Chauntel Norris

CLC/LCCE

Program Co-Director​

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Chauntel Norris ​is Co-Director for the Alabama Prison Birth Project and the Co-Founder of Baobab Birth Collective. She is a leading expert in lactation during incarceration. She is a native of Birmingham, AL, and attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she earned her B.A. in African American Studies & her B.S. in Psychology. Chauntel is a DONA trained Birth & Postartum Doula, a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator and a Certified Lactation Counselor. She is an active member of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, a community transformer for Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere, and serves on the board for the Alabama Breastfeeding Committee.

Adiliah Smith

BS, BD, LEC, MiLC

Group Facilitator and Doula​

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Adiliah Smith is a proud alumna of Alabama State University where she earned degrees in Biology & Secondary Education minoring in Mathematics. Beginning her career in secondary education as a classroom teacher, she shifted to maternal health a decade later. She is the owner of Village Maternal Services in Montgomery, Alabama, where she serves as a maternal health consultant, doula and lactation specialist. Her work is noted across many local organizations. She is also the creator of the support group Mama’s Village MGM, a space centering the maternal experiences of Black women across Alabama’s river region and Black Belt, nearly 400 women strong. Among her efforts she has organized Montgomery’s “Community Mommy Shower” to connect new and expectant mothers to resources and providers to improve maternal health outcomes. In 2022, Adiliah was inducted into Alabama State University's “50 under 50,” an honor given to alumni making impacts in their careers and community. She serves as a member of the Breastfeeding Task Force at Baptist Medical Center South, the Governor’s Initiative Breastfeeding Work Group with the Alabama Department of Public Health, and The Wellness Coalition’s REACH Advisory Committee. Adiliah also volunteers with R.O.S.E. (Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere), and she is a member of Doulas of North America International (DONA) and Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association (CAPPA).

Ashley Lovell

MS/LCCE/CD(DONA)

Program Co-Director​

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Ashley Lovell ​is C0-Director for the Alabama Prison Birth Project. She is a Lamaze-Certified Childbirth Educator, a DONA-certified birth doula, and a peer breastfeeding counselor. She received her B.S. and M.S. from Clemson University and Auburn University respectively in wildlife sciences, but eventually left her 17-year career in natural resources to focus on professional birth work. As a doula for 10 years, Ashley is specifically trained in bereavement/loss birth support and  supporting survivors of trauma through birth.

Gabrielle Daniels

Group Facilitator and Doula​

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Gabrielle Daniels is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and has a broad background in research, public health, public education, theology, and birthwork. Currently, Gabrielle serves her community and the Alabama Prison Birth Project as a Birth and Postpartum Doula and Childbirth Educator. Gabrielle received her Bachelors of Science from Iowa State University in 2010 and her Master of Public Health from the Yale School of Public Health in 2016. Her public health interests focused on social determinants of health and research-based program interventions, with specific attention to the needs of women, children, and families. In 2017, she went on to complete a Masters-Fellowship from Duke Divinity School, concentrating in Theology, Medicine, and Culture, where she focused on issues of race and historical memory work, and exploring bioethical issues using Christ-centered theological and justice paradigms. As a birthworker, Gabrielle has trained with DONA International, Indie Birth, and Kyleigh Banks of Birthworker Academy, apprenticed with doula mentor Traci Weafer, and is dedicated to continuous learning to serve mom-and-baby dyads in their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences. Her faith, work, and background continue to inform her efforts to serve the needs of vulnerable populations both domestically and abroad.