Meet the Doulas
Our collective members come together from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, with each member bringing something unique and valuable to our group. Combining our skills, expertise and resources allows us to provide quality, affordable full spectrum care to our families. Whether you are already pregnant, trying to get pregnant or want to consider your options, we are here to support you! Read more about some of our incredible team members below.

Doula & Infant-Toddler Childcare Specialist
Daneka Vann
Some might call me a "Jaclyn of all trades". They might be right.
​
I am a Mother, grandmother, mixed media artist, doll maker, nail tech, hairstylist, ordained minister, high school gymnastics coach, Paraeducator, college student, and doula with plans to become a home midwife.
​
With all I have managed to accomplish, I have never felt as powerful as I did giving birth five times naturally. I would love nothing more than to help you find your strength and write the birth story of your choice.

Doula
Kiesha Mumford
I was born and raised in Lawrence Kansas. Lawrence has been my home for almost 28 years now and I absolutely love it. I love the uniqueness, kindness and atmosphere of Lawrence. I have worked as a nanny and in early childhood education for almost 10 years now and I love it. I truly believe my passion is helping babies and children grow into the person they want to become and I am lucky enough that I get the privilege to help shape them into that person.
I have one son who is 3 and he is the light of my life. He shapes me more and more everyday into the person I want to be and teaches me new things about life and myself every single day. My son was born via c-section which was not part of the plan at all but he is a healthy and happy human. Recovery was not easy at all and I wish I had the experience of giving birth vaginally or had a support person like a doula in my life at the time.
Becoming a doula has changed my views on birth completely. Not just birth but pregnancy and postpartum recover as well. When I first heard about a doula I wasn’t sure it would be the right fit for me. I have always worked with babies and children....not help them be born and come into this world. as I started taking these classes and learning more about what a doula is and how we support women, it changed my views completely. I now know so many things that I had not before. I am able to help these women during pregnancy with things they don’t understand as well as their body. I am able to help during labor and delivery and be an extra support person for these women that feel scared or that they can’t do it. I can now help with postpartum recovery and being there for these women as they need me to be.
Becoming a doula was one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself. I am grateful to be a part of Doulas of Douglas County.

Doula
Pere DeRoy
I’m a perinatal and postpartum doula.
Being a doula in Lawrence, Kansas allows me to participate in positive transformations of reproductive health here. In addition to providing hands-on support to birthing peoples and their families, I want to support Queer and Trans populations and those who want to take a gender-neutral approach to pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting.
I hope through my work as a doula, I can support families to be more present in their pregnancy journey as they bring more bundles of amazing joy into your/our community. More so, I hope I can advance knowledge and practice on caring for diverse populations.
In addition to being a doula, I am an activist-researcher exploring reproductive disparities in healthcare. My current research focuses on the US and Guyana (a South America country that is part of the English-speaking Caribbean political region). I primarily engage with issues pertaining to BIPOC birthing and non-birth populations across class, gender, and sexuality, etc.
I'm a spouse, and we are parents to an amazing toddler.
Additionally, I appreciate green spaces, playing video games from time to time, and a great meal.
One love.

Doula
Ramona Yoder
Hello Community!
I'm originally from Newton, KS, and the youngest of 5 daughters. I moved to Lawrence in 2010 to pursue my Bachelors in Psychology, which I obtained in 2014 with a minor in Applied Behavioral Science, and have lived here ever since. I have a big, beautiful, diverse family consisting of 8 nieces and nephews that I adore, ranging in age from infant to preteen.
I've dabbled in several different occupations over the years from food service to para educator, to mental health tech. After the pandemic hit the US, I did some serious soul searching and felt the need to make some big changes in my life, and left my most recent job as a cleaning technician. I now work as needed for a local small business serving adults with disabilities, and was fortunate enough to reenter the nanny business, as I've worked in childcare since I was a teen. I was even more fortunate to become connected to the Doulas of Douglas County collective and start to reach out and serve my community in even further fulfilling ways. I'm more than excited to start this very important work in Douglas County and get to know its beautiful families.
Welcome to all, I can't wait to connect with you!

Bilingual Doula
Tita Hernandez
I was born and raised in Mexico City. I am married and have two sons. My family came to live in the United States, Lawrence, KS in 2005. I love this city a lot as well as dogs and walks with my pups at the Mutt Run Park.
​
I like to teach, I received a Bachelor degree in Education from the University of Mexico UNAM and a Masters Degree at the Institute of Education from the University of London. I taught for six years at the School of Education of the University of Mexico and worked for 15 years as the Director of the Environmental Education Program at the Ajusco Medio in Mexico City. I participated in different National and International Environmental Education meetings and am coauthor of four books in Environmental Education.
​
I love to help people and always try to advocate for them. I started as a volunteer for the Health Department and Lawrence Memorial Hospital as a Medical Interpreter in 2006. I continue to do this work under contract in addition to work for the University of Kansas. In 2021 I was trained as a doula, breastfeeding counselor, sexual health counselor and childbirth educator.

Bilingual Doula
Yahaira Dominguez
I have lived in Lawrence for 11 years now, and I love living here so much. I was originally born in Colorado, but my true roots come from mexico. Both my parents were born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico. They came to the United States to open up new horizons for me and my siblings and beyond. I am the youngest of 3 children, and I love and adore my culture and language. In my free time I love to read, scrapbook, and cook. I am currently in school to attain my BSN to one day become a Nurse Midwife.
I feel incredibly honored and grateful to be serving a community I have always loved and grown up in. Since I was a little girl, birth work seemed to always interest me. I am excited, and passionate about working with moms and BIPOC families that want to take power into their birthing journey. I am determined to advocate and support these families through this amazing life changing experience(s).
​
Becoming a doula has really made me think a lot about the ways women need to get together to empower, and uplift one another. As your doula I promise to the best of my ability to educate, advocate, empower and guide through whatever process or stage of pregnancy are going through. I am so excited to meet and work with you and your family!

Program Manager & Doula
Traci Dotson
Some of my favorite things outside of work are spending time with my family, cooking and traveling. I am a licensed social worker and trained doula. My attraction to birth work has been greatly influenced by my own pregnancy and journey to motherhood.
​
Like I think many birthing bodies do, I spent a lot of my pregnancy in fear of giving birth. I consented to most things without much consideration and spent more time putting together a nursery than preparing my mind and body for birth and postpartum. Thankfully, I had a normal pregnancy, complication-free delivery and a healthy baby boy. It wasn't until around day 3 that I truly felt in over my head. I ended up connecting with a lactation consultant and peer support, both played a significant role in my breastfeeding journey, especially early on.
​
I believe all women deserve to experience birth without fear and to be wrapped in resources, support and love while on their journey to motherhood. Despite finding the support I needed, it never came from people who resembled me or even with shared life experiences and values. My hope is that Doulas of Douglas County grows into a safe space for Black and Brown Mothers in our community to learn, grown and connect.
​
"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." - Confucius
Request a Doula
We are pleased that you are interested in receiving doula support. Please take a moment to complete this form with information that allows us to match you to a doula. If you would like to be matched with a specific doula you can indicate this in the "additional information" section. Meet-and-greet interviews with multiple doulas are also available upon request.