Chanel Porchia-Albert

Commissioner Chanel L. Porchia Albert CD, CPD, CLC, is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Ancient Song Doula Services, a reproductive health organization of over 70 full-spectrum community-based doulas focused on providing resources and full-spectrum doula services to women of color and marginalized communities throughout NYC and Northern New Jersey. Her work within infant and maternal health has led her across the globe to Uganda where she has served as a maternal health strategist in rural war-torn areas to address the lack of resources to birthing mothers. She is a certified lactation counselor, midwifery assistant, and vegan chef who has served on various advisory boards throughout the country. Her work in birth and reproductive justice continues to span into the research and methods of care of marginalized people and people of color, bringing a human rights framework into birthing rooms and beyond into institutional reform and accountability measures within healthcare to address implicit bias and racism. When she is not working on legislative policy or facilitating workshops, you can find her spending time with her six children.

To name a few of her achievements, she has served as a consultant for AMCHP, NYC Department of Health in Mental Hygiene, as well as assisted in the creation of the Respectful Care at the Birth document that has been used widespread at healthcare institutions engaging providers in birth justice. Most recently she has been appointed by Mayor DeBlasio as a Commissioner to the NYC Commission on Gender Equity and Advisory Board Member for Marymount College School of Politics & Human Rights.

She has served on the advisory board at Ariadne Labs at Harvard Medical School, Board of Directors for March for Moms, Board Member of The Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery and Village Birth Intl. Chanel and Ancient Song's work is featured on CNN’s Champions for Change, the cover of Working Mother Magazine, NY Times, SELF Magazine, and more.