A national & International Doula Certifying Organization
COLLECTIVE
"I believe every woman has a "Ancient Song" and I am here to assist her with the keys she needs to sing"
Our Stories
CHANEL PORCHIA- ALBERT​
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Founding Executive Director
Ancient Song Doula Services was founded in the Fall of 2008 after experiencing the birth of her first child at home. She is the mother of 4 beatuiful children, Activist, Speaker,Certified Labor & Postpartum Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, Midwifery Assistant and Student, Vegan Chef, and Certified Holistic Health Counselor specializing in High Rish Mothers, Multiples, Survivors of Sexual Trauma, VBAC's and DV. She is also the co - trainer for ASDS trainings. She has spoken at numerous colleges, conferences and rallied for women's issues throughout college.
Currently, she is a member of various advisory boards working towards to advancement of improving reproductive health outcomes. She is also a consultant for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in Birth Justice and Provider Engagement.
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ALLEGRA WHITE
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Full Spectrum Labor & Postpartum Doula
Allegra is a Brooklyn native of Jamaican-Chinese and Trinidadian descent. She has four daughters, including a set of twins. Her experience as a doula began as a desire to pay forward the beautiful experiences she had while pregnant. Allegra believes that every woman has the power within them to command their environment and she wants to help women own that power. She loves to cook and is passionate about providing education and support in nutrition. She also would like to be an advocate for young mothers. Allegra is relatable, reliable, and realistic.
MARITZA FRANQUI​
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Full Spectrum Labor & Postpartum Doula
Passionate about public health, with an affinity for maternal and child well-being, Maritza obtained her Masters of Public Health at Columbia University. Upon completing her studies, Maritza realized the foundation for positive, long-term health outcomes is prenatal care. She believes social support during pregnancy, labor, and post-partum are invaluable to a mother and child’s physical and emotional well-being; and fosters the social-emotional intelligence necessary for them to thrive throughout the life-course. In tandem, Maritza believes everyone deserves a right to health and liberty and therefore a right to autonomy in health – “when individuals don’t have access to or fear the health care system, their emotional well-being is interrupted and they are thus hindered from living their best life.” After navigating the health care system in her personal life, Maritza strives to advocate for patient rights and resist against the monetization of health care – “health care should be preventive, not reactive”. Maritza also loves to dance and will be sure to have you moving during labor to make your birth experience as fun and exciting as possible.
OLIVIA AHN
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Full Spectrum Birth & Postpartum Doula
Olivia Ahn is a certified full spectrum doula, prison doula, and sexual and reproductive justice advocate with Ancient Song Doula Services.
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Olivia is dedicated to compassionate care and radical emotionality in their doula work, and is committed to advocating for sexual and reproductive health education, access, services, and care that is attentive to histories of trauma, abuse, survivorship, and oppression amongst communities of color and the LGBTQ+ community. Olivia’s practice ultimately strives for empathy towards the multiple truths, experiences, and subjectivities of the human condition so that we may uplift our collective healing.
STEPHANIE M PEÑA
Full Spectrum Birth & Postpartum Doula
Stephanie is a queer femme Latina originally from Buffalo, New York. As the daughter of a first-generation Colombian feminist organizer, there was always an emphasis on social justice and civic engagement in her home. After hearing a talk by Miriam Zoila Perez she was inspired to take the journey into radical doulahood. Her background in activism and organizing have a strong influence on her practice which is informed by an affirming, non-judgmental, strength based approach. As a trained full spectrum doula she is passionate about providing support and care to people across the lifecycle, including abortion. She also has extensive experience providing LGBTQI-affirming care and assisting individuals and families dealing with HIV/AIDS. As a licensed social worker, Stephanie is also able to conduct home study for single parent adoptions.
In her work Stephanie strives to foster a culture that trusts people and their inherent strength to make the best decisions for themselves. She believes that all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity/presentation, ability and class deserve access to supportive services along the full spectrum of parenthood, pregnancy and mental health experiences and outcomes. She lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn with her spouse and child. Stephanie’s services are available in English and Spanish.
SEVONNA
BROWN​
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Full Spectrum Labor & Postpartum Doula
I have been a doula for 2 years and attended both home and hospital births. I am a survivor, advocate, and trained in holistic approaches to birth. I have training in abortion, miscarriage, and stillbirth as well. I became drawn to this work through my own personal experiences and the experiences of women in my family. I believe in every community’s right to holistically healing, radically freeing, and unconditionally loving themselves. I currently live in Crown Heights Brooklyn and serve mothers in all five boroughs.
ISABEL JENKINS
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Full Spectrum Birth & Postpartum Doula
Isabel is a native New Yorker, certified reiki healer, & Doula with aspirations of becoming a midwife. She was initially drawn to birth work after writing her undergraduate college thesis on infant and maternal mortality rates for women of color in the US, and she strives to address this public health crisis through her work. Holistic medicine is her focus, but her primary goal is that her clients feel safe, supported, and advocated for in medical spaces that are institutionally designed to silence women and other marginalized folks. Isabel focuses her energies particularly on LGBTQ+ folks, survivors of trauma, and folks of color, as these communities are at a higher risk statistically for injury and death during pregnancy and labor. She believes in the power of community healing in addressing the physical, mental, and emotional health of all New Yorkers.
BERENICE KERNIZAN​
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Perinatal Doula Coordinator
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Full Spectrum Labor & Postpartum Doula
Greetings, I completed certifications in breastfeeding, intimate partner violence, and also a workshop in comforting touch. When I decided to become a Doula I was in my last semester as an undergrad and watched “The Business of Being Born”. It was an eye-opening film that introduced me to the doula world. Growing up, I’ve always been an advocate for those in need, and also fascinated with the power of birth, so becoming a Doula made perfect sense.
I have attended 11 hospital births, and 1 home birth in which I was privileged to support my Doula trainer Chanel. I was born in Haiti, and speak fluent Creole.
I assist individuals in finding their voices by actively listening and reaffirming choices; support is the first step to reclaiming autonomy, and advocacy. As your Doula, my role is to demonstrate that birth is not a solo job, and that it truly takes a village to birth.
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I have been a doula for 2 years and attended both home and hospital births. I am a
survivor, advocate, and trained in holistic approaches to birth. I have training in abortion, miscarriage, and stillbirth as well. I became drawn to this work through my own personal experiences and the experiences of women in my family. I believe in every community’s right to holistically healing, radically freeing, and unconditionally loving themselves. I currently live in Crown Heights Brooklyn and serve mothers in all five boroughs.
EFE OSAREN
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Full Spectrum Labor & Postpartum Doula
Efe Osaren is First Generation Nigerian-American bi/queer Womanist. Her life career is focused on Birth Justice and providing access to education on reproductive/uterine health. Her doula philosophy is “Your birth, your choice”. Her political beliefs are anything that dismantles all oppressive systems and to liberate those that suffer from it. She is there to uplift the mothers voice and to advocate for her rights. Regardless of gender, class, sexual orientation, religions, race, disability and mental illness. She also service those experiencing miscarriage, abortion, surrogacy, still birth and adoption. She loves to solo travel, read fiction novels, dance to afrobeat/House music and do hot yoga.
BOSHIA RAE-JEAN
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Full Spectrum Birth & Postpartum Doula
Boshia is a Passionate Certified Full-Spectrum Doula that focuses on making sure every mother, mother to be and family has a beautiful birthing experience. She has serviced a total of 11 of clients from home, water, and hospital births she truly has assisted from her heart and soul. Boshia wanted to become a doula when she converted to Islam, her Mentor Hajja Lateefah talked to her about taking back our traditions in birthing. When Boshia saw the infant mortality rate she immediately wanted to be apart of decreasing it. Boshia knows it's important for every mother to be educated on birth so her focus is on making sure every mother feels comfortable and supported.
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Boshia is a certified in Food Hander so is also able to prepare healthier meals for women prenatal and postpartum if enquired. Boshia enjoys prepping birthing plans with the moms and families, this is sometimes to be able to help moms feel more secure and relaxed during pregnancy and birth. She knows how important preparation and support really is, Boshia's mom had three cesareans for all three of her children "the power of birthing me and my siblings was taken from my mother she tells me to this day, and it reminds me to advocate for women as much as I am allowed". Boshia was inspired by her own birth to be more hands-on with traditional Birth work to give women back their power, and control telling them "to trust the natural process of giving birth, It requires patience and full submission to the unknown or unseen".
JENNY GILLETT
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Full Spectrum Birth & Postpartum Doula
Jenny Gillett is an educator, activist and theatre maker with a special interest in creating work rooted in human rights and social justice. She is proud to serve as a doula through Ancient Song. In addition to her work at ASDS, Jenny has also worked as an Educator at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, as a Teaching Artist in New York public schools through Wingspan Arts, and at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, where she led the Museum’s Shelter Outreach Program. She loves working with children and families at all stages in life. Jenny holds her Master’s degree in Educational Theatre from New York University, and is also a certified yoga and kid's yoga instructor.
CATHERINE FELIZ
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Full Spectrum Birth & Postpartum Doula
Catherine Feliz is a certified full spectrum doula who serves with the ethic that love is revolutionary when in action. They were born and raised in NYC (occupied Lenape territory) where they quickly learned that especially when you’re poor, your concerns for compassionate holistic care are easily silenced. As a doula and birth & reproductive justice advocate, Catherine works to support the empowered choices of birthing peoples in their community whom affirm life everyday in the face of historic violence. Catherine’s wisdom of ancestral plant medicine, and her identities as a queer, Afro-latinx, bilingual, child of immigrants guide her role as a doula.
KATY MCFADDEN
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Full Spectrum Birth & Postpartum Doula
Katy McFadden is a trained midwife (MSN- Midwifery, SUNY Downstate 2017) and experienced nurse, working on her doula certification out of a commitment to reproductive justice and improving birth experiences and outcomes for mothers in her community of central Brooklyn. She lives with her boyfriend, roommates, and 14 chickens in Weeksville, where she has lived since 2013. When not involved in birth work, she can be found in her garden or spending time with her nephew.
Relevant work experience:
-Labor Delivery Nurse; Wilson Hospital, Johnson City NY, 2012
-Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse; SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn NY 2014-Present
Relevant certifications/ trainings:
-Neonatal Resuscitation Program certified (January 2011)
-Certified Lactation Counselor (March 2014)
-Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (April 2017)
-Advanced Nurse Lactation Consultant (June 2017)
-Full Spectrum Doula training, Ancient Song Doula Services (August 2017)
-Educator of Infant Massage training, Infant Massage USA (November 2017)
-Innate Postpartum Care training, Innate Traditions (December 2017)
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