to medicaid there is a gradient 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.360 in terms of what you expect in terms of service 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:01.600 and what you had set in terms of you know, 0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:06.240 people's attitude towards you. And if you have private insurance, 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:09.040 people expect to be treated well, and if you're on 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:13.040 you know, medicaid, people expect to be treated poorly and 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:16.040 also have poor access to care and even like you know, 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:20.320 their you know, like testing and diagnostics and things like 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:22.719 that you get locked out of because of insurance apartheid. 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:26.800 And so I was so fortunate right to have this 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:31.040 experience at a younger age, and I think, you know, 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:33.559 I knew inside it was something inside of me that 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:36.200 knew I wanted to do it this way. And I'm 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:39.160 thankful that at the time I had the support of 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:43.600 my son's father and I had this sort of internal compass, 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:46.720 right that kind of guided me in the direction of 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:49.040 doing it. But also I think God had a plan 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:51.960 of like, you need to have this experience, you need 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:54.360 to be able to sort of use this. This is 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:57.480 the origin story for what you're going to give rise to, right, 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.360 and so I needed to have this to kind of 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:04.120 have a trajectory of working in women's health, laying the foundation, 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:07.160 laying the bricks right for what will become. Mama glow 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:11.160 down the line. And I think for me, you know, 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:14.200 that experience and then the shift from working as an 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:18.880 individual because I did have that calling to individually serve 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:21.240 as a doula, right, and I learned so much. I'm 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:25.920 asked so much information and in service. But then Mandy, 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:30.240 one time there was a there was a moment, right, 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.360 And I think everybody experiences this too, right at any 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:36.640 stage in business and what they're growing something you have 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:41.000 an opportunity. I feel like that arises in each of 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:47.719 us where we're inside of this configuration and things are 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:51.360 going well, but you're being asked to do more or 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.520 called to do something bigger and so the container that 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:57.120 you're inside of no longer fits. It's like when you 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:01.400 have to repot your plants, right. 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:04.040 You know, to expand and to be you know. 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.160 Like my son busting out of as eighteen month onesie girl, 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:10.560 Like Mama, I'm almost too. It's a time give it up? 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:14.360 Can we talk about it well? Overnight? Like it's gonna 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:20.040 throw the close. Okay, overnight they outgrow these clothes. Yeah, exactly. 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.960 So you feel that call to expand, and some of 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:27.080 us will show up and answer it and be like, Okay, 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.040 I'm going to step into this thing that feels really 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:31.800 scary and uncertain and I don't know because I'm super 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:35.360 comfortable here, but like something's pulling me and also even 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:39.000 almost in some cases forcing me to move beyond. And 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:42.960 so I had that, I had that experience where it 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:47.160 was not just enough to serve as a doula. I 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:51.520 needed to build something bigger. And that's when Mama Glow 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:57.240 comes into being. Really is at a pivotal point culturally, 0:14:57.680 --> 0:14:59.760 which is like how a lot of things come right 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:03.920 in terms of our uh, you know we think about 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:07.840 impact right and impact oriented work. Is that some critical 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:13.040 pieces of reporting came out Pro Publica and The New 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:18.360 York Times of Black Manternal Health, right, yes, and these right, 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:23.240 These were stories that shifted culture. It was groundbreaking that 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.880 there was finally this focus on things that we have 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.720 been talking about in silos for years that were happening 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:32.960 to us, and there was finally on central stage or 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:37.400 center stage, this discussion happening that permeated the globe, and 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:40.160 now everyone was talking about what it is like to 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:42.200 give birth in the United States if you are a 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:48.480 black birthing person, and that moment of that sort of 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:52.680 you know, earth shattering, and then subsequently more pieces come 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:57.040 and more stories absolute heartbreaking, heartbreaking is I mean in nature? 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:58.080 Absolutely right? 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:02.080 And to level set for folks we're talking about you know, 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.760 and many of you have heard these statistics, but to 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:09.480 share that black women in the United States are three 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:11.480 to four times more likely than white women to die 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:15.320 during childbirth or due to childbirth related causes, right, And 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:18.000 we're not talking about numbers. We were talking about individuals 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:22.760 and people with potential who pass on and leave behind 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:27.440 a legacy that is unfinished, and they have children who 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.040 have to then be raised by community. And when because 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:32.520 we know that black women are the crux of community, 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:37.040 when black women die, it actually just configures our communities. 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:41.960 And so because we are oriented differently than other communities, right, 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:45.800 and so it's not only just an individual tragedy, it's 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:50.520 a collective tragedy that we experience when this happens, right. So, 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:54.400 and so what I saw in that moment was to 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:57.760 create the program that would train the dulas because it 0:16:57.800 --> 0:16:59.640 had to be bigger than me. It couldn't just be 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:02.600 me out here in the world. It's not effective enough. 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:05.480 And I had the knowledge, and I had the years 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:08.199 of experience. It was like it's time. So I developed 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:11.880 a program. I remember in twenty eighteen, I was super 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:15.760 nervous to you know, put out the flyers to announce it. 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:19.359 I waited until last minute because that's apropos of who 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:21.480 I am. I mean pretty much, I always do everything 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:23.840 last minute. And so here we go. I launched the 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:27.760 flyer like two weeks before the class is supposed to start, 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:31.800 and Mandy, Oh my days. It filled in the next one. 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.840 I did that within nine months. We expanded from New 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:39.040 York to La Miami in Paris, and then COVID hits 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:42.960 in twenty twenty and it's like, what do we do now, right, 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:46.000 because this is an in person experience, So in three 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:49.879 weeks we pivot to online. We test internally with the 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:51.600 you know, like the group of people that we have. 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:59.160 Basically we grew like eightfold overnight, eightfold. 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.840 Heyba fam, We're going to take a quick break, pay 0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:05.680 some bills, and we'll be right back. 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.000 The classes were now like hundreds of people in each class, 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:14.040 people were home because of COVID, right, so they're able 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:17.040 to be online. And so we had not only the 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:20.840 limit the limit the lack of limitation because of online, 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:22.880 but also we had people who were literally at home 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.920 trying to find purpose, and so all those people came 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:29.920 in and it was incredible, and so we we actually 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:32.679 really grew the business and COVID. Where many people were 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:35.960 winding down or sunsetting businesses, we were like catapulted and 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:38.640 COVID and so it was actually a blessing for us. 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:42.919 And so while our in person courses and training and 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:47.639 programs you know, had to collapse during that time, the 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.600 online really shot up and then we found really innovative 0:18:50.640 --> 0:18:54.520 ways to like support community and really support and and 0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:58.359 actually pour into the doulas in ways that we couldn't 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:01.360 in the beginning, or not even saying that we couldn't, 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:03.480 but just it was a different focus because we were 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:06.119 in person, so we didn't have to think about like 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:08.720 the fact that people were isolated, and now we're thinking 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:12.560 through how to maintain their well being, their mental health, 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:16.280 how to create you know, community online and spaces for 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:20.879 them for self care while they're still practicing and living 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:24.679 through a public health and you know, a global public 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:27.919 health crisis, right, and so so that's how it kind 0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:31.080 of expanded. But it was really, you know, not something 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:33.399 that I started from a lens of I'm going to 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:35.040 go this crazy business. 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:36.359 It's going to be huge. 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:38.520 It was more just like, you know, this is what 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:41.280 I would like to do, and I knew in this moment, 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:43.080 and I was like, I'm just going to keep putting 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:45.040 one foot in front of the other. And and I 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:49.399 would also always write down and like project map what 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.040 I wanted to create, even if I was under resourced, 0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:54.960 So even in the times where I could not actually 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:58.320 see it through, I would project map as if it 0:19:58.359 --> 0:20:01.919 was already happening. And I I've done that my whole career. 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:04.080 Like I'll sit here. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:07.000 It's not like really vision boarding, because I do that too, 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:12.840 but it is literally like sort of mapping your your 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:19.720 sort of business arc and really diving into a roadmap 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:24.480 and having it in the background almost like you know, 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:27.200 when you're in a restaurant and there's like that music 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:29.879 playing in the background. It's and you're just like not 0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:32.320 tuned in, but you kind of oh, there's thing, you know, 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:33.879 one of your favorite songs, and then you kind of 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:36.320 go back into what you're doing. It's like that like 0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:39.720 that thing stays in the background, and so I'm always aware. 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:42.440 And so then when something. 0:20:42.040 --> 0:20:47.280 Does surface that we achieve that was in that roadmap, right, 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:54.199 like i'd stop, I acknowledge, and I also like go 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:55.359 back to that. 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:57.919 And I look to see what other things so that 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:01.680 I'm also becoming more aware of what I'm continuing to do, 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:05.080 but also to like loop into where I was and 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:07.359 then versus where I am. And so it's been a 0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:08.200 great exercise. 0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:10.840 I'm a visual learner as well, so like these types 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:11.920 of things are helpful. 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:13.040 And then guess what. 0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:16.440 We were able to work with CBS ETNA to develop 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:19.560 a do a competency training for nurse care managers for 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:22.200 CEU credits, and so then I was able to take 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:25.760 a train that we already had distill it down to 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:29.240 a three hour program for CEU credits for nurses and 0:21:29.280 --> 0:21:31.440 so then I was like I checked that off, right, 0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:34.679 And so things like that right where you know, I 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:38.439 didn't know how it would happen. But when you're and 0:21:38.520 --> 0:21:41.160 I feel like you shouldn't always try to figure out how, 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:45.520 because part of the journey is like you need to 0:21:45.560 --> 0:21:49.040 come up with the vision, right, and the vision has 0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:50.520 to be expansive, it has to be bigger than you 0:21:50.560 --> 0:21:55.240 have to also feel unattainable because along the way, along 0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:59.840 the way, you encounter solutions, you encounter contacts, resources, and 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:03.520 sometimes find your way to that thing or something like it, 0:22:03.640 --> 0:22:06.800 or even something better. And so for me, I was 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:08.960 able to achieve that thing that I set out for, 0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:11.960 but then even something better where we were able to 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:17.160 work within healthcare systems in ways that I had not imagined, right, So, 0:22:17.440 --> 0:22:21.320 but because that was one of the pathways, it created 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:24.000 an opening for other things. But I think also too, 0:22:24.680 --> 0:22:28.840 the consistency of action for me has one of the 0:22:28.840 --> 0:22:32.560