Build a doula workforce your Healthy Start project can rely on.
I design and deliver custom doula training programs for HRSA Healthy Start grantees: project directors, perinatal program coordinators, and the community-based teams supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Trauma-informed, equity-grounded, and built to fit your performance measures and the families you serve.
What you are working on
You are likely facing some version of these:
- Federal performance measures around prenatal care entry, birth outcomes, postpartum follow-up, and breastfeeding that depend on a strong perinatal support workforce
- A doula or CHW team that needs consistent, evidence-based training instead of one-off workshops
- High-risk participants who deserve more than introductory-level birth support
- Father and partner engagement goals that work better when doulas can hold space for the whole family
- Perinatal mental health screening and warm handoffs that doulas need to do well, not just check a box
- Integration with case managers, navigators, hospital partners, and clinical providers, all of whom expect a trained, accountable doula
The training has to fit the HRSA Healthy Start model, your community, and your reporting requirements at the same time. Standard workshops do not do that.
What I deliver
A custom training program designed for your participants, your funding cycle, and your federal performance framework.
Curriculum designed for the Healthy Start model. I align the curriculum to your project’s service window, your participant population, and the specific role doulas will play on your team.
Trauma-informed, equity-grounded facilitation. Every cohort is taught with adult learning principles, structured reflection on obstetric racism and historical harm, and the kind of facilitation that holds up when the room is doing emotional work.
Father and partner engagement built in. Doulas leave able to support partners and fathers in ways that align with Healthy Start’s family-centered priorities, not as an add-on.
Perinatal mental health awareness and warm handoffs. I train doulas in perinatal mental health screening, recognition of warning signs, and handing off cleanly to your behavioral health partners.
Curriculum refresh as evidence and policy shift. HRSA program guidance, performance measures, and current evidence all change. I update materials between cohorts so each group is trained against current standards.
Outcomes built in. Pre and post knowledge measures, skill demonstrations, reflective practice tools, and cohort-level reporting you can include in your HRSA non-competing continuation, your local evaluation, or your community advisory board reports.
How it fits your funding model
I design programs to fit the HRSA Healthy Start cooperative agreement, including:
- Cohort training scheduled around your continuation budget cycles
- Scoped, flat fees that fit a definable line item in your federal budget
- Documentation suitable for HRSA reporting
- Outcome measures that map to your performance framework
- Coordination with your project officer when relevant
- Integration with your local consortium, community advisory board, and clinical partners
Whether you are building a doula service from scratch, adding doula skills to your existing CHW team, or expanding a current program, I design training that fits.
What participants leave with
A doula prepared to work in your community, certify through DONA International or a comparable pathway, and support your participants from pregnancy through the postpartum year.
- Comprehensive birth doula training that meets DONA International standards
- Trauma-informed practice grounded in current evidence
- Cultural humility and inclusive practice training
- Skills for prenatal-through-postpartum continuity that match Healthy Start’s service model
- Father and partner engagement skills
- Perinatal mental health awareness and warm handoff practice
- Working knowledge of the local resources, referral pathways, and reporting requirements specific to your project
- A clear path to certification and ongoing professional development
What you can report on
Each cohort produces documentation suitable for your federal reporters, your evaluators, and your community advisory board:
- Pre and post knowledge measures with cohort-level statistics
- Skill demonstration completion rates
- Cohort completion and certification readiness rates
- Demographic data of trained doulas if you collect it
- Reflective practice artifacts that document trauma-informed and equity-grounded skill development
- Trainer evaluation and quality-of-instruction measures
You receive a written cohort report within thirty days of delivery, formatted to fit your reporting templates.
Why work with me
I am a DONA International approved Birth Doula Trainer with a PhD in healthcare management and systems sciences, an MPH, an MSHPE, and a CPH. I have attended over 1,500 births and trained over 10,000 doulas. I bring graduate and undergraduate teaching experience, instructional design rigor, and a public health background that matches the rooms your project officers, evaluators, and community partners actually live in.
I write clean reports. I do not need hand-holding through your procurement process. I will tell you when something is outside my scope and connect you with someone who can help.
How partnerships work
1. Project brief
You send a written intake telling me about your participant population, your funding cycle, your timeline, and what you need from a training partner. I reply within two business days with questions, a proposal outline, or both. A short Zoom only happens if both of us think it will move the project forward.
2. Custom program design
I send a written proposal with curriculum scope, delivery format, schedule, deliverables, outcome measures, and a flat or scoped fee.
3. Delivery
Live, hybrid, or fully online. Single cohort or recurring cohorts.
4. Continuation
Recurring cohorts, curriculum refresh as evidence and policy shift, or ongoing facilitation if you want it.
Ready to talk?
Tell me about your project, your participants, and your timeline. I will follow up within two business days with next steps and a proposal outline.