Educate. Support. Nurture
Angela Johnson
Angela Johnson Sutherland has worked with children and parents in various ways for over 40 years. She has been a Preschool Teacher, Speech and Motor Clinician, Playgroup Director, Child Development Instructor, Home Daycare Owner, Church Nursery Director, Parenting Coach, and Nanny, to name a few. Most recently, she has served as a Newborn Care Specialist, Lactation Educator, and New Parent Educator.
Angela holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and a certificate in Special Education. She has also studied Business Management Accounting and American Sign Language. Education is crucial to her, so she continues her studies through continuing education courses, professional development workshops, online webinars and classes, child development conferences, and monthly educational meetups with her peers.
Leslie K. Sherman
Board Secretary
I am Leslie K. Sherman. I hold a Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies . I have worked in the legal field for two decades, the past eleven years in intellectual property. I enjoy reading, movies, watching sports (“GO BLUE”), and family gatherings. My husband and I celebrated 23 years of marriage this year. We have four wonderful children (one girl and three boys), two grandbabies (a girl and a boy), and a fur baby named Rocky.
Fun Fact: I was born on Leap Day–February 29.
Amariee Collins-Lawrence
AMARIEE COLLINS-LAWRENCE is a community advocate and activist and has worked with the faith and local and state communities for the last 15 years. She received her B.S. in Biology/Health and Human Performance from the University of Houston and her M.A. in Public Administration from Texas Southern University.
Since 2002, she has participated in various outreach and community service efforts for veterans and low-income, urban/rural and faith communities working with organizations like Texas Impact, Texas Human Health and Services Commission, No Kid Hungry and Texas Community Partner Program. As an Air Force veteran, she spent two years leading Houston’s 4th Service Platoon with The Mission Continues organization in partnership with “Recipe for Success” to raise awareness about obesity and accessing healthy food. She led the largest ever community service event on MLK Jr Day 2019 with over 400 volunteers in service.
She currently works in healthcare as a Diagnostic Medical Sonography and started a business as a mobile sonographer for those in need. As a midwifery student she continues to advocate for families in need while gaining the skills to become a well rounded community midwife.
Amariee is married to the Rev. Dr. Joshua Lawrence, United Church of Christ/Canada minister and they are raising 3 awesome boys Luke, Aaron and Elijah and 2 doggies, Steel and Alice.
Chanel Hogue
Chanel is a Wife, Mama of two, Birth Doula, Virtual Doula, Childbirth Educator, and Lactation Educator.
She is passionate about providing mamas with the education, resources and support to achieve a fearless and positive natural birth. She truly believes our bodies were designed to do this and with the proper preparation and tools, we can!
She never thought that her first natural birth ending in an emergency c-section would lead her to seeing what so many women experience in labor unnecessarily, simply because we just didn’t know what we didn’t know.
Between her induced hospital labor turned emergency c-section to her birth center VBAC, she has experienced it all and has learned the best practices to navigate birth.
She educates mamas to bypass some of the ‘didn’t have to’s’ the first time. She believes you should have the empowering and beautiful birth you deserve THE FIRST TIME by being educated and prepared.
She believes that birth can be beautiful, pain-free, uninterrupted and empowering if you prepare your mind and body to do the werk.
Teyler L Wallace
Postpartum Doula, Lactation Educator, Holistic Chef, Activist, and COO of The Foodie Doula. Teyler is a California native, and has a background in non-profit work, campaign coordinating, and fundraising. My own postpartum experience is what truly moved me to deepen my postpartum work. I became acutely aware of how all encompassing the postpartum period is, and how we as a society still fall so short in terms of providing adequate support, to new mothers and birthing people.
Women of color are directly effected by perinatal inequity with an unreasonably high mortality rate. I truly believe that empowering and supporting new mothers and birthing people will result in a more loving an more just society.
