The Collective

Irasema aka Iris is a Spanish/English speaking full spectrum doula and bodyworker/sobadora, as well as a Reiki healer. She has supported parents and families in the Austin area, as a doula since 2009. Iris volunteered with GALS for 7 years where she got most of her birthing experience. She uses a traditional Mexican textile called the Rebozo which can help with optimal fetal positioning and comfort during birthing time. Iris also teaches classes on the use of the Rebozo in pregnancy birth and postpartum as well as using it as a self-care tool. She has trained with DONA International, Vida Luna Massage y Mas, Mercy in Action as a Midwifery assistant. Traditional Rebozo techniques with Marucha Ilhuakatzin and techniques passed down from my abuela Juana Solis Martinez.

Felisa Yzaguirre is a Xicana partera/ midwife licensed in Texas. She was born and raised on lands of the Tigua of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. Known as the vast desert that unites El Paso, TX, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, along the Rio Grande River. She made her way to Tonkawa land in 2008 to attend the University of Texas at Austin. After earning her Bachelor’s in Developmental Psychology she was blessed to be pregnant but found herself unsatisfied with her care. She decided to shift to home birth, and seek out the care of midwives. She wanted warm individualized care, someone she could relate to, a provider that trusted her wisdom to birth and respected her bodily autonomy. The search for a midwife of color came up short. Giving birth to her sweet daughter at home in 2013 led her to a journey of empowerment that aligned her to her life’s path; the midwife she looked for was looking her back in the mirror.

The call to be a midwife came with an accidental homebirth as a doula. Soon after this birth, I started my studies with the non-profit midwifery school at Mercy in Action in 2016. During my clinical training, I was able to serve many clients and their families in several home birth practices as well as a birth center in Austin Texas. As a Latina and an Afrocaribbean, I will make sure your voice is heard. I want to help you be in control of your prenatal/birth/postpartum care and health with the latest evidence-based information. I am committed to lessening the disparities in maternal health among People of Color, Latinos and the LGBTQ Community.

Ellen/Elena Gonzalez is a multi dimensional healer following ancestral alignment, on the path toward traditional midwifery. ExperienceHealerd using ancient practices, combined with holistic natural healings. She offers frequencies of yoga therapy, meditations & deepening relationships with plants, trees & fungus medicines daily. Honored & humbled to support folx & families as a full spectrum reproductive justice Doula. And creating a lifestyle committed to decolonization & fiercely protecting, cultivating, preserving the earth & waters. Ellen/Elena Gonzalez (ella/ella) es una sanadora multidimensional siguiendo la alineación ancestral, en el camino de la partería tradicional. Experimentado usando prácticas antiguas, combinadas con curaciones naturales holísticas. Ofrece frecuencias de terapia de yoga, meditaciones y profundización de las relaciones con plantas, árboles y hongos. Agradecida por apoyar a personas y familias como Doula de justicia reproductiva de espectro completo. Creando un estilo de vida comprometido con la descolonización y protegiendo, cultivando y preservando la tierra y las aguas.

Hi! I’m Zulmy Galindo, a certified birth and postpartum doula and owner of Mama Nueva. Becoming a parent inspired me to pursue this work as I experienced how powerful and transformative the birthing process is. Being a doula has brought me so much joy. I believe that connecting with and supporting families during such a vulnerable and important time in their lives, providing access to care, educating and overall empowering birthing people is truly fundamental for healthy maternal/ birthing outcomes. I am the proud mama of a magical 3 year old. In my free time, I enjoy the outdoors, reading, listening to podcasts, and baking. I was born in Guatemala and moved to the states when I was 7 years old. Spanish is my first language. I got a Bachelors in Marketing at Missouri State University and moved to Austin shortly thereafter. I have been married for 5 years to a man that makes me laugh:) I look forward to working with you and your family!

Since 2022, Binti has served her central Texas community as a birth and postpartum doula. Her initial journey into birthwork was informed by her spirituality, yoga teacher training, as well as her beginning forays into herbalism and bodywork. The more she learned about women’s health and how to care for the body holistically, the more the wisdom of birth revealed itself. Binti believes everything begins and ends with birth. When we can center a love for humanity and a connection to Source within birth first, she believes the ripple effects will be immeasurable. It is her highest hope that all clients who work with her are able to meet themselves, their loved ones, and the world around them more fully and deeply. In addition to being a full-spectrum doula, she is a placenta medicine maker, bodyworker, nanny, and sobada apprentice. She is also a student of Partería en la Tradición — learning the art of midwifery as it’s been passed down through lineages of traditional Mexican parteras. She travels back-and-forth to México as part of her midwifery training. Binti is a slow-moving human and textbook Pisces who likes to read, dance, spend time in nature, watercolor paint, and cuddle her cat, Nala.

Elena Colón (she/her) is a queer boricua (puertorriqueña) single mami, student midwife, community health worker, full spectrum birth companion (doula) and herbalist. She has a background in birth and reproductive justice work, community organizing, and medical case management. Elena started a free community reproductive health clinic called Luz de Atabey Midwifery Project (LAMP) in Austin, TX.

k’mae martinez is a biracial, queer, full-spectrum doula, bodyworker, herbalist and educator raised between the hills and ocean of unceded Kumeyaay territory in what’s now known as San Diego, CA. k'mae's journey into birthwork came as a soul's calling, with an heartfelt awareness of the love and compassion it takes to truly walk alongside others on the childbearing journey. With a deep reverence for the innate intelligence of the Womb and human body, k'mae's birthwork journey began in 2019 first studying with Sarah Naia Soleil of Doula Thrive and later with Maestra Tema Mercado of La Matriz Birth. In 2021, through the guidance of her ancestors, k'mae was brought to Central Texas, the land where her paternal lineage has lived for five known generations. Here, k'mae has continued her work and relationship with the Womb. She's studied with Maestra Irasema Reza-Bailey of Las Manos Magicas, Qiddist Ashe of The Holy/Well, Ginger Webb of Sacred Journey School of Herbalism, Reanne Madison of Postpartum Healing Lodge, Paula Leeper of Ancient Healing Arts, Birthing Advocacy, Birthing From Within, Spinning Babies, and DONA. k'mae offers compassionate care to those she accompanies through all experiences of the womb. She offer's full-spectrum doula care, postpartum belly binding, pre & postnatal traditional bodywork, closing ceremonies, and educational classes. She is deeply honored to support the full continuum of the Womb and to be invited into such sacred and tender moments in people’s lives. With heartfelt humility and gratitude, may your journey expand your capacity to love, to feel deeply, and to stand fully in your divine power.