Meet Our Team
"Where Better Birth Outcomes are Created"
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.
Certified Nurse-Midwife, Board Member
Talia Cruz Whittington, CNM
- •Talia Cruz Whittington is a Certified Nurse-Midwife at Mercy Birthing Center St. Louis, providing evidence-based, patient-centered care across pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. She earned her midwifery degree from Vanderbilt University, home to the nation's top-ranked midwifery program.
- •As a Puerto Rican midwife of color, Talia's work is centered on implementing and promoting protective factors that improve outcomes for birthing people of color — especially Black mothers. Her approach is grounded in advocacy, equity, and creating safe, informed, and empowering birth experiences.
- •Talia brings a broad and diverse midwifery background, with experience in home birth, freestanding birth centers, traditional hospital settings, and hospital-based birth centers. This range of practice settings has shaped her clinical judgment and offers a unique, well-rounded perspective in supporting families across different models of care.
- •She also serves on the Board of the Doula Lab organization, contributing to community-based efforts that support and uplift birthing people.
- •Raised in a medical family, Talia was immersed early in women's health — her father is a retired OB/GYN and her mother served as the lead OB RN in his clinic — shaping her collaborative, patient-centered approach.
- •Before entering midwifery, Talia served as an elementary school teacher and a massage therapist. With roots in both education and body work, she connects effortlessly and authentically with patients as whole human beings, weaving teaching, therapeutic touch, and humor into her practice.
- •Outside of her clinical work, Talia is a wife and mother of a blended household with five children — an experience that continues to shape her compassionate, family-centered approach to care.
OB/GYN, Medical Board Member
Adriena Cothron Beatty, D.O.
- •Dr. Adriena Cothron Beatty is a board-certified OB/GYN and a valued member of The Doula Lab's Medical Board, bringing clinical expertise and a deeply human approach to the organization's mission of birth equity and community-centered care.
- •Dr. Beatty believes that the most essential skill an OB/GYN can possess is the ability to be personable — because the situations she encounters are profoundly personal in nature. Her practice is built on being down to earth and relatable, creating the kind of trust that allows patients to share what they might not tell anyone else.
- •Her presence on The Doula Lab's Medical Board reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that every birthing person — regardless of background — receives care that is not only clinically excellent, but genuinely compassionate and affirming.
The most important skill I believe an OB/GYN should have is being personable, because the situations that we deal with are very personal in nature. And so, I think you need to be personable and down to earth and relatable, so that people can actually tell you their situations that they may not want to tell somebody else.
Hub Manager
Asia Jacobs
- •Asia Jacobs serves as Hub Manager at The Doula Lab, where she keeps the day-to-day operations running smoothly so that every client, student, and community member who walks through the door feels welcomed and supported.
- •With a background in community health and client services, Asia is the connective tissue between The Doula Lab's programs — coordinating scheduling, managing resources, and ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.
- •Her commitment to birth equity is personal. She understands firsthand how access to knowledgeable, compassionate support can change the trajectory of a family's birth experience, and she brings that understanding to every interaction.
- •Asia is a trusted presence for clients navigating the resource landscape — from connecting families to financial assistance to helping doulas-in-training find their footing in the program.
IBCLC — International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
Chazz Carr
- •Chazz Carr is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with The Doula Lab, bringing clinical expertise and deep compassion to every family she serves.
- •As an IBCLC — the gold standard credential in lactation care — Chazz provides evidence-based support for breastfeeding and chestfeeding parents, helping families navigate latch challenges, milk supply concerns, pumping, and the emotional dimensions of infant feeding.
- •Chazz is committed to ensuring that Black and brown families have access to high-quality lactation support, addressing a critical gap in maternal and infant health outcomes. She meets families where they are — in the hospital, at home, or virtually — and builds care plans tailored to each family's unique goals and circumstances.
- •Her work at The Doula Lab extends beyond individual consultations: she contributes to the VDTA training curriculum, helping the next generation of doulas understand the fundamentals of lactation support and when to refer clients to an IBCLC.
Childbirth Educator
Eboni Hooper Boateng
- •Eboni Hooper Boateng is a Childbirth Educator with The Doula Lab, dedicated to ensuring that expectant parents — especially Black and brown families — enter the birth space informed, confident, and empowered.
- •Eboni designs and facilitates childbirth education classes that go beyond the basics. Her curriculum covers the physiology of labor, pain management options, navigating hospital systems, understanding your rights as a patient, and building a birth team that truly supports you.
- •She believes that education is one of the most powerful tools in reducing Black maternal mortality. When families understand what is happening in their bodies and know how to advocate for themselves, outcomes improve — and Eboni has made it her mission to close that knowledge gap in the Metro East community.
- •Eboni brings warmth, humor, and cultural competency to every class, creating a space where participants feel safe asking the questions they've been afraid to ask.
Illinois MomInBus Program Lead
Ronda Smith Branch
- •Ronda Smith Branch leads the Illinois MomInBus Program at The Doula Lab — a mobile maternal health initiative that brings prenatal education, doula support, and community health resources directly to families in underserved areas of Southern Illinois.
- •With years of experience in community health work, Ronda understands that access is the first barrier to equitable care. The MomInBus program is her answer to that barrier: meeting families in their neighborhoods, at community events, and in spaces where they already feel safe.
- •Ronda coordinates the program's outreach calendar, manages partnerships with community organizations and healthcare providers, and ensures that every family the MomInBus reaches is connected to the full range of Doula Lab services — from doula matching to lactation support to the VDTA training program.
- •She is also the primary point of contact for mental health screening follow-up within The Doula Lab's community programs, ensuring that clients who screen positive for perinatal mood disorders are connected to appropriate care quickly and compassionately.
- •Ronda's work is driven by a simple belief: every mother deserves to be seen, heard, and supported — no matter her ZIP code.
Our Mission
Our birth support mission is deeply rooted in a commitment to offering empathetic care to expectant parents.
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Comprehensive & Empathetic Care
We're deeply committed to offering complete, understanding support to expectant parents.
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Tailored Services
We provide personalized doula services, ensuring a supportive and safe birthing environment unique to your needs.
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Empowering Journeys
Our goal is to guide you through a confident and empowered birthing experience, every step of the way.
Empower Your
Parenthood Journey
Gain the confidence and knowledge you need for a positive birth experience. Our expert-led training sessions are designed for expectant parents like you.
Explore Training Sessions
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Get Started?
Whether you're expecting, a birth worker, or a community ally — there's a place for you at The Doula Lab.