About US

Monica was born and raised in the Chihuahua Desert region of El Paso, TX. For over twenty years, she has dedicated her life to serving families in various capacities. Currently, Monica is a Certified Professional Midwife living in the Rio Grande Valley of Espanola, NM. She provides midwifery care and midwifery education throughout Northern and Central New Mexico. Monica is committed to the rematriation of midwifery and the reclamation of ancestral practices as a means of restoring balance to all life. She is a founding member of MIT and is honored to serve as Board President. Her other projects include Midwives For Black Lives, a Black student midwives scholarship fund, the creation of The CPM Study Method, visionary for the Reproductive Sanctuary model of midwifery care, and host of The Brown Ass Midwives Podcast. 

Raquel (she/her) is a Chicana born and raised on unceded Kumeyaay land. She is an educational consultant who provides professional development and writes curriculum for K-12 teachers who want to improve their instructional pedagogy for English learners. She also is a founder of Rancho Cuatro Vientos Community Project, whose focus is community composting and native restoration of land. She serves as the MIT secretary. Her dedication and commitment to MIT stem from a belief in the power of having sovereignty over our spiritual practices to reclaim and remember original instructions for living life rooted in love, compassion, and community.   

Susy (she/they/ella) was honored to attend the Women’s Encuentro in its 2nd iteration, and has continued to contribute to the present day as the chair of the MIT board. Susy is an associate professor in the Chicana/o/x Studies department at the University of California, Davis (Patwin homeland). Her community-centered and scholarly work are intentionally decolonial and feminist in a grounded way. Susy’s research and teaching focus on: Xicana Indígena spirit work, decolonization, collaborative methodologies, oral and visual storytelling, remembering and intergenerational healing. She established two courses at UCD: Decolonizing Spirit and Food Justice. Her book, Queering Mesoamerican Diasporas: Remembering Xicana Indígena Ancestries, was published in 2022.  In 2023, she published the article “Xicana/x Indígena Futures: Re-rooting through Traditional Medicines” in Feminist Formations.  Susy is a student and practitioner rooted in remembering and honoring traditional Indigenous medicine of this hemisphere, and more specifically of Mesoamerica. 

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For more about Susy and her work:

Visit her site at ucdavis.academia.edu/SuzyZepeda

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Follow her on Instagram @verdesusy

Reyna was born in Guanajuato, Mexicayotl, Purepecha Nation.  At the age of 7, her family immigrated to Watsonville, California. She comes from a family of ten, her father a farm worker and her mother a hard working, courageous and still a tender loving mother. She has birthed two beings into this world Enrique Miguel and Kiaketzalli Moya.

Reyna has dedicated 25 years of being of service within the unified school districts, nonprofits and she is currently a Doula-providing prenatal, labor/birth and postpartum services. She is dedicated to promoting cultural awareness and community uplifting through the teaching of Indigenous Mexican practices- she is the co-creator of an Aztec Dancing group. Her main focus has been to create safe spaces for healing, through sacred practices and ceremonies, arts, dance, especially for women/children of and the family.

In the last five years, Reyna has expanded her knowledge and began facilitating.

Her highest desire is to give voice to all humanity through inclusion and equity and generate love and a sense of belonging and authentic connection.

Maria was born and raised in unceded Tongva territory. Maria is an Indigenous Midwife (Maya/pipil)  dedicated to supporting the sacred transitions of humans from birth and beyond. Maria is deeply committed to public health, focusing on restoring Indigenous birthing practices within her community. She works effortlessly to reclaim and normalize these ancient methods, ensuring that the birthing process is honored as a sacred and empowering experience. Through her efforts, Maria aims to improve health outcomes, cultural preservation, and community cohesion, reaffirming the importance of traditional practices in modern healthcare.

Her dedication to public health extends beyond her professional practice, as she actively engages in community initiatives and educational programs. Maria's work is a testament to her belief in the power of traditional knowledge and practices to foster well-being and resilience within her community. She is honored to support the mission of MIT and to uplift the next 7 generations by supporting the healing and empowerment of present day communities. 

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For more about Maria and her work:

Follow her on Instagram @laceibamidwifery

Tema is driven by her strong belief in the inherent right of women to access safe, healing, and ceremonial spaces. Since attending the first Women's Encuentro retreat in 2017, she has been an active participant and continues to contribute through her role as the treasurer on the MIT board. Tema is a Xicana Licensed Midwife in California and a Partera Profesional Certificada in Mexico, with her maternal indigenous lineage tracing back to the Purepecha and her paternal lineage to the Yorme. Born and raised in San Jose, California, she has dedicated over a decade to birth and reproductive justice on the U.S.-Mexico Border, serving families on both sides. Her midwifery practice and community work are deeply rooted in social justice and empathy. She also invests in the education of aspiring midwives of color, teaching online across several midwifery schools and birth & reproductive justice organizations.

For more about Tema and her work:

Visit her website at lamatrizbirth.com

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Follow her on Instagram @matrizmidwife

Jocelyn/Jocey (she/her) is a first generation Xicana born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, CA/ Fernandeño Tataviam lands. Her familial roots are from Zacatecas, Jalisco, and Baja California, MX. Her journey in community work began in high school and college where she was a part of several BIPOC led organizations throughout Los Angeles, CA. For the past decade, she has taken on re-connecting & remembering traditional ancestral practices from several Mexican-indigenous teachers and elders through herbalism, Danza Mexica, and ceremonial prayer ways. She began her work with MIT in 2018 as a youth through annual encuentros. Jocey continues to organize now as a board member of MIT to provide a safe and intergenerational healing ceremonial space for women and beyond. 

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For more about Jocey:

Follow her on Instagram @Jocey_Esco

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