On April 2nd I let my dear colleagues at CVD know that by the end of this fiscal year, which for us is September 30th, at the latest, I plan to resign as the CVD Executive Director.

I began working for free in the director role in 2014 and have gradually increased to receiving a monthly stipend. It was always my expressed intention that my leadership be temporary. Moving forward, CVD will return to having a salaried ED. Today the search for a new director begins, lead by members of our board and volunteer doulas.

I have been a part of CVD in one way or another since 2008, before it was a nonprofit. (I actually argued against forming a 501c3, lol.) CVD has accomplished much in that time. We have increased the presence of labor doulas in over 13 hospitals around the city. If you know one of the hundreds of doulas in Chicago, chances are good that person has in some way supported or benefited from CVD. So too have well over 1,000 birthing families, most from marginalized communities. In the last three years we have redefined our work as that of acheiving birth justice... tying the struggle for birth equity to larger reproductive, economic, racial, and social justice work. There is much to appreciate, and much more work to be done and connections to be made. I'm excited to see what is next.

Here's the note I shared with my colleagues.

"I am writing with much gratitude and respect to inform you of my intention to resign from my role as Executive Director of Chicago Volunteer Doulas. I have been deeply honored to serve the organization with you for the last three plus years. .....

One of the things that I love best about CVD is that it is a tremendous group effort. Thank you each very much for everything that you do to foster community at CVD and to create better birth and parenting outcomes for families in marginalized communities. I wish CVD the very best and hope to remain one of its staunchest advocates."

Thanks for reading if you've made it this far. Really, *****Thank You!!**** The fact that CVD is ready to have a new director is because of community supporters like you. I say this a lot, because its true: We couldn't have done it without you. I look forward to taking on-call shifts again.