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, concentrating in Health Equity and Social Justice.

Living in the intersections as a Black immigrant 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 mother, an author, trained childbirth Doula (DONA), and community herbalist, who specializes in placenta encapsulation and holistic wellness. She is currently undergoing certification to become a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist (CBS).

Born and raised in Long Beach California, Ebony recently relocated to the Austin area to continue her support and advocacy for black maternal health in Texas. Ebony is passionate about the health and equity of Black & African descendants across all intersects. She approaches birth work with ancestral reverence, at forefront. Her work is deeply rooted in the divine wisdom, legacy, and practices, laid by our foremothers. She believes that ancestral/culturally congruent care is critical to countering systemic racism in birth settings. Ebony hopes to be a part of the change in revitalizing birth support and breaking down barriers that negatively impact the birth and care of black birthing persons and their families.

Outside of birth work, Ebony finds fulfillment spending time with her partner, son and two dogs. She also practices herbalism and loves educating and creating herbal wellness preparations for her community. She enjoys foraging plants, gardening, yoga, trying new foods and other forms of healing modalities.

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Denise L. Washington is a doula, mother, student midwife and Founder of Delivering Unto You. She is originally from Kansas City, KS and has been in the Austin area for 12 years. Denise began her journey in 2001 as a doula and childbirth educator for a local pregnancy shelter for young women in Kansas City, KS. In 2010 she decided to become a midwife but took time off to adjust to her new city of Austin, TX. In 2015 she started providing doula services in Austin as a volunteer doula with GALS (Giving Austin Labor Support) until she became a program coordinator for Mama Sana Vibrant Woman in 2017.

In 2019 she decided to focus on providing support to families of color on her own terms and founded Delivering Unto You. Her mission is to change the way the black community views and receives maternal care and support. Denise currently works as a Sister Doula with Black Mamas ATX while completing her midwifery certification. In the Fall of 2023 Denise will become the third black midwife in Austin, TX. She is also on path to opening the first black led and operated birth center that will provide low to no cost care to families of color.

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Born and raised in Austin, TX, Chanelle brings a wealth of experience and dedication to our team. As a mother of two boys, she understands the unique challenges and joys of motherhood, which fuels her passion for supporting Black mothers in our community. Chanelle has an extensive background in project management, spanning from tech to healthcare. Over the past year, she has made significant contributions to BMATX as an Administrative Assistant, showcasing her commitment and expertise. Now, as our Project Manager, Chanelle is excited to coordinate projects and bring new ideas to BMATX, furthering our mission to empower and support Black mothers.