Chanel Porchia-Albert CD, CPD, CLC, CHHC, is a prominent health policy advocate and co-director of JustBirth Space, known for her transformative contributions to reproductive and maternal health equity across city, state, and federal platforms. As the founder and president of Ancient Song Doula Services, Chanel has led vital policy initiatives to address racial disparities in maternal care, advocating for Black and Latinx communities and championing reproductive justice. Her influence in health policy has sparked collaborations with the NYC Department of Health, AMCHP, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where she has presented her work on the critical need for culturally respectful, equitable maternal care.

At the federal level, Chanel has advised policymakers, including Vice President Kamala Harris, on advancing Black maternal health and birth justice, helping to shape initiatives like Medicaid reimbursement for doulas. In New York City, she has worked to establish Medicaid Doula Hubs in partnership with community organizations and contributed to the Baby Dove Black Birth Equity Fund, a program that provides funding for doula services nationwide with a focus on supporting Black women and birthing individuals.

In her city-level work, Chanel has contributed to the Respectful Care at Birth guide and partnered with Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman to develop a birthing center to serve teen and underserved populations. Chanel’s work at JustBirth Space, in tandem with her policy advocacy, continues to drive systemic change and create equitable, safe, and empowering healthcare for all birthing individuals.

Aimée Brill, MSW, is an experienced facilitator, consultant, and birth justice activist dedicated to transforming perinatal healthcare by integrating equitable, person-centered, and respectful maternity care practices at both the national and international levels. As the co-founder and co-director of JustBirth Space and Village Birth International (VBI), Aimée has driven systemic change and accountability within maternal health, operationalizing birth justice principles to address pervasive gaps in care. She supports institutions in addressing systemic oppression in healthcare by consulting on equitable, anti-racist frameworks and their implementation.

Since 2003, Aimée has practiced as a maternal health professional, providing local, national, and international expertise in advocacy, consultancy, mentorship, and community doula training. She helped to establish a Ugandan-led mobile midwifery clinic in 2006, bringing essential midwifery care to communities in northern Uganda. In 2011, VBI founded Syracuse, New York’s first community-based doula collective, advancing community-led maternal health support.

Aimée’s collaboration with Ancient Song Doula Services and Every Mother Counts led to the co-authorship of “Advancing Birth Justice: Community-Based Doula Models of Care for Ending Racial Disparities,” highlighting the role of community-based doula models in Medicaid reimbursement strategies. Her consulting portfolio includes respected institutions and presentations at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Wagner College; hospitals such as Upstate Medical Hospital, Montefiore Hospital, and NYU Langone Hospital; as well as organizations like the NYC Department of Health—Healthy Women, Healthy Futures; Public Health Solutions; the International End of Life Doula Association; Every Mother Counts; Doulas of North America; and the NJ Academy for Family Physicians, among others.

Aimée recently received her Master of Social Work from Rutgers University, focusing on solutions to addressing perinatal mental health disparities. She believes that healing is essential for collective change and she is committed to centering birth justice models of care through the innovative work at JustBirth Space.