Meet Our Team

Our Founder, President, CEO

Charity S. Bean, CFSD, CLC, CHW, SPM

• •Founder, President, and CEO of The Doula Lab Pregnancy Resource Center & Doula Agency of Belleville, IL — the first Black-owned pregnancy resource center in St. Clair County.
• •Board Member of the Black Maternal Health Task Force and the National Black Nurses Association in obstetrics and maternal health.
• •Member of multiple Community Advisory Boards.
• •Currently in her second year of midwifery training at the Midwives College of Utah with 40 births attended and counting.
• •15+ years in healthcare, with certifications including: Certified Full-Spectrum Doula (CFSD), Certified Lactation Consultant (CLC), Certified Community Health Worker (CHW), Student Professional Midwife (SPM).
• •Specializes in hospital births as a certified pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and postpartum doula.
• •Recipient of the Illinois Birth Equity Initiative Grant, expanding The Doula Lab's programs to: Train 25 culturally competent doulas, Provide free pregnancy confirmation services, Expand reproductive health education and community-based support.
• •Passion fueled by her journey as a teen mother and over a decade of work across primary care, trauma, emergency medicine, and maternal care.
• •Advocate for birth equity and reproductive justice, dedicated to ending fear-based maternal care and reducing Black maternal and infant mortality rates.

"I want everyone to know that their birth matters, especially people of color."

Her inspirations are Fannie Lou Hammer, Fred Hampton, Maude E. Callen Nurse Midwife, Jenifer Lewis and Nipsey Hussle.

Director of Fetus to Five Programming / Vice President

Kyra L. Betts

• •I'm Kyra L. Betts, a public health advocate, speaker, and policy strategist committed to advancing Black maternal and infant health.
• •At Generate Health STL, I lead policy and advocacy work focused on eliminating racial disparities in birth outcomes.
• •I also run Advocacy & Me, a community series that demystifies civic engagement and helps people build their own advocacy lane.
• •I am the designer and lead facilitator of Dads to Doulas, a national initiative under Dear Fathers. This program equips Black men with doula-level education to support their partners through pregnancy and birth, challenging the narrative that fathers are absent in maternal health.
• •I also serve as the VP of the Doula Lab in Southern Illinois.
• •I call myself a policy doula because I guide communities through systems designed to confuse or exclude them. Whether through workshops, speaking engagements, or policy campaigns, I use my voice to build power, not just awareness.

Operations Manager, Perinatal Health Worker / Doula Training Supervisor, Treasurer

Marvella Ying Clayburne

• •Marvella Ying, founder and principal doula of M-Brace Birthing LLC, is a devoted mother, wife, birth worker, and advocate whose personal birthing experiences ignited her passion for this sacred work.
• •She believes birth is a transformative journey, and her mission is to ensure families emerge from it more connected, informed, and empowered.
• •Recognized for her dedication, Marvella was chosen by Charity Bean, founder of The Doula Lab, to help bring its vision to life — a community-driven initiative providing childbirth education, parental support, lactation classes, and doula training at no cost to vulnerable families in the Metro East.
• •She also serves as a Doula Training Facilitator for the Virtuous Doula Training Academy, a program tailored by The Doula Lab to meet the specific needs of doulas in the state of Illinois.
• •Whether supporting clients through every stage of childbirth, collaborating with the Missouri PQC to shape Doula Integration Guidance for healthcare networks, or working to address racial disparities in maternal care, Marvella is unwavering in her mission: to make birth safer, more inclusive, and deeply transformative for all families.

Director of Men's Community Health and Wellness Programming, Board Member

Brad Edwards

• •My role at Doula Lab is rooted in bridging men's voices and presence into the birthing and reproductive health space. As Director of Men's Programming, I focus on designing and leading initiatives that engage fathers, brothers, and sons as advocates for maternal health, birth equity, and family well-being.
• •I have created and scaled programs such as Dads To Doulas — a national maternal health initiative that trains men to advocate for mothers and children during the birthing process — and Str8 Mental, a mental health education platform for Black men.
• •Whether leading grassroots efforts like Cool Down STL to distribute water to the unhoused, or coordinating corporate partnerships with major health organizations, my training lies in bringing vision to life and ensuring people feel seen, heard, and supported.
• •My passion for birth work and reproductive health comes from a deeply personal place: becoming a father shaped the way I understand legacy, responsibility, and care.
• •What excites me most about working with Doula Lab is the opportunity to be part of a collective that values joy, advocacy, and innovation in the reproductive health space.

Co-facilitator, Board Member

Talia Whittington, CNM

Hub Manager

Asia Jacobs

IBCLC — Lactation Consultant

Chazz Carr

Illinois MomInBus Program Lead

Ronda Smith Branch