Emilie Rodriguez

Emilie Rodriguez is a Black traditional birth and postpartum doula and medical anthropologist. She founded Ashe Birthing Services, a team of BIPOC doulas
serving over 400 families a year in NYC, and co-founded The Bridge Directory, a platform of perinatal providers and professionals of color creating a new standard of maternal health. They are on a mission to heal the disparities in healthcare from within by training institutions and providers, redefining expectations in care, and closing the access gap. As an active Bronxite and reproductive justice advocate, Emilie is deeply passionate about her community and Black maternal health. The Bridge engages in many strategic partnerships, but one to highlight is with Columbia University to create a Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence as part of a seven-year NIH grant, focusing on scalable multi-level strategies grounded in anti-racism and patient empowerment. As a principal investigator, Emilie oversees all aspects and components of the grant’s projects. Emilie is also a leading expert in policy-level change, particularly in advocating for doula pay-equity and the development of accessible doula qualifications and standardization, as doulas begin to accept insurance in New York City and New York State.