Mercedes Snyder is the owner of Something Beautiful Midwifery. Mercedes Snyder, Owner of Something Beautiful Midwifery However, Dila considers working with pregnant people – before birth, during birth, and supporting new mothers and infants – to be the most rewarding work she has ever done. She has been a program manager, a grantmaker, a board member, and a trainer. Dila has managed several large-scale federally funded interventions but believes that small organizations, even when working with minimal resources, are still the most effective at creating lasting and transformational change. She went on to spend twelve years helping to build and manage innovative and complex programs designed to improve the health of vulnerable populations, including mothers, children, families, and people living with or affected by HIV. She earned both a Master of Public Health and a Master of Social Work at the University of Washington, after starting her career as a health educator at 19.

Dila has worked in public health and advocacy locally and internationally, including time spent as a doula for Open Arms. Learn about ways to get involved with local partner organizations:ĭila Perera, Executive Director at Open Arms Perinatal Servicesĭila Perera is the Executive Director at Open Arms Perinatal Services. Local storyteller Rosette Royale will serve as moderator, and following the discussion, panelists will participate in an audience Q&A. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation staff member Kaleigh MacDaniels, Program Officer, Global Health will join the panelists to speak about the foundation’s work around family planning & innovations in the field. The panel will feature expertise from advisors to the exhibition, including Angela Garbes, author of “ Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change,” Dila Perera, executive director of Open Arms Perinatal Services, and Mercedes Snyder midwife and owner of Something Beautiful Midwifery. The event is connected to our current exhibition, Designing Motherhood: Things that Make and Break Our Births, and it will delve into such issues as family planning, prenatal care, support for BIPOC families, and what it means to practice self-care. Join the Discovery Center on Wed., April 26 for an engaging discussion on how we can better care for families and communities during pregnancy and parenting. Free to attend | All ages welcome | ASL services providedīill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center

Angela garbes essential labor