Meet Rachel Nicks, Founder of BirthQueen and recipient of Founders Fund’s $3,000 grant:
Who Is Rachel Nicks And What Is Birth Queen?
Rachel’s passion for movement began at the age of 2 when she began gymnastics. She continued to grow as an athlete and added soccer, basketball and volleyball to her roster. After graduating from The Julliard School with a BFA in drama, she began a dedicated Hatha yoga practice. Her curiosity about the philosophy led her to taking a 500 hour Hatha yoga training and the experience unlocked Pandora’s box: She continued to train in a variety of disciplines to meet the needs of all of her students and eventually became certified in pre/postnatal fitness as well as a certified doula and lactation counselor.
Now a mother of two beautiful sons and residing in Harlem, N.Y., Rachel is fiercely committed to her community, and the wisdom and tools she’s gained from her experiences lay at the foundation of her nonprofit. Rachel founded BirthQueen to combat the Black maternal health crisis, and it serves as a resource that Black women and birthing people can trust. They can be confident knowing there is someone advocating for them and breathing new life into the birth world with funding, education and support.
What Are Your Plans For The Funding And What Does This Funding Mean To You?
“This funding provides me validation and hope of more to come. I just launched in March 2021 and it proves that others believe in my work as much as I do. This funding will enrich a birth experience and protect and save lives.”
What Has BirthQueen Been Up To Since?
Rachel and the BirthQueen family have been hard at work creating educational resources for their online community and Rachel has been sharing her incredible work, expertise and passion through various initiatives and virtual events including FAMSUMMIT and launching a fundraiser to help combat the Black Maternal Health Crisis.
For more information about BirthQueen, check out their website. You can read more about their fundraiser and what they’re doing to make an impact by clicking here.
