I want to take a moment to share an important milestone in my journey as a cultural and community birthworker.

I have been appointed to two national committees with the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) for 2026:

Government Affairs Committee

Diversity & Inclusion Committee

While titles have never been the goal, alignment always has been. These appointments represent a powerful alignment between the work I have been doing on the ground for years and the systems-level conversations shaping the future of maternity care in this country.

What Is AABC?

The American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) is a national organization that supports freestanding birth centers, midwives, doulas, and community-based maternity care providers across the United States. AABC works at the intersection of policy, practice, and equity, advocating for safe, family-centered, physiologic birth and expanding access to midwifery and birth center care—especially for communities historically excluded from quality maternity services.

In many ways, AABC helps shape what is possible in birth care: how birth centers are licensed, how they are reimbursed, and how they are protected and sustained.

Why These Committees Matter

Serving on the Government Affairs Committee means contributing to policy conversations that influence:

Birth center licensure and regulation

Medicaid and insurance reimbursement

Access to midwifery and community-based care

Protection of physiologic, family-centered birth options

Serving on the Diversity & Inclusion Committee means helping ensure that these policies and practices are shaped with cultural humility, accountability, and equity at the center. It’s about more than representation—it’s about ensuring that Black, Indigenous, and community-rooted birthworkers and families are reflected in decision-making, leadership, and care models.

Together, these roles allow me to advocate both within systems and on behalf of communities—bridging policy and lived experience.

What This Means for My Work

This moment is not separate from my work as a doula, CHW, educator, and community organizer—it’s an extension of it.

It strengthens my ability to:

Advocate for culturally rooted, community-led birth models

Help shape policies that expand access to birth centers and midwifery care

Build partnerships that support sustainable, equitable perinatal care

Lay the groundwork for future visions, including opening a community-centered birth space

Most importantly, it means that the stories, needs, and wisdom of the families I serve are carried into rooms where decisions are made.

Looking Ahead

I don’t see this as a destination, I see it as a bridge.

A bridge between community care and national policy.

A bridge between ancestral knowledge and modern systems.

A bridge between what exists now and what our families deserve next.

I’m deeply grateful for the trust placed in me and for everyone, clients, mentors, elders, colleagues, and community, who has shaped my path. This work has always been collective, and this moment belongs to all of us.

With gratitude and intention,

Shekita Long, CHW, CPST, CBE(in-training)