In this conversation, Wakumi speaks about her work with social justice both before and after becoming a mother and how matrescence created a necessary shift in her work. She shares about how the stress of systemic racisim manifested in her daughter's body, despite doing all the right things to care for herself during pregnancy and having a fabulous midwife.

We discuss the significance of the village in transitioning from Supermom to MotherFly, highlighting how the concept of "village" can be expanded to encompass nature and spirit. I am so honored to share her work with you and I hope you enjoy.

Tanisha “Wakumi” Douglas is a mother, ritualist, and movement leader with over 20 years of experience organizing for healing and justice. Of Jamaican descent, descended from maroons, seers, herbalists, and farmers, Wakumi is the daughter of an undocumented father who spent 33 years incarcerated and a servant-leader mother—roots that shaped her life’s work.

She co-founded a national, youth-led abolitionist nonprofit, raising over $8M, and has held fellowships with Soros Justice and Move to End Violence. Wakumi has served as a circle keeper, social worker, and educator with Dream Defenders, Harlem Children’s Zone, and the Children’s Defense Fund.

Her work has been featured in the documentary PUSHOUT, on NPR, in HuffPost, and in books like Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues. She’s spoken at Google, NEA, and alongside visionaries like Dr. Angela Davis and Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

Now, Wakumi is focused on writing, sacred arts, and curating spiritual spaces for collective liberation and joy.
Connect with her: wakumi.world | giversrevival.world

Ruth is a multi-award winning expert nurse, midwife, and health visitor with more than 26 years’ experience in delivering secondary and primary healthcare services in the statutory and voluntary sectors of England. She is also a Pregnancy Mindset Expert, speaker, mentor, and coach, as well as a Queen’s Nurse, Winston Churchill Fellow, Fellow of the Institute of Health Visiting, Royal College of Nursing, and The Royal Society of Arts.

You can find out more about Ruth and her offers here.

Hey mama, are you feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, or off-purpose? If so, I can help! Schedule your free discovery session, and let's explore what it would be like to work together.

Nicky Dawkins is a holistic Full-Spectrum Doula and Fem Health Coach in Miami. She is the founder of Werk it Moms, which is a mom-driven soon to be charity organization that focuses on providing educational workshops, products, and safe spaces for moms in need of connection.

Nicky is also the Southeast Regional Coordinator and Miami Chapter founder for Period, which is a global non-profit organization fighting to end period poverty and stigma through service, education and advocacy.

Nicky works with moms from fertility to postpartum and everything in between. Her passion is to help birthing people and their partners have a healthy pregnancy and positive birth experience with as little intervention as possible. She provides pre and postnatal education and does a lot of advocacy work in reproductive health - She loves to talk about periods! She is also the Vice President on the Miami Diaper Bank board.

Nicky has a 5-year-old son and a baby girl on the way.

You can follow her here:

https://www.instagram.com/thankyounicky/

Feeling burnt out, overwhelmed or off-purpose? I can help! Set up your free discovery session and let's explore how we can work together.

Rohini spends her days on her ranch, milking cows, tending to honeybees, and learning from the native plants and herbs. As a Reiki practitioner and teacher, she finds great joy sharing quiet and loving space with others. Rohini loves to bake, write, and spend time with her husband. She has shared her life’s journey online for the last 7 years and has focused on grief, loss, and the spiritual journey in her recent writing and sharing.

You can follow Rohini here:

https://www.instagram.com/rohinielyse/

I would love to hear how this conversation lands for you, what stood out, etc. Share in the comments and please subscribe to my podcast to enjoy more great conversations.

Feeling burnt out or overwhelmed? Or simply off-purpose? I can help! Book a free discovery call today, and let's explore the possibility of working together.

Kimberly Ann Johnson is the author of the early mothering classic The Fourth Trimester: Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality published in seven languages around the world. A sought-after practitioner and lead authority in postpartum health, Johnson has been working hands-on in integrative women's health and trauma recovery for more than a decade. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Vogue, New York Magazine's The Cut, Harper's Bazaar, Today.com, and many more. Kimberly is the mother of one

My guest is actress Annet Mahendru who is known for her critically-acclaimed role in the series "The Americans". Her portrayal of Nina earned her a Critic's Choice Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Annet then headlined The Walking Dead: World Beyond limited series. She can recently be seen in the Mark Wahlberg-Mel Gibson feature Father Stu.  She also stars in the coming-of-age film Manifest West, a film near and dear to her heart that she worked on with her husband, filmmaker Louie Gibson.  

With Mahendru delivering an emotional whirlwind performance in a film that addresses timely mental health issues,  Manifest West is a family project in another way with her co-starring role opposite brother-in-law Milo Gibson and her as co-writer/co-director. Manifest West had its world premiere at the Mammoth Film Festival, winning Best Genre Film.

Born to an Afghan- Indian father and Russian mother, Annet spent her early years learning 6 languages in the Middle East & Europe.  She planted the seeds of her career at eleven, choreographing a performance that earned her an appearance on German television, and returning to her roots studying Indian classical dance.

Annet is an avid breastfeeding-on-demand supporter and home birther.  She lives with her husband, writer/director Louie Gibson, and their three children. At the time of the recording of this podcast she was thinking about baby number three. They welcomed another child since June. 

Rachel Zaslow is a midwife and Executive Director of Mother Health International, a non-profit that works to reduce perinatal mortality rates through the education of midwives and the creation of sustainable birth centers in areas where the burden of mortality is highest. Rachel has worked with midwives and mothers in Uganda, Haiti, Senegal, Guinea, New York City and Virginia. She helped to start The Sisters Keeper Collective, a women of color-led initiative to address the disparities in birth outcomes for black mothers and babies. Additionally, Rachel holds a Ph.D. in Feminist Theory, and a Masters in Performance Studies. She teaches courses about Women’s Health, War and Trauma, Gender and Development, as well as the intersections between Narrative and Medicine. Prior to MHI, Rachel co-founded Earth Birth: International Women’s Health Collective to promote local practice, to facilitate the sharing of skills across cultures, and to protect the role of the traditional midwife. Rachel states, “My role as a visionary leader is to join hands with my team. I draw on feminist discourse to dismantle power structures and think strategically. So for any project, we start with: What is the issue, what are the root causes, what are our strengths and from that place, how do we address them.”

Nicola Huelin is a multi-award winning, business coach and mentor on a mission to empower one million mums in business around the world.
Author of The Invisible Revolution (listed in The Independent's 10 best business books written by women), international speaker, founder of Mpower for mums in business and the Mpower National Business Awards, Nicola has over 23 years experience in combining business success with family life Trusted for her expertise, caring and down to earth approach and holistic philosophy when it comes to business success, Nicola’s work has been featured on international TV and Radio and she is a regular business columnist. Nicola has connected, coached, and mentored thousands of women who dream of building a successful business on their terms.

In this episode, Guatemalan native Rosalia Gonzalez shares her journey through marriage and motherhood and how she managed to fight the cultural norms and create a life for herself outside of motherhood working for women's rights. As the executive director of Visión Guatemala, Rosalia empowers women and families around Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Note: this episode is in Spanish.

In this short episode, I reveal the real reason behind my inconsistency with this podcast. It is a big reveal, which I won't say here. You'll have to listen to find out.