IN CONVERSATION: LIFE AND DEATH IN DOULA WORK
January 20, 2026
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
In Collaboration With
California African American Museum
In celebration of the exhibition Giving you the best that I got, which highlights images and narratives of Black mothers, join us for a timely conversation on the full spectrum of motherhood. Presented in partnership with PAUSE, an organization dedicated to creating spaces that produce safe, culturally-specific, and expert-informed grief and end-of-life resources serving communities of color, this conversation will feature doulas Crystal Coleman and Deidre Medley Coutsoumpos as they discuss the existential polarities of life and death in their work as birth and death doulas, respectively. Moderated by Art + Practice Arts Program Manager Eboné McCloud.
Speakers
As a mother of three incredibly opinionated, creative, of two growing teens, and one preteen, Deidre Medley does all of her work with hopes that these humans will live in a world with easy access to reproductive options to support any of the choices they need to make in the future. Aside from adventuring through the mountains and ensuring she’s pouring into her next generation, Deidre serves as Executive Director and founding member of the Sankofa Birthworkers Collective of the Inland Empire. A collective of Black birthworkers, reclaiming their rights to birth through connection, cause and community. They provide services, support and education that foster wellness in Black birthing families and the birthworkers who serve them.
Over 20 years, Deidre has served in many roles in the maternal health space, lactation educator counselor, childbirth educator, maternal health advocate, and her entry into this work, birth doula. Throughout her career has led the charge in coordinating three doula programs servicing Riverside and San Bernardino counties which combined has utilized about 70 doulas serving nearly 700 families. In an effort to grow access to doula care, Deidre founded Grounded Beginnings Birth, a community based doula program that facilitates culturally congruent and spirit-centered doula trainings. Deidre recently completed her M.S. in Healthcare Administration and Interprofessional Leadership at UCSF.
Crystal Coleman is a devoted End Of Life Doula driven by compassion and dedicated to providing a calm, supportive presence during one of life’s most meaningful transitions. Grounded in empathy and deep respect for each individual’s journey, she brings a steady, reassuring approach to end-of-life care for both individuals and their loved ones. The work of an End Of Life Doula resonated with her in 2014. The curiosity of supporting and guiding someone at the end of life led her to explore and ultimately find her love and alignment in life. After volunteering and supporting many at the end of life, she was officially certified as a Death Doula in early 2023.
Further moved by the meaningfulness of the work, Crystal founded The Journeyed Soul in 2024. She believes there is great value in supporting, guiding and care at the end of life. Her goal is to create conversations about death and dying and bring awareness to the importance of planning, while honoring the journey.