The Story of Birth Center Week
Birth Center Week was born from the vision of China Tolliver, artist and birth justice advocate, in conversation with BCE CEO and Co-Founder Leseliey Welch.
The first Birth Center Week took place in 2023. Click here to listen to China and Leseliey tell the Birth Center Week story!
In 2023, Birth Center Week debuted our powerful video, Midwifing Justice. Click here to watch.
Birth Center Equity produced Midwifing Justice in collaboration with the award winning artistic team at Sharp As Knives (www.sharpasknives.com). Midwifing Justice offers a brief and powerful history of midwifery in the US and evokes the power and beauty of a world where Black, Indigenous, people of color birth in safety, abundance, and liberation, creating a pathway for safety, abundance, and liberation for all.
BCW24 is guided by Birth Center Equity Members.
Birth Center Week 2024 is guided with ideas and inspiration from six of our network members who serve on the Birth Center Week 2024 Committee:
Cessilye R. Smith, Abide Women’s Health Services, Dallas, TX
Charnise Littles, Birth & Milk Co, Metro Washington, DC
Nikki Helms, San Diego Community Birth Center, San Diego, CA
Okunsola M. Amadou, Jamaa Birth Village, Ferguson, MO
Trinisha Williams, Midwifery in the City, Brooklyn, New York
Vanessa Caldieri, Clinica MAM, Carolina, Puerto Rico
These members have generously offered their time and wisdom to shape the content of Birth Center Week 2024, and ensure that this effort reflects the perspectives, dreams, and needs of our network members.
Birthing Black: Community Birth Centers as Portals to Gentle Futures
Click here to read the article in Nonprofit Quarterly.
The Birth Center Week Team
Lead: Julie Quiroz, BCE Director of Narrative Strategy
BCE Team:
Kimberly Durdin, BCE Midwifery Network Engagement Director
Denicia Cadena, BCE Operations & Impact Director
Syd Dewitt, BCE Administrative Manager.
Social Media & Story Team:
Michelle Jones Simms & Adam Simms, RootedNSoul
Website & Graphic Design: Jenni Kotting