Meet Our 2025 Cohort Team:

Community Members

Alondra Aragon UCSF- Community Member

Alondra is a committed community organizer, mother, land caretaker, and certified doula, with deep roots in Yelamu (San Francisco). She possesses extensive experience working with organizations such as PODER and the Young Women's Freedom Center, where she is dedicated to fostering a just transition. Her efforts focus on empowering youth, advocating for community land ownership, cultivating healthy and culturally relevant food and medicinal practices, restoring local ecosystems, and supporting mothers and their children in creating a sustainable future at Hummingbird Farm.

Currently, Alondra holds the position of Leadership Development Director at I Am Why, where she oversees youth programs and spearheads a research initiative led by young mothers centered on Turtle Island.

Julie Taylor UCSF- Community Member

Julie is the youngest of four children, born and raised in San Francisco. She comes from a lineage of community organizers and activists who have made difficult but necessary decisions to uplift and empower their community. As a mother of three melanated children, she navigates the complexities of raising them in a society fraught with racism while instilling in them a deep sense of awareness, pride, resilience, and kindness.

Her dedication to serving her community began in her teenage years, and it has been the driving force behind her vision for this life.  As a reproductive justice warrior and consultant in the Bay Area, she strives to address systemic inequities and create spaces that center the needs and voices of Black individuals and families. Julie is a Doula specializing in supporting Black mothers and families, as well as a Lactation Educator providing culturally responsive care and support to melanated communities. Her mission is to ensure that every family feels empowered, seen, and supported throughout their reproductive journeys and beyond.

Lala Mohammed UCB- Community Member

Hi, I am a new doula. I am passionate about helping black woman fight the maternal death rate. I believe in giving black woman the power to fight for the right to have natural successful births free of unnecessary medical intervention. I went from a preterm 28wk birth with a 2month nicu stay, to a vbac in hospital with epidural, to a unmedicated home birth. My traumatic & negative experiences with my first two born in the hospital led me to pursue an interest in having a natural birth free of pressure and restrain from the hospital staff & system which ultimately led me to wanting to help other woman in the same fight. I am so excited to learn more about it in this class.

Chailyne Rice UCB- Community Member

My name is Chailyne Rice I've served my community for 14 years just helping mother's and their families to be able to make informed decisions about their care and help them on their journey after birth. I now support Doula's in continued education and training aspects to create better doula who create the gap in the health care system that it needs to provide better care to mother's and the stability in care afterwards

Imani Mapp UCDavis- Community Member

My name is Imani Mapp and I am the proud mother of two wonderful daughters. I have always had a fascination with birth since my youth and after experiencing it, it propelled my passion for the birthing/maternal field even more. I eagerly await new opportunities and challenges that can further my skills as an educator, mother, and advocate. I have the esteemed honor of serving Black mothers within the community and it is my personal mission to continue to acquire information that will be instrumental in aiding in healthy and successful outcomes of Black birthing women. 

Se'Lah Wehner UCDavis- Community Member

Se'Lah Wehner is a mother of seven, holistic practitioner, birth worker, and mentor with over 15 years of experience in supporting families. She is passionate about empowering others through mindful nutrition, emotional well-being, and ancestral healing practices. Certified in multiple yoga disciplines, including Kemetic trauma-based yoga and Ma Yoni'aT Womb Yoga, Se'Lah also holds training in food, nutrition, and health. She is also certified in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).

Se'Lah is dedicated to reproductive justice, working with organizations like Black Women Birthing Justice and Frontline Doulas Hotline to address barriers in birth equity, particularly for Black families. Her work emphasizes the importance of cultural wisdom, food education, and holistic healing practices to help individuals and communities reconnect with their authentic selves.

Learners

Laura Cox UCSF- Learner

Laura Cox is an experienced OBGYN nurse specializing in the care of birthing and lactating people. Since 2010, she has dedicated her work to supporting the lactating community, a passion that inspired her to pursue a master’s degree in health policy. Currently a doctoral candidate at the University of California, San Francisco, her research focuses on infant feeding decision-making among individuals living with HIV in the United States.

Victoria Deng UCB- Learner 

Hi! My name is Victoria Deng and I'm from San Ramon, California. I currently attend UC Berkeley, where I'm pursuing a dual degree in Neuroscience and Public Health. I also volunteer as a labor coach, where I translate and advocate for LEP birthing persons. I'm super passionate about reproductive and birth justice!

Annabella Narvarte UCDavis- Learner

Originally from Stockton, California, Annabella is a first-generation medical student at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. Before beginning medical school, Annabella completed her undergraduate and post-baccalaureate studies at the University of California, San Diego, where she engaged in clinical outreach for unhoused populations and research centered on sexual and reproductive health for disadvantaged youth. Now as a medical student and a part of the Reimagining Education to Advance central California Health (REACH) Program at UC Davis, her education and training focuses on the approach to health inequities that are prevalent among communities in the Central Valley. Her goal is to become a physician who provides equitable healthcare and advocates for patients in underserved communities, especially the ones she came from. Beyond medicine, Annabella enjoys trying new foods, catching up on movies, and singing karaoke with her friends and family.

Insitutional Partners

April Bell UCSF- Institutional Partner

April J. Bell is a community health researcher, social epidemiologist, and health equity advocate dedicated to improving the sexual and reproductive health outcomes of historically marginalized adolescents. Dr. Bell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. Her research focuses on addressing health inequities in sexual and reproductive health among Black adolescent women and girls through the development and implementation of novel methods and strategies created in partnership with the community. Dr. Bell is committed to conducting research that is antiracist and does not perpetuate the harms of anti-blackness and white supremacy. She is working towards a future where Black girls are free.

Kathryn Ambrams UCB- Institutional Partner

I am a faculty member at Berkeley; I teach courses on civil rights and social movements. My current research is on organizing for reproductive rights and justice in abortion-restrictive states. For the last decade my writing has involved interviewing and observing social movement organization, particularly community-based organizations. But I would like to know more about how to partner with community based organizations in doing the research that would be most helpful from their perspective. I look forward to working with all of you!

Sativa Banks UCDavis- Institutional Partner

Sativa Banks is a qualitative researcher and Reproductive Justice advocate committed to addressing structural inequities in sexual and reproductive health. Her work examines how systemic barriers, policy restrictions, and social determinants shape reproductive autonomy. Through her work, she strives to center the voices and lived experiences of those most impacted by reproductive health disparities. Her scholarship spans topics such as abortion access, contraceptive decision-making, and the intersection of reproductive justice with racial and gender justice. As a Postdoctoral Scholar, her research explores how intimate partner violence (IPV) shapes reproductive autonomy, the role of healthcare providers in supporting survivors, and how structural and interpersonal factors contribute to reproductive health disparities. She is dedicated to advancing research that informs policy and practice to improve health outcomes for vulnerable groups.

Current Work: