BOLD SOLUTION: With members of the Birth Equity Community Council, William created the Doula Dads project. The council is a collective made up of individuals from Saint Paul Ramsey County Public Health, the African American Babies Coalition, other professionals, and community members. Their goal is to address the disparity in the infant mortality rate using an innovative approach: empowering fathers be more involved, supportive, and vocal in the birth process.
Five Questions for William
1. What is one of the most interesting projects you’ve worked on in public health? What made it interesting or rewarding?
Becoming a doula and lactation educator, because as a man we need more male involvement during the birth process, and I help to mitigate the disparity in the infant mortality disparity and maternal death rate.
2. What are the greatest challenges you face in your public health work or area of focus?
The greatest challenges I face are outdated systems that many of our organizations function under that don’t approach health from a holistic point of view.
3. What would success in public health look like to you?
Success in public health would look like everyone having what they need, when they need it, and no more disparities in health because of a holistic approach.
4. What’s a story or experience that keeps you going, even when you’re feeling challenged?
Knowing that my grandparents before me did so much more with so much less.
5. Describe yourself in three words.
Pragmatic, mercurial, somewhat audacious.
