Michelle Rodriguez is a doctoral student, certified birth worker and community organizer. Her research explores the narratives of BIPOC birthworkers and birthing people navigating Western Medical systems. At Princeton University she is studying to center these alternative birth stories while analyzing the intersections of race, gender and sexuality as it pertains to queer BIPOC birthing people. As a queer Afro-Latinx birthworker, Michelle spent the last 3 years archiving the experiences of the queer BIPOC birthing families she has worked with; she plans to continue these archivals during her field work. Her doctoral studies are dedicated to exploring both the trauma and violence Black and Brown birthing people navigate in an inherently racialized medical system, while also centering the healing work that is done through traditional/ancestral forms of medicine and carework.