Black Mamas ATX Leadership & Staff

Kelenne Blake is a health advocate, creative and Blackacademic from Trinidad and Tobago, based in Austin TX. She has been involved with Black Mamas Community Collective, a.k.a Black Mamas ATX in various roles since 2018 and now serves as the Executive Director.

As a creative, Kelenne does visual and performance art as well as writing, including poetry and screenwriting. She also considers herself a Blackademic. Kelenne is a former professor at Huston-Tillotson University and a current doctoral student of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

Living in the intersections as a Black woman, everything she does involves working creatively with vulnerable communities, disrupting false hierarchies and creating spaces for those communities to assert their unique voices, perspectives and power — and, in so doing, creating a better world.

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Aisha Ralph is a Texas licensed, Certified Professional Midwife, childbirth educator, physiologic birth and lactation advocate, who is committed to the ancient art of being “with woman” throughout the childbearing cycle. She strongly believes in women’s and birthing people’s innate ability to give birth their way, safely and with strength, and has supported over 150 births in the US, Bermuda and Uganda. Aisha is committed to using both her knowledge and experience to positively impact the maternal health of Black birthing people in particular, for whom maternal health disparities in this country are shamefully high.

Originally from Antigua & Barbuda in the Caribbean, she began her midwifery career in El Paso and Austin, Texas before relocating to Jackson, Mississippi in 2022. While in Austin, TX, Aisha was a Black Mamas ATX Sister Doula from 2019 to 2022, and continued supporting the organization remotely as the part-time Doula Program Coordinator. She currently holds the position of Doula Program Manager at Black Mamas ATX. Aisha is an avid reader, a writer, and loves to travel. In a former life she was an accountant, auditor, actress and model. She’s a wife, step-mom, sister, auntie and friend.

Aphrica is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), a certified DONA doula, birth assistant, placenta encapsulation specialist, and a dedicated mother of four. With a career in the lactation field since 2013 and holding her IBCLC certification since 2022, Aphrica brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our team.

She has been a PRN at Breastfeeding Success and is an active doula with Black Mamas ATX. She is also the founder and owner of Womban Evolved, where she educates and empowers parents on their birthing journeys. One of Aphrica’s primary goals is to instill a sense of reassured confidence in parents as they navigate one of the most significant times in their lives.

For the past six years, Aphrica has dedicated her time and efforts to supporting and educating pre and postnatal families of color. She has proven that access to culturally aligned support and care has a powerful impact on Black maternal health outcomes and positive birthing experiences. This work is critical in addressing and reducing the maternal health disparities that affect communities of color.

Aphrica has served as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor at WIC and Mom’s Place, and has contributed to a COVID research advisory board for the University of San Francisco California called C.E.R.I.S.H. She currently serves as a board member for the Mother’s Milk Bank of Austin. Aphrica has also collaborated with doula agencies such as Mama Mia, Coco Life Black, Mama Sana Vibrant Woman, and Delivering Unto You, spreading knowledge on the importance of breastfeeding and addressing breastfeeding disparities.

Aphrica believes that her purpose in life is to save lives, reduce Black maternal health disparities, increase breastfeeding rates and longevity, and promote breastfeeding as a cultural norm. She has supported over 90 families as a doula and countless more with lactation. When she’s not working, you can find Aphrica traveling, transporting her kids to youth events, or being active in her kids’ school PTA events.

Ebony is a certified childbirth doula, herbalist, holistic wellness + childbirth educator, and maternal health equity advocate who approaches birth work with deep ancestral reverence. She believes in honoring the body’s innate wisdom, creating sacred spaces for Black birthing bodies, and supporting the natural rhythms of labor. Her work is rooted in the understanding that birth is not just a medical event but a transformative, spiritual, and deeply personal journey.

As an herbalist and the owner of June and Sage- Herbal Apothecary and Wellness, Ebony integrates natural wellness modalities with modern care, offering natural support for reproductive health, postpartum recovery, and overall well-being. She is passionate about reconnecting birthing people with ancestral healing practices, ensuring they have the tools, knowledge, and confidence to navigate pregnancy and childbirth with empowerment and ease.

Beyond her hands-on work as a doula, Ebony serves as a childbirth educator and holistic wellness instructor, sharing knowledge that bridges evidence-based practices with intuitive, ancestral wisdom. She is particularly passionate about maternal health equity, advocating for systemic change to address the disparities Black women and birthing people face within clinical settings. Whether through advocating for policy change, education, or direct care, she is committed to shifting the landscape of maternal health toward one that is more just, inclusive, and centered on the needs of the community.

With a holistic and heart-centered approach, Ebony walks alongside birthing people and families, ensuring they feel supported, informed, and in full autonomy every step of the way. Her work is a reflection of her deep commitment to restoring birth as a sacred rite of passage, fostering healing, and uplifting the voices of those often left unheard in maternal health spaces.

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Erin is a native Texan who’s social service roots have impacted youth and the underserved across the state’s following major cities: DFW, Austin, El Paso, and Houston. She received her BA in African and African Diaspora Studies and BS in Athletic Training from the University of Texas at Austin. She recently graduated with her Master of Public of Health from the UT Health Science Center at Houston. Her background in healthcare and lived experience as a Black woman led her to intern twice for Black Mamas ATX. Now she has returned for a third appearance as a grant manager for BMATX and the MHEC’s Safer Childbirth Cities grant!  Her dream is to empower BIPOC to live their best lives through health and wellness, self-expression, and art.  She believes in the power of people and advocates for the empowerment of BIPOC women everywhere.  When she’s not in a class or out hustling, you can find her traveling the globe, out in nature, or curled up on the couch with a good book or movie.

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