The Birthland Wellness Fund

The Birthland Wellness Fund is a fiscally sponsored project created to support the re-integration of BIPOC-centered community midwifery care as a foundational aspect of reproductive healthcare, and to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Birthland Wellness Center in the territory of Huchiun on Lisjan Ohlone land in the city known as Oakland and the East Bay Area.

Our Vision

  • To provide financial support that aids access to culturally relevant services and congruent care for marginalized groups in our community.

  • To champion providers from underrepresented groups and support sustainable, independent practice..

  • To interrupt systems of power that have prevented access to community midwifery care for BIPOC communities and to reclaim the vibrancy of these services.

Join us in helping to bring a new and innovative approach to the freestanding birth center model to Oakland. The Birthland Wellness Fund accepts donations from the public. Your donation supports community midwifery, racial health equity, and this pregnancy wellness model.

Wellness Fund Advisory Council

  • Daniell Thompson

    Danielle is a California and New York barred attorney whose legal career has focused on employment law. She is also a mother of two, a homebirth mama and Birthland alum, a birth doula, and childbirth educator. Danielle found birth work in law school after publishing an academic article titled "Midwives and Pregnant Women of Color: Why We Need to Understand Intersectional Changes in Midwifery to Reclaim Homebirth" in the Columbia Journal of Race and Law. She is passionate about birth justice and helping improve access to midwifery care, doula, and educational services for birthing people in historically marginalized groups.

  • Nyeri Osibin

    After receiving a BS in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, Nyeri has spent over 15 years dedicated to building innovative software solutions to make a substantial impact on people's lives. She has extensive experience with both startup level and enterprise organizations across higher education, health care and public sector industries. She brings this background to the council, in the role of Organizational Development.

    As a mom of 2, she is passionate about women’s health and is glad to support the mission for the Birthland Wellness Fund.

  • Maia Jaffe

    Maia is the mother of two and a grateful member of the Birthland community. Midwifery care was a healing and empowering experience for her. She is excited to be helping more families access this beautiful model of care through the future Birthlasnd Wellness Center. Maia brings the spirit of community connection and infinite possibility to the council.

  • Dian Harrison

    Dian brings 40+ years of experience in the not-profit sector, in multiple leadership positions at different organizations, and as Assistant Director of Finance and Administration at the Redevelopment Agency in San Jose. As president and CEO of a large non-profit organization, she was responsible for a $25 million budget and oversight of operations, program development, fund development, strategic planning, business expansion, and mergers.

  • Asatu Hall

    Asatu brings 20 years of experience serving Oakland as a community midwife and healer. She combines traditional practices with a passion for public health reform through her practice Sacred Grove Traditions. Asatu keeps the Birthland Wellness Fund Council grounded in the tradition of community midwifery. She brings her clinical experience and expertise to the development of the wellness center’s practice guidelines.

  • Pearl Yu

    Pearl is San Francisco Bay community midwife and the former owner of the Oakland Birth Center. She adds birth center expertise to the council and a heart for serving marginalized communities. Her clinical experience and expertise help to guide the direction and development of the wellness center’s goal to become a MediCal provider.